Poverty in Latin America

Wealth inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean refers to economic discrepancies among people of the region. Wealth inequality remains a serious issue despite strong economic growth and improved social indicators observed over the past decade.[when?] A report release in 2013 by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs entitled Inequality Matters. Report of the World Social Situation, observed that: ‘Declines in the wage share have been attributed to the impact of labour-saving technological change and to a general weakening of labour market regulations and institutions.[1] Such declines are likely to affect individuals in the middle and bottom of the income distribution disproportionately, since they rely mostly on labour income.’ In addition, the report noted that ‘highly-unequal land distribution has created social and political tensions and is a source of economic inefficiency, as small landholders frequently lack access to credit and other resources to increase productivity, while big owners may not have had enough incentive to do so.

Poverty in South America is high in most countries. All of the countries in South America are greatly affected by poverty to some extent. From 1999 to 2010, poverty dropped from 43.8% to 31.8%.[1] The countries that have the highest rates are Bolivia, Colombia and Venezuela.[2] All of these countries are trying to reduce poverty, with varying degrees of effort and success. However, in recent years most South American countries have experienced great economic growth. Thanks to this improvement in the economy, action is being taken by most South American countries to reduce poverty and improve the life quality of the people. New infrastructure is being built and more housing is being provided. Education is also a major concern, and the governments are spending millions of dollars in funding schools.

"Poverty" is defined as an economic condition of lacking both money and basic necessities needed to successfully live, such as food, water, utilities, and housing. There are many working definitions of "poverty," with considerable debate on how to best define the term. Lack of income security, economic stability and the predictability of one's continued means to meet basic needs all serve as absolute indicators of poverty. Poverty may therefore also be defined as the economic condition of lacking predictable and stable means of meeting basic life needs. The first table lists countries by the percentage of their population with an income of less than $1.90 and less than $3.10 US dollars per day in 2011 dollars at Purchasing power parity. The data is from the most recent year available from the World Bank API.