Contents -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Abbreviations and Acronyms -- Executive Summary -- Chapter One: Income Poverty Trends and Patterns -- Data Availability -- Snapshot of Poverty in the 1980s -- Poverty Trends -- Trends in Inequality -- Poverty Levels from National Poverty Lines -- Factors Underlying Poverty Trends in the Middle East and North Africa -- Economic Vulnerability -- Poverty Characteristics: Evidence from National Poverty Lines -- Chapter Two: Trends in Human Development Indicators -- Regional Comparisons -- Country-Specific Performance -- Gender Dimensions of Human Development -- Chapter Three: Education and Poverty -- Education-Poverty Links -- Education Spending and Poverty Reduction -- Education Quality Considerations -- Chapter 4: Health and Poverty -- Health and Poverty: The Record in the Middle East and North Africa -- Determinants of Health Achievements in the Middle East and North Africa -- Health Challenges Arising from Demographic and Epidemiologic Transition -- Chapter 5: Safety Nets and the Poor -- Food Subsidies -- Energy Subsidies -- Cash Assistance Programs -- Public Works Programs -- Microfinance Programs -- Chapter 6: Sustaining the Gains in Poverty Reduction and Human Development -- Growth Strategy and Poverty Reduction -- Challenges for Human Development -- Strengthening Social Safety Nets -- Appendixes -- Appendix 1 Estimating Poverty Rates -- Appendix 2 GDP Per Capita (PPP)for the Middle East and North Africa Region and Comparator Countries, Selected Years, 1960-200 -- Appendix 3 Human Development Statistics: Selected Years -- List of Tables -- Table 1.1 Household Survey Years by Middle Eastern and North African Country -- Table 1.2 Poverty Head Count Ratios at 1/Day Line, 1984-91 -- Table 1.3 Poverty Head Count Ratios at 2/Day Line, 1984-91.

Table 1.4 Comparison of Poverty Estimates Using International and National Poverty Lines -- Table 1.5 Number of Poor People at Alternative Poverty Lines, 1987 and 2001 -- Table 2.1 Human Development in the Middle East and North Africa, Selected Years, 1960-2000 -- Table 3.1 Rates of Return on Schooling for Males in Selected Countries, Selected Years -- Table 3.2 Country-Specific Patterns of Public Education Spending, Selected Years, 1970-2000 -- Table 3.3 Expenditure Shares on Tertiary Education, Selected Years, 1980-2000 -- Table 3.4 Public Expenditure Per Tertiary Student, Selected Years, 1980-2002 -- Table 3.5 Share of Private School Enrollments by Level of Education -- Table 3.6 Trends in Pupil-Teacher Ratios and Repetition Rates -- Table 3.7 2003 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study Math Scores -- Table 4.1 Health Expenditures in 2002 -- Table 5.1 Spending on Selected Social Safety Net Programs, Late 1990s -- Table 5.2 Food Subsidy Costs, Selected Years, 1989-99 -- Table 5.3 Incidence of Food Subsidy Programs -- Table 5.4 Program Performance in Targeting the Poor in Morocco -- Table 5.5 Summary Statistics of Microfinance Indicators, 2003 -- Table 6.1 Poverty Forecasts at Alternative Economic Growth Rates -- Table A.1 Population in the Middle East and North Africa, Selected Years, 1960-2004 -- Table A.2 Life Expectancy at Birth, Total Population, Selected Years, 1960-2003 -- Table A.3 Life Expectancy at Birth, Female, Selected Years, 1960-2003 -- Table A.4 Mortality Rate for Children under Five Years of Age, Selected Years, 1960-2003 -- Table A.5 Adult Male and Female Literacy, Selected Years, 1970-2002 -- Table A.6 Adult Female Literacy, Selected Years, 1970-2002 -- Table A.7 Average Years of Schooling, Total Population Age 15 Years and Older, Selected Years 1960-2000.

Table A.8 Average Years of Schooling, Females Age 15 Years and Older, Selected Years 1960-2000 -- Table A.9 Public Expenditure on Education, Selected Years, 1970-2002 -- Table A.10 Gross Primary School Enrollment, Total Population,Selected Years, 1970-2002 -- Table A.11 Gross Female Primary School Enrollment, Selected Years, 1970-2002 -- Table A.12 Gross Secondary School Enrollment, Total Population, Selected Years 1970-2002 -- Table A.13 Gross Female Secondary School Enrollment, Selected Years, 1970-2002 -- Table A.14 Goal 1: Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger -- Table A.15 Goal 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education -- Table A.16 Goal 3: Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women -- Table A.17 Goal 4: Reduce Child Mortality -- Table A.18 Goal 5: Improve Maternal Health -- T ble A.19 Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria, and Tuberculosis -- T ble A.20 Goal 7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability -- Table A.21 Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development -- List of Figures -- Figure 1.1 Comparisons of Poverty Rates among Developing Regions at 2/Day Line, 1990-91 -- Figure 1.2 Regional Poverty Trends, 1987-2001 -- Figure 1.3 Country-Specific Poverty Trends at 2/Day Line, 1987-2001 -- Figure 1.4 Comparative Trends in Regional Poverty at 2/Day Line, 1987-2001 -- Figure 1.5 Trends in Inequality, 1965-2000 -- Figure 1.6 Regional Trends in GDP per Capita, 1965-2000 -- Figure 1.7 Worker Remittances as a Share of GDP, 1990-2003 -- Figure 1.8 Poverty Incidence at Alternative Poverty Lines, Late 1990s -- Figure 1.9 Rural Versus Urban Poverty Rates, Late 1990s -- Figure 1.10 Poverty Incidence by Region in Tunisia, 1990 and 2000 -- Figure 1.11 Poverty and Employment in the Arab Republic of Egypt, 1999/2000 -- Figure 1.12 Public and Private Transfers as a Proportion of Expenditures in the Republic of Yemen.

Figure 1.13 Ratio of Poor Female-Headed to Male-Headed Households by Region in the Arab Republic of Egypt, 1999-2000 -- Figure 2.1 Comparative Trends in Human Development Indicators, 1960-2000 -- Figure 2.2 Per Capita GDP Trajectories, 1960-2000 -- Figure 2.3 Comparative Performance in Mean Years of Education, 2000 -- Figure 2.4 Comparative Performance in Mean Years of Female Education, 2000 -- Figure 2.5 Comparative Performance in Mortality among Children Less than 5 Years of Age, 2000 -- Figure 2.6 Comparative Performance in Life Expectancy, 2000 -- Figure 2.7 Trends in Female Literacy -- Figure 2.8 Trends in Female Life Expectancy -- Figure 2.9 Trends in Fertility -- Figure 2.10 Trends in Female Labor Force Participation -- Figure 3.1 Trends in Gross Enrollments in the Middle East and North Africa Region, 1970-2000 -- Figure 3.2 Poverty and Education Attainment in Selected Countries -- Figure 3.3 Distribution of Jobseekers by Level of Education -- Figure 3.4 Trends in Education Spending Per Capita, 1960-2000 -- Figure 3.5 Benefit Incidence of Public Education Spending: Jordan, 2002 -- Figure 4.1 Country-Specific Trends in Mortality among Children Less than 5 Years of Age, 1960-2000 -- Figure 4.2 Health Outcome Inequalities in Selected Countries -- Figure 4.3 Trends in Deaths, by Cause, in the MENA Region -- Figure 5.1 Incidence of Energy Subsidies in the Islamic Republic of Iran -- Figure 5.2 Incidence of Petroleum Subsidies in the Arab Republic of Egypt, 2004 -- List of Boxes -- Box 1.1 Availability of Poverty Data in the Middle East and North Africa Region -- Box 1.2 Poverty in Iraq, Syria, and West Bank/Gaza -- Box 3.1 The Education Enhancement Program in Egypt -- Box 4.1 Primary Health Care and the Rural Poor in the Islamic Republic of Iran -- Box 4.2 Health Expenditures and Outcomes in Selected Middle Eastern and North African Countries.

Box 5.1 Consumer Food Subsidy Programs in the Middle East and North Africa -- Box 5.2 Main Cash Transfer Programs in the Middle East and North Africa -- Bibliography.