The southern Binh Duong Province is the only province in Viet Nam that has almost no poor or near-poor households, the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs has revealed.

According to the survey conducted in 2013, poor and near-poor households in the area comprised approximately zero per cent of the population.

The number of poor households in HCM City is also zero per cent of its total households, whereas near-poor households accounted for 0.4 per cent.

Last year's survey also found that Viet Nam had nearly 1.8 million poor households, or a poverty rate of 7.8 per cent, 1.8 per cent lower than that of 2012.

The country had nearly 1.5 million near-poor households, accounting for 6.32 per cent of its total households. The near-poor rate has also reduced by 0.25 per cent compared to that of 2012.

Northern mountainous provinces including Dien Bien, Lai Chau, Son La, and Ha Giang, as well as Yen Bai and Cao Bang possess high poverty rates, ranging from 24 per cent to over 35 per cent.

Last year, over VND5 trillion (US$238 million) from the National Programme on Sustainable Poverty Reduction was spent promoting poverty-reducing policies including job training and preferential loans for production. The country aims to reduce the poverty rate to 5.8-6 per cent this year.

According to a government decision, dated 2011, in Viet Nam's urban areas, poor households are defined as having an income below VND500,000 or $23 per head each month, whereas near-poor households are defined as having an income of less than VND650,000, or $31 per month per person.

In rural areas, poor households are those with income of less than VND400,000, or $19 per month per person, whereas near-poor households have income of less than VND520,000, or $24.7 per month per person.

VNS/VNN