Based on data from the last national household survey, Brazil´s Ministry of Social Development and Fight Against Hunger (MDS) calculates that the rate of extreme poverty in the country now stands at 2.5%

Brasilia, 17 December, 2015 – The National Household Sample Survey (PNAD) for 2014 shows that Brazil has succeeded in eradicating extreme poverty in the country. The PNAD, conducted annually by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), collects information on the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of Brazil´s population and individual households.

According to calculations made by the Ministry of Social Development and Fight Against Hunger (MDS), based on the PNAD data, the percentage of extremely poor people in Brazil´s population is now 2.5%.  At this rate, in World Bank terms, extreme poverty can be considered to have been eradicated in Brazil.
The MDS avers that the decline in the extreme poverty rate over the last 10 years is due to the 6.2% increase in the incomes of the country´s 10% poorest population. This rate of increase was almost three times greater than the 2.1% recorded for the wealthiest 10% of the population.
Addressing some 40 government technical staff and other specialists at the technical workshop on Poverty and Inequality in Brazil: indicators and trends  from 1992 to 2014, MDS Minister Tereza Campello, referring to the  importance of social policies, said that “Not only have people´s incomes improved, as shown by the PNAD, but you can see today the extent to which Brazil is so different.”
The event, held in Brasilia on 3 December, was organized by MDS´s  Secretariat of Evaluation and Information Management (SAGI), supported by the Brazil Learning Initiative for a World Without Poverty (WWP), the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), and Brazil´s National School of Public Administration (ENAP).

Marcelo Neri ,Chief Economist at the Getulio Vargas Foundation Centre for Social Policies and former Minister of the Presidency´s Strategic Affairs Secretariat, agreed with Minister Campello´s assessment: “How can you explain this reduction in poverty? 45% is due to growth in personal income, and 55% to the reduction of inequality. That is the secret of that particular period (2004-2014). ”

He went on to explain that income growth is directly related to the increased amount of schooling and the population´s access to social programs. “The educational bonus is the main driver of people´s incomes, accounting for three quarters of the improved incomes. A further  ¼  can be accounted for by money obtained from other sources. In other words, the two main drivers have been the educational bonus and the role played by social programmes.”
Luis Henrique Paiva, research associate at the International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth (IPC-IG), researcher at Brazil´s Institute for Applied Economic Research (IPEA) and former National Secretary of the Bolsa Familia Programme, drew attention to another contributory factor to the reduction in extreme poverty: the demographic transition currently underway in Brazil.  He said “Population changes that took about 50 years to develop in Europe, such as the rise in the number of elderly people from 7% to 14%, will occur in Brazil in half the time.”
Paiva added “Although demographic change is slow, we know that since 1992 our country´s demographic structure has changed substantially. Around 15% of the reduction of extreme poverty since 1992 is the result of the lower percentage share of children, who are most affected by poverty, in the population, and the increasing proportion of elderly people, who are relatively well protected.”
Multidimensional poverty 
The PNAD data show an even more positive picture of the extremely poor sector of the population when one takes into account the MDS calculation of poverty from the multidimensional standpoint, which covers, in addition to income considerations, lack of access to education, water, sanitation, electricity, housing and goods (read more in this issue).
From this angle, MDS figures show that the percentage of extremely poor Brazilians was a mere 1% in 2014, and that the average rate of poverty decline was 62% between 2004-2009 and 2009-2014.
Bolsa Familia 
André Calixtre, IPEA Director of Social Studies and Policies, commented on the approval of the R$10 billion cut proposed for the Bolsa Familia Programme´s budget for next year, submitted by the Budget Rapporteur General, Deputy Ricardo Barros (PP-PR), and decided this Thursday by the Joint Budget Committee of the National Congress.
Calixtre said “This will have an immediate impact on the extreme poverty rate.”
The cut of R$10 billion is equivalent to 35.5% of the total funds (R$28.2 billion) previously allocated to the Bolsa Familia Program.
Marianna Rios, WWP