Asian Development Bank (ADB) has released the 52nd Edition of the Key Indicators for Asia & the Pacific, 2021
- It was prepared by the Statistics and Data Innovation Unit (EROD-SDI) within the Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department (ERCD) at the Asian Development Bank (ADB)
- It contains Statistical information about 49 member countries of the Asia & the Pacific region on Population, labor force, National accounts, Production & Price indexes, Energy, Money & interest rates, Government finance, External trade, Balance of payments (BoP), International reserves, Exchange rates, and External indebtedness.
Major highlights of the report
i.In the Asia-Pacific region , the Extremely poor population has reduced from the size of 1.2 Billion in 1999 to 202.9 Million in 2017.
ii.Gross Domestic Product (GDP):
Asia-Pacific Region’s Economy grew from 27% of Global GDP in 2000 to 35% in 2019 (Exceeding the share of Europe & North America).
- In 2020, three in every four reporting economies posted declines in GDP due to the impact of pandemic.
iii.Extreme Poverty:
The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed around 75 to 80 mn population in the Asia-Pacific region into Extreme poverty from 2019 levels as compared with a scenario without Covid-19.
- Assuming that the pandemic has increased income inequality, the relative rise in Extreme poverty may be even greater.
- According to the report, About 5.2% of the population or 203 mn people in the Asia-Pacific lived in Extreme poverty in 2017. It could have reduced to 2.6% of Population in 2020 without Covid-19 pandemic.
Note: Extreme Poverty is defined as Number of persons living on less than USD 1.90 per day
iv.Unemployment – Increased by at least 20% in 2020 for more than one-third of reporting economies from 2019 levels.
- It led to losing about 8% of working hours in the Asia-Pacific.
- From 2000 to 2019, the region’s nonagricultural employment grew from 52% to 71%; one of the fastest growth rates worldwide.
v.Global Value Chains (GVCs): It acts as both an amplifier & a dampener of Shocks
- In Many Countries, significant GVC participation was associated with a larger negative shock to GDP, suggesting that openness exacerbated disruptions
- However, at much higher rates of GVC participation, the relationship seemed to reverse.
Recent Related News
In July 2021, ADB has partnered with the public health experts, vaccine regulators, and policymakers to form a high-level advisory group – Regional Vaccine Advisory Group – to support its developing member countries (DMCs) with technical and scientific advice on the quality, safety and effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccines.
About Asian Development Bank (ADB):
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank established on 19 December 1966.
President– Masatsugu Asakawa
Headquarters– Metro Manila, Philippines
