ASEAN POVERTY RATE FALLS TO 10.8 PCT AS REGION ADVANCES TOWARDS 2030 SDGS

PUTRAJAYA, Oct 1 (Bernama) -- The proportion of ASEAN’s population living below the national poverty line fell to 10.8 per cent in 2023 from 13.3 per cent in 2016, placing the region firmly on track to achieve its 2030 target, according to the ASEAN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Indicators Progress Report 2025.

Launched virtually by ASEANStats in partnership with the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), the landmark report provides a regional assessment of achievements, challenges in implementing the 2030 Agenda and serves as a vital reference for policymakers, offering insights into progress, data gaps and strategic pathways for SDG monitoring across ASEAN.

Chief Statistician and Chair of the 15th ASEAN Community Statistical System (ACSS15) Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the report was developed in close cooperation with ASEAN Member States’ (AMS) National Statistics Offices, consolidating data across ministries, departments and agencies to present a comprehensive overview of progress from 2016 to 2023.

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He said the report reflects strong regional collaboration under the ASEAN Working Group on SDG Indicators with technical support from the ASEAN Secretariat’s Statistics Division.

"This initiative demonstrates Malaysia’s commitment as the ACSS 2025 lead country under the ASEAN Economic Community to elevate public awareness of the vital role of statistics in national and regional development," he said in a statement today.

According to him, the report’s findings also highlighted significant improvements in the health workforce, with the number of medical doctors rising from 6.7 to 8.0 per 10,000 population, nurses and midwives from 26.2 to 29.4, dentists from 1.1 to 1.4, and pharmacists from 2.2 to 2.9.

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“Infrastructure and digital connectivity have seen remarkable improvements. Access to electricity increased from 88.5 per cent to 95.7 per cent of the population. In education, electricity coverage rose from 78.9 per cent to 85.3 per cent in primary schools, 86.9 per cent to 89.3 per cent in secondary schools and reached 98.0 per cent in upper secondary schools. 

“Fixed broadband subscriptions more than doubled, from 5.7 to 11.8 per 100 population, while internet usage surged from 50.6 per cent to 82.0 per cent,” he added.

Mohd Uzir said other achievements are youth unemployment, which dropped to 8.5 per cent from 11.2 per cent, adult account ownership rose from 60.5 per cent to 76.4 per cent, and renewable energy capacity expanded from 60.1 to 74.9 watts per capita, as well as nine AMS adopted disaster risk strategies aligned with the Sendai Framework.

He said the ASEAN SDG Indicators Progress Report 2025 reflects the region’s steady advancement toward sustainable development, as well as provides comprehensive coverage of all 17 goals and 68 associated targets, measured through 80 unique indicators or 165 when accounting for sub-indicators and those repeated across multiple targets. 

"Over the past seven years, ASEAN has made commendable progress across all goals, highlighting the region’s collective commitment to the 2030 Agenda.

”A total of 15 targets are currently on track, particularly in areas such as poverty eradication, health, gender equality, clean energy and institutional strength. Meanwhile, 32 targets show moderate progress and  21 indicate stagnation or regression," he added.

-- BERNAMA