The third edition of the National Follow-Up Report on the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), released by the Office of the President of Brazil on 29 August, shows that Brazil has made progress in combating poverty and inequality.

The MDGs were established at the UN in 2000 and have the backing of 189 countries. They set eight targets to be achieved by 2015, the first of which is to 'eradicate extreme poverty and hunger'. The specific target set for the period 1990-2015 was to halve the proportion of the world's population of people living on less than one US dollar a day (at purchasing power parity).

Based on data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) and the National Household Sample Survey (PNAD), the follow-up report shows that the percentage of Brazilians living on the equivalent of less than one dollar a day fell from 9.5% to 4.2% between 1992 and 2005, meaning Brazil has already achieved the UN target.

The report also shows a decline in inequality in 2001-05. The income of the poorest 10% of Brazilian grew at an average rate of 9.2% per year during this period, while that of the richest 10% declined by 0.4% per year.

There were also marked improvements with regard to malnutrition in babies aged less than one year (10.1% in 1999; 2.4% in 2006) and in literacy in the 15-24 age group (91.3% in 1992; 97.2% in 2005).

Source: Office of the President and Embassy of Brazil in London