As Dominican Republic’s economy grows, so does poverty
Santo Domingo.- Dominican Republic boasted some of the fastest economic growth in Latin America and the Caribbean in recent years, but didn’t reach most of its 10 million people, with only 2% surmounting poverty, says a World Bank report released Wednesday.
The study “When prosperity isn’t shared” says four million Dominicans are still mired in poverty, while the middle class hasn’t had significant grown in a decade.
The World Bank data announced in the National Palace says despite the Caribbean country’s annual growth of more than five percent from 2000 to 2011, many Dominicans failed to reap the benefits of economic development.
“With the financial crisis (2008-2009), the Dominican population living with close to four dollars a day increased to 50 percent. Although poverty has been reduced by 10 percent since 2005, the capacity of poor Dominican families to improve their economic and social conditions through time remains limited in comparison with the rest of the region,” the report said.
The World Bank study on Dominicans’ economic and social conditions also affirms that the number of poor has doubled in the cities, from 1.2 to 2.4 million since 2000.
Category: DR News |