Poverty in Pakistan

Poverty in Pakistan is a continued source of concern. Although the middle-class has grown in Pakistan to 40 million nearly one-quarter of the population is classified poor as of October 2006. As of 2007-08, 17.2% of the total population lived below the poverty line, which is the lowest figure in the history of Pakistan. The declining trend in poverty as seen in the country during the 1970s and 1980s was reversed in the 1990s by poor federal policies and rampant corruption. This phenomenon has been referred to as the poverty bomb. government of Pakistan with help from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has prepared an Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper that suggests guidelines to reduce poverty in the country.
Pakistan fairs better than India and Bangladesh on most poverty markers such as the UN MPI index and its poverty rate is below both Indias and Bangladesh
As of 2009, Pakistan's Human Development Index (HDI) is 0.572, higher than that of nearby Bangladesh's 0.543, which was formerly a part of the country itself. Pakistan's HDI still stands lower than that of neighbouring India's at 0.612.Incidences of poverty in Pakistan rose from 22–26% in the fiscal year 1991 to 32–35% in the fiscal year 1999. They have subsequently fallen to 25–26% according to the reports of the World Bank and the UN Development Program reports. These reports contradict the claims made by the Government of Pakistan that the poverty rates are only 23.1%. Furthermore, the poverty rate declined to 17.2% in 2007-08 according to the World Bank.According to the Human Development Index (HDI), 60.3% of Pakistan's population lives on under $2 a day, compared to 75.6% in nearby India and 81.3% in nearby Bangladesh, and some 22.6% live under $1 a day, compared to 41.6% in India and 49.6% in Bangladesh Wealth distribution in Pakistan is highly uneven, with 10% of the population earning 27.6% of income According to the United Nations Human Development Report, Pakistan's human development indicators, especially those for women, fall significantly below those of countries with comparable levels of per-capita income. Pakistan also has a higher infant mortality rate (88 per 1000) than the South Asian average (83 per 1000).