Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- From 2000 to 2020, the poverty rate in Uzbekistan fell from 24% to 11.5%, resulting in 2.2 million people leaving this category, according to a UN report on the country’s poverty index for 2023.

Currently, about 18.4% of the adult population, or 4.2 million people, live below the poverty line.

Indicators of education (13.7%), food security (11.7%) and the informal employment sector (11.5%) turned out to be key in creating the poverty index.

Among the worst-performing sectors that define poverty segments of the population are sanitation (14%), having a bank account (13.9%), education (13.2%) and fuel (13%).

According to the UN report, the largest share of the poor population is registered in Karakalpakstan (29.9%), Namangan region (27.5%) and Tashkent region (26.5%).

In remote and rural areas, the poverty rate is significantly higher compared to large cities - 23.2% versus 13.9%.