SANTO DOMINGO.- Extreme poverty fell from 10.4% to 9.6%, or 0.8 percentage points from April 2009 to April 2010, according to the study Evolution and determinants of monetary poverty in the Dominican Republic: update April 2010.  

From April 2009 to April 2010 the population in conditions of extreme poverty declined from 1,003.980 to 935,000, with around 65,000 people having overcome extreme poverty in the last 12 months.

The report conducted by the Economy Ministry’s senior Poverty Analyst Antonio Morillo Perez is based on the World Bank’s poverty measurement methodology.

The analysis of the decomposition and change in poverty levels in its components of growth, distribution and income found a fall of 0.3 percentage points in the generally poor population from April 2009 to April 2010, mainly in the level of real family income growth, which countered the slight increase in the inequality of income during that period.

Also found was a fall of 0.8 points in the extreme poverty in that period, as a result of the real income growth which compensated the negative impact in the deteriorating income distribution on poverty extreme," the report said.

The study said the country’s poorest regions are El Valley 58.2%, Enriquillo 51.6%: the Northwest 50.0%; the National District 23.1%; North-central 29.6% and Central Cibao 33.4%.

As to the provinces the study found that the five poorest in 2009 were Elías Piña  69.7%; Baoruco 63.0%; Pedernales 60.4%; Azua 56.4% and Independencia 54.9%, whereas the five least poor were the National District 16.8%; Santo Domingo 25.3%; Santiago 27.5%; Altagracia 28.2% and Puerto Plata 30.3%.