Baghdad The Expert on the Economy, Maladh Al-Amin, warned of the continuing high rate of poverty in the country, stressing the establishment of governmental measures to limit this phenomenon.
Al-Amin said in a statement to the National Iraqi News Agency (NINA) that “the rise in the poverty rate in the country to 31.7 percent, after it was 23 percent three years ago, requires the government to take practical measures to reduce it, especially since Iraq is a country rich in resources with the increase in its financial revenues from oil exports after that the global markets witnessed a rise in the price of a barrel to above $70.”
He pointed out: “The justifications given about the reasons for the high percentage of the poor, including those that are due to the Corona virus, were not completely true, indicating that the virus caused the global and local economy to decline, but the developed countries adopted measures that would help the poor classes and provide them with the means of living, as vaccinations against the virus continue.
He stressed that “the government has taken measures to combat poverty, but these measures, according to the report of the Ministry of Planning, were not sufficient, as the poverty rate rose from 23 percent to 31.7 percent, which means that nearly 10 million citizens, who make up a third of Iraq’s population, are poor in their country, which floats on lakes of black gold.
Source: National Iraqi News Agency