Extreme poverty in Brazil rises 53 pct in 2 years

RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Extreme poverty rose 53 percent in Brazil from 2014 to 2016, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) reported on Friday.

According to IBGE's Synthesis of Social Indicators report, 24.8 million Brazilians, or 12.1 percent of the Brazilian population, lived with a monthly income of no more than one quarter of the minimum wage, 220 reals or 66.7 U.S. dollars, by the end of 2016, up from 16.2 million in 2014.

Another 36.6 million Brazilians had a monthly income of one quarter to one half of the minimum wage in 2016, which Brazilian authorities classify as "absolute poverty."

Brazil's regional inequalities were evident in poverty figures: out of the 24.8 million people in extreme poverty in 2016, 13.3 million lived in the northeastern region, and 0.9 million lived in the midwestern region.

According to IBGE, the figures showed that profound inequality remained in Brazil, even when compared with other countries in Latin America, a region where economic inequality is common.

IBGE also said that among the poorest 10 percent of the population, a staggering 78.5 percent were black or brown citizens, while only 24.8 percent among the richest 10 percent were black or brown. Enditem