AMMAN,
JORDAN — A third of Iraqis live in poverty, according to a study released under
United Nations auspices Sunday, dire findings for a nation that enjoyed
widespread prosperity less than three decades ago.
The report, produced
by a division of the Iraqi government and the United Nations Development
Program, examined access to, and the quality of, a wide range of basic
needs.
It found that by 2004, Iraqi living standards had deteriorated
considerably compared with that of the 1970s and '80s, particularly in the areas
of water, electricity, sanitation, jobs, income and assets.
Damaged or
dangerous housing conditions and educational access and quality were also found
to be significant areas of deprivation.
A subtext to the report is how
much the eroding conditions are contributing to Iraq's civil war. Though the
report made no official findings on the subject, a top U.N. official in Amman,
the Jordanian capital, said that poverty offered "a very fertile ground to
recruitment" for militant activity in Iraq.
"When you are jobless, when
you don't have electricity and water, you become more vulnerable to being
recruited by extremist groups," Paolo Lembo, director of the United Nations
Development Program in Iraq, said in an interview. "My personal opinion is, yes,
it is a contributing factor."
The survey was based on data collected in
2004 as part of a survey of Iraqi living conditions conducted by the U.N. and
Iraq's Ministry of Planning and Development.
In addition to the one-third
of Iraqis living in poverty, the study found that 5% of the population was
living in extreme poverty.
Though the data are three years old and do not
capture the deterioration in living standards since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion,
human rights officials say the study is still useful because it is the first
comprehensive look at poverty and deprivation in Iraq and because it creates a
baseline for future studies.
Though living standards started to decline
under the decades-long leadership of Saddam Hussein, and continued through two
wars and crippling sanctions that followed, the report takes aim at economic
policies put in place after the 2003 invasion.
The policies, which
reflect American free-market priorities, dismantled state-run enterprises that
employed hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and ended subsidies.
The
policies presented Iraqis with wrenching change, leading to high unemployment
and frustration, the report said.
The study found Iraq's damaged
infrastructure to be the largest factor in creating poor living
conditions.
It said 85% of households lacked a stable source of
electricity, with weekly and even daily outages. Nearly 70% of households
struggled with getting rid of garbage, and more than 40% had inadequate
sanitation facilities.
Deprivation levels also were seen as a factor in
malnourishment.
Residents in the country's mostly Shiite Muslim south
were found to suffer the most, whereas people in Baghdad and northern Iraq had
the highest living standards.
Poverty levels were three times higher in
rural areas.
The report's authors urged officials in charge of Iraq's
reconstruction to slow efforts to privatize the economy and improve ways to help
people cope with the changes.
"It's not a criticism to anyone; it's a
reality we must address," Lembo
said.