Vietnam
Hanoi | May 2015
VND 23,667 (USD 1.10, EUR 1.02).
This is based on the most recent General Statistics Office (GSO) line for urban areas in the country.
There are two main approaches to setting poverty lines in Vietnam. The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) sets a poverty line which is based on income and is used primarily for targeting social programs.
The General Statistics Office (GSO) sets a different poverty line based on an estimated daily food intake (2,100 kcal per person per day) plus an additional allocation for essential non-food needs based on general consumption patterns of the poor. This is used chiefly for monitoring poverty over time. In 2013, the GSO general poverty line was: VND 570,000 per capita per month for rural areas and VND 810,000 per capita per month for urban areas. This line is for domestic use, and the poverty rate is tracked and published by GSO. Under the 2013 GSO line, the national poverty rate was estimated to be 9.8%.
The GSO worked with World Bank to calculate a poverty line which is more internationally aligned, and is for international use. It involves calculating the cost of food poverty line using 2012 unit values (January 2012 unit values), and recalculating the non-food component by estimating new Engels curves. The GSO-WB line for 2012 was VND 871,308 per capita per month – the corresponding poverty rate was 17.2% poverty rate.
Vietnam’s mapped out poverty reduction plans first under the Hunger Eradication and Poverty Reduction Programme, and later the National Targeted Programme for Poverty Reduction. It set out its Comprehensive Poverty Reduction and Growth Strategy (CPRGS), and related policies are incorporated into the country’s Ten and Five-Year Plans. Vietnam’s poverty reduction policies and programs aim to promote production to improve livelihood for the poor, enhance the poor’s access to social services, and strengthen their capacity and awareness.
Note: Latest available standards and exchange rates were taken as of May 2015, when the photography was undertaken.
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