"Poverty is pain; it feels like a disease. It attacks a person not only materially but also morally. It eats away one's dignity and drives one into total despair."

Thailand alters its development path

Between 1988 and 1996 Thailand's economy grew by 7% a year, and the share of the population in poverty dropped from 22% to 11%. But the country's financial crisis pushed that share back up to 13% in 1998. In response, Thailand is redirecting its development strategy to reduce inequality, which remained high despite all the growth.

Worldwide the number and proportion of people living in extreme poverty declined slightly through the mid-1990s. Most of the decline was in East Asia, notably China. But progress slowed temporarily in some Asian countries in the late 1990s, and ground to a halt or reversed in others. In the rest of the world, while the proportion of people in poverty declined, population growth meant that the number of poor people increased. And in the countries of the former Soviet Union, undergoing economic and social transition, the proportion of poor more than tripled.

The numbers of poor are greatest in South Asia, but the proportion of poor people is highest in Sub-Saharan Africa. Most of the poor live in rural areas, but urban poverty is growing faster. Women are more likely than men to lack rights to land and other assets. They also have difficulty getting access to credit. And they lack adequate employment and economic security in old age.

Malnutrition is a symptom of poverty. Today there are 150 million underweight children in the developing world. But the proportion is falling everywhere except Africa. Being underweight, even mildly, increases the risk of death and inhibits mental and physical development. The problem perpetuates itself from one generation to the next, because malnourished women are more likely to have low-birthweight babies.