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Rural poverty in Syria Overall, poverty affects 11.4 per cent of people in Syria and is more common in rural areas, where 62 per cent of all of the country’s poor people live. Poverty is deepest and most widespread in the north-eastern part of the country. A recent assessment of rural poverty in the region, conducted by IFAD, found that half of Syria’s poor rural households depend on wages for their income. One third of rural poor people cultivate crops and raise livestock to obtain income. The incidence of poverty is lowest among the 20 per cent of rural people who rely on mixed, or multiple, sources of income. Half of the households in Syria own land, but 70 per cent of landholdings amount to less than 3 ha. Poor people generally do not own land, but rent or sharecrop it. IFAD’s poverty assessment found that the availability of drinking water is a concern for many people in rural areas. Fewer girls than boys are enrolled in schools, and women bear a heavy workload that combines household tasks with productive activities in agriculture. In rural areas, almost 50 per cent of the labour force is employed in agriculture. Overall, about 20 per cent of young men are unemployed, with the result that many Syrian workers migrate to Lebanon to find employment. Who are Syria's rural poor people? In 2004 the livelihoods of about 56 per cent of rural poor people depended on agriculture, a sector characterized by low productivity and an irregular labour demand. More than 77 per cent of the rural poor were landless, though they had other assets such as cattle, sheep or other animals. Poverty is prevalent among:
Households headed by women often are dependent on irregular or insecure sources of income, such as income transfers from migrant members, and they are particularly vulnerable to external economic shocks. Families with large numbers of children and widows with children are more likely to be poor. Where are Syria's rural poor people? The north-eastern region is the poorest and most deprived part of the country. Poverty rates in other parts of the country declined between 1996 and 2004, but the incidence and severity of poverty have increased in rural areas of the north-eastern and coastal regions, and particularly in the north-eastern region. The numbers and proportions of landless people have increased steadily over the last three decades throughout the country, but the increase is particularly high in the north-east. Poverty is deepest and most concentrated in the three economically depressed eastern provinces of Deir Ezzor, Hassaka and Raqqa. Why are they poor? The main causes of rural poverty in Syria include:
Other causes of poverty include:
Source: IFAD |
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