Even as it is forecast to contribute two-thirds of the world’s economic growth this year, Asia Pacific’s stark poverty and inequality continue to plague the region as democratic erosion, political unrest, and the climate crisis stymie its efforts for a wealthier future.
A new report by the
U.N. Development Programme (UNDP) published earlier this month highlights this disturbing reality.
According to the report many Asian countries are likely to achieve the U.N.’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals only by 2065 instead of 2030, citing the continuing shocks brought by the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of Russia’s war on Ukraine on living costs.
Even now, the UNDP said, the richest 10 percent in the region command over half the total income, with the highest wealth inequality observed in China, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Moreover, 185 million people remained “extremely poor” in absolute terms (earning less than US$2.15 a day) and 1 billion more classified as “societally poor,” or living on half the region’s median income.
There have been, however, some improvements: for example, adult literacy rates rose from 66 to 86 percent, tertiary completion rose from 19 to 36 percent, under-5 mortality plummeted from 83 to 22 per thousand live births, and life expectancy increased from 64 years to 72, underpinning remarkable achievements in human development.
But these benefits, the report said, are not equally shared. “Unmet aspirations amid high levels of human insecurity make for a volatile and potentially combustible combination, making it even harder to achieve cohesive human development,” the report warned.
This year’s report expands on last year’s findings that
human development has declined in 90 percent of the world’s countries – the first time in 32 years that the agency recorded reversals. The COVID-19 pandemic as well as the war in Ukraine has caused inequality between developed and developing countries to widen.
Last year, a report from
World Inequality Lab found that between 1995 and 2021, the top 1 percent captured a third of the world’s wealth, while the bottom 50 percent captured only a measly 2 percent. As poverty rose, global billionaire wealth also soared.