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152 CHAPTER 6


cent of the poor population was illiterate, and poverty was most widespread, deepest, and most severe among these individuals. Poverty was inversely correlated with educational attainment, so even a moderate improvement in education could reduce the ranks of the poor. In urban areas the poverty headcount ranged from 11.7 percent among illiterate persons to only 1.5 percent among university graduates. The corresponding rates in rural areas were 16.5 and 5.0 percent (UNDP 2005b).


The same study shows that the highest poverty rates were among those self-employed in marginal and unskilled activities and among nonwage work- ers. Agriculture and construction were overrepresented within poor groups. Moreover, the poor were more likely to work in the informal sector, which employed 48 percent of the poor. Unemployment rates correlated with pov- erty; the poverty incidence among the unemployed was higher than average in urban areas. Table 6.8 shows that more than 50 percent of the poor in rural areas are farmers, while only 38 percent of the nonpoor in rural areas are farmers.


Table 6.9 presents the main poverty indicators for heads of household working in agriculture. Only 9.3 percent of urban heads of household working in agriculture are poor, while 18 percent of agricultural households in rural areas are poor. It is worth noting that 17 percent of agricultural households are poor compared to 11 percent of all Syrian households.


Table 6.8 Distribution of the population in Syria, by location, poverty status, and agricultural or other pursuits, 2005 (percent)


Population group Agriculture


Urban Poor


Nonpoor Total


Rural Poor


Nonpoor Total


All Syria Poor


Nonpoor Total


50.4 38.2 40.0


33.9 21.5 22.9


Source: UNDP (2005b).


49.6 61.8 60.0


66.1 78.5 77.1


100.0 100.0 100.0


100.0 100.0 100.0


5.7 5.2 5.3


Other activities


94.4 94.8 94.8


Total


100.0 100.0 100.0


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