World Bank: Poverty affects more than 14 million Syrians

ARK NEWS… The World Bank reported in its report that poverty affects 69% of Syrians, amid expectations that the economic contraction will continue during the current year.

The report, titled: “Syria Economic Observatory Spring 2024: Conflict, Crises, and the Collapse of Family Welfare,” said that poverty affects about 14.5 million Syrians, while extreme poverty, which was almost non-existent before the crisis, affects more than one in four Syrians according to statistics for the year 2022.

The report added that poverty in Syria “has a strong spatial significance, as more than 50% of the destitute poor live in only three governorates, which are Aleppo, Hama, and Deir Ez-Zour, while the governorates in the north-east of the country show the highest rates of poverty, while the families in which headed by women, internally displaced families are most at risk of poverty.”

It stated that "private consumption, which is the main engine of growth, will remain weak as prices continue to rise and purchasing power erodes, and private investment is expected to remain weak, amid a volatile security situation and a great state of economic and political uncertainty."

The report expected the economic contraction to continue in 2024, suggesting that real GDP would shrink by 1.5% in 2024, continuing to decline by 1.2% from 2023.

The World Bank's Regional Director for the Middle East, Jean-Christophe Carre, said in the report that Syria witnessed several overlapping shocks in 2023, including the February earthquakes and the extension of the conflict in the Middle East.

He added that Syria's ability to absorb external economic shocks has been severely damaged, especially with the recent decline in aid flows, the difficulty of accessing humanitarian aid, and the escalation of regional tensions.

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