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TABLE 10-1 Increase in Poverty, Post-Communist Countries

1993-95 Data
Poverty Headcount
(in percent)
Total Number of Poor
(in millions)
Shortfall as Percentage of the Poverty Linea Total Poverty Deficit as Percentage of GDP Elasticitya Type and Year of Datab
Country 1987-88 1993-95 1987-88 1993-95
Poland 6 20 2.1 7.6 27 1.4 0.4 SA:I/93
Bulgaria 2c 15 0.1 1.3 26 1.1 0.3 A:93
Romania 6c 59 1.3 13.5 32 5.4 0.7 M:3/94
Balkans and Poland 5 32 3.6 22.4
Hungary <1 4 0.1 0.4 25 0.2 0.2 A:93
Czech Republic 0 <1 0 0.1 23 0.01 0.01 M:1/93
Slovakia 0 <1 0 0.0 20 0.01 0.01 A:93
Slovenia 0 <1 0 0.0 31 0.02 0.01 A:93
Central Europe <1 2 0.1 0.4 25 0.01 0.01
Lithuania 1 30 0.04 1.1 34 2.9 0.5 A:94
Latvia 1 22 0.03 0.6 28 2.3 0.6 Q4:95
Estonia 1 37 0.02 0.6 37 4.2 0.7 Q3:95
Baltics 1 29 0.1 2.3 33 3.1 0.6
Russia 2 50 2.2 74.2 40 4.2 0.6 Q2-3:93
Ukraine 2 63 1.0 32.7 47 6.9 0.5 M:6/95
Belarus 1 22 0.1 2.3 26 1.2 0.5 Q1:95
Moldova 4 66 0.2 2.9 43 7.0 0.6 A:93
Slavic and Moldova 2 52 3.5 112.1 39 4.8 0.5
Total Without Central Asia 3 43 7.2 137.2 31 3.1
Kazakhstan 5 65 0.8 11.0 39 9.2 0.7 A:93
Uzbekistan 24 63 4.8 13.3 39 12.4 0.6 A:93
Kyrgyz Republic 12 88 0.5 4.0 68 64.4 0.2 Q3:93
Turkmenistan 12 61 0.4 2.4 40 7.7 0.6 A:93
Central Asia 15 66 6.5 30.7 47 9.8 0.5
Total Transition 4 45 13.6 168.0 35 3.5
Comparatorsc,d
UK 1 <1 0.6 0.5 A:88,92
Turkey 31 16.7 33 3.8 0.5 A:87
Malaysia 15 2.5 24 1.1 A:87
Colombia 35 11.6 40 5.4 0.3 A:92
Brazil 33 48.3 44 4.4 0.3 A:89
Ecuador 35 3.9 31 4.4 0.5 A:94

a The poverty line used here is uniformly US$4.00 PPP (PPP = purchasing power parity; i.e., consumer prices are adjusted according to purchasing power). For some countries this is lower, and for others higher, than the poverty line used within the country. "Shortfall" refers to the difference between the average income of people below the poverty line and the poverty line.

bA = annual data; SA = semiannual data; M = monthly data; Q = quarterly data. 1/93 means, for example, that the data refer to January 1993; I/93 means that the data refer to the first half of 1993.

c1989.

dThe poverty line used here is also US$4.00 PPP per day.

SOURCE: Milanovic (1997:75-76). Reprinted with permission.