Overview

Poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean tends to be lower than in most other developing country regions. The region also scores better in terms of education and health achievements. Social indicators reveal substantial progress in terms of human development in recent decades. Nonetheless, on several counts progress has been slower than in other parts of the developing world. In terms of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), agreed upon by all countries in the world in the framework of the 2000 Millennium Declaration of the United Nations, increased efforts will be needed to meet the established targets by 2015. Regarding access to primary education and reducing child mortality, the countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have been able to keep pace with fast growing East Asia, for instance. However, where it comes to reducing extreme poverty, the region has made very little progress since 1990, with the share of the population living on less than one dollar a day barely falling (see Figure 1.1). In contrast, fast and sustained economic growth in many of the countries in East Asia has contributed to a substantial decline in poverty in that part of the world. Also progress in expanding the coverage of drinking water and basic sanitation has been relatively slow on average in the Latin America and the Caribbean.