World Bank: 1.0M more Dominican poor since 2000

Santo Domingo.- World Bank representative McDonald Benjamin on Monday said poverty in the Dominican Republic rose by 1.0 million people since 2000.

Speaking in Santiago, the World Bank official cited the study "A broad perspective of the Dominican economy," which notes that society has changed much since 1990 and notes as an example that the country is more urban with a denser and younger population. "It has a low but growing labor participation of women, increased life expectancy and a falling but still high fertility rate."

Speaking in a Santiago Chamber of Commerce luncheon, Benjamin said Dominican Republic has grown 5.7 per year over the1991-2013 period, with per capita GDP jump of more than 50%, compared with an average 28% growth in Latin America and the Caribbean.

He said the rapid growth since 2000 has failed to reduce poverty in the Dominican Republic, while 70 million people improved their economic situation in Latin America and the Caribbean.

He said the country’s poverty rose from 32% in 2000, below the Latin America and the Caribbean average, to nearly 50% in 2004 with the financial crisis, and at 41.2% in 2013 to 30%, by above the regional average.