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19 Nov, 2013

Eastern Visayas: Philippines’ 3rd poorest region

Eastern Visayas, hardest hit by killer typhoon Yolanda, is the country’s third poorest region with 37 percent of its population or an estimated 4.2 million people living below poverty line, according to the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) latest report.

In 2012, about 37.2 percent of Region VIII’s estimated 4.2 million people were living below poverty line. They were just behind the poorest regions of Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (46.9 percent) and central Mindanao (37.5 percent), NSCB data showed.

Of the entire populations of Eastern and Northern Samar, in particular, 59.4 percent and 43.7 percent, respectively, were considered to be living below the government’s poverty threshold.

Extreme poverty incidence in Western Samar, on the other hand, was seen at 36 percent of the whole population, while in Leyte and Southern Leyte, the proportion of people living below the poverty line was at 31.9 percent and 36.4 percent, respectively.

Read the rest: Eastern Visayas: PHL’s 3rd poorest region | Manila Bulletin