'Sharp decline' in Nepal poverty

The number of people below the poverty line in Nepal has dropped by 11% in less than a decade, a new report says.

The report by the World Bank and Nepal's Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) says that the drop is because of money sent home by overseas workers.

The improvement comes despite a nine-year Maoist rebellion that has strangled economic development.

However, other figures show that direct foreign investment to Nepal declined sharply during the current fiscal year.

Basic needs
"Foreign remittances have played a key role in reducing the number of poor people because almost one third of all Nepali families were getting the money," Yuvaraj Khatiwada, a member of the National Planning Commission, told the Reuters news agency.

Tens of thousands of Nepalese work in India, Malaysia, Korea and the Middle East. They sent $650m in the 12 months up to mid-July last year, compared with $184m eight years ago.

The joint World Bank CBS study says that 31% of the country's 23 million people are presently below the poverty line.

These are people who do not have access to basic needs such as food, health and education.
The figure was 42% in 1995.

The Director General of CBS, Tunga Shiromani Banstola told the BBC's Sushil Sharma that there have been improvements in housing, education, health and public services across the country.

Foreign remittances have played a key role in reducing the number of poor people
National Planning Commission member Yuvaraj Khatiwada
Per capita spending doubled to more than $200 a year during this period, Mr Banstola said.

Analysts say the latest findings are sure to please the authorities, coming as they do amid persistent concerns that the economy has suffered due to the long running Maoist insurgency.

They say there is still cause for concern as the study claims that the gap between the rich and poor has widened in recent years.

Figures recently released in the Kathmandu Post show that foreign direct investment to Nepal declined by 85% during the first nine months of the financial year that ends in mid-July, compared to the same period last year. Sphere: Related Content