Poverty in Mongolia
The poverty rate in Mongolia is increasing steadily each year. Nearly 35% of the population lives below the lowest income rate. This means about 980,000 people in Mongolia do not have money to buy sufficient food for themselves.
The World Bank financed the survey of poverty rate according to the international standards. The survey has covered all of Mongolia including Ulaanbaatar. The western part of Mongolia is affected by poverty the most.
In Ulaanbaatar 1 of 5 people live in destitution. Three of ten people are struck by poverty in Tuv aimag and the western regions. In the eastern and Khangai regions people are facing a similar level of hardship, some areas have up to 50% of the population suffering from hardship. In Ulaanbaatar 27% of the population is facing pauperism, while in the countryside the pauperism is reaching 47%.
From 2002-2003 the poverty has been decreasing. Since then in the capital city the poverty has been decreasing rapidly. But lately it is increasing. Currently the population of the country is spilt almost 50-50 between the urban and rural areas.
While the research showed that the overall rate of distress dropped, it also suggested that the gap between poor and rich is widening in the country.
The United Nations declared Mongolia to be one of the least developed countries. Our countries necessity is slightly higher than the United States. With such low standard of living, the effects of poverty are devastating. Wealth is being created at a rapid pace and is concentrated in the cities of Ulaanbaatar, Darkhan and Erdenet.
The poor often do not have the skills needed to compete in the workforce and need job training and education. Uneducated migrants blame capitalism for poverty and require government intervention to tame the ger district and infrastructure through regulation. Political and social policy causes poverty.
Globally poverty measures are getting more complex, more technical and broad....