18:54 | New York, Oct. 01.
The effects of robust growth on employment and income have significantly reduced poverty rates and boosted shared prosperity, the World Bank Group affirmed.
According the National Institute of Statistics and Informatics (INEI), between 2005 and 2014 poverty rates fell by more than half from approximately 55.6% to 22.7% of the population, the World Bank reminded.
"It is estimated that in 2013, nearly half a million people escaped poverty in the country," it pointed out.
Poverty
According to the financial institution, between 2005 and 2014 the share of the population living below the official extreme poverty line also declined dramatically from 15.8% to 4.3%.
Extreme poverty is highly rural and concentrated in 8% of districts in Peru, which are located in regions Cajamarca, Piura, La Libertad and Apurimac.
Income inequality
According to the WBG, this is evidenced by the decline in the Gini Index -which measures income inequality- from 0.49 in 2004, to 0.44 in 2014.
Nonetheless, the overall improvement in total inequality hides significant geographical differences.
Gini Index in rural areas decreased by just 3 points between 2004 and 2013 (from 0.44 to 0.41), while urban inequality declined by 5 points (from 0.45 to 0.40), it noted.
Looking ahead, major challenges will include achieving stronger, more sustainable economic growth and further strengthening linkages between growth and equity, the World Bank indicated.
(END) JJN/JJN/MVB
Published: 10/1/2015