Working Paper 8: Rural Employment

Myanmar is experiencing a time of great changes, with institutional reforms, market liberalization and democratic processes. A new Constitution was adopted in May 2008. This transition lays the space for great opportunities to reduce poverty and inequalities, and to promote an inclusive pattern of development. Indeed, Myanmar presents a wealth of cultural diversity, skills and natural resources and is strategically positioned between India and the People’s Republic of China. However, it still has high rates of poverty, especially in rural areas. Myanmar is the poorest country in Southeast Asia, with poverty affecting around 25 percent of the total population; rural areas account for nearly 85 percent of total poverty (IHLCS 2010). Rural poverty is very much linked to households’ access to land and the size of their holdings and their household composition (e.g. age, number of dependents, working age family members). For example, households’ landholdings are smallest in Chin State (0.7 ha on average) which has some of the highest levels of poverty and highest average household size.