In March 2013, the poor population of West Sulawesi was 154.01 thousand (12.30 percent) or down 6.5 thousand (4.07 percent) compared to the poor population in September 2012 which reached 160.6 thousand people.
The percentage of poor people decreased by 0.71 percentage point from 13.01 percent in September 2012 to 12.30 percent in March 2013.
During September 2012 - March 2013, the number and percentage of poor people in urban and rural areas decreased. For urban areas, 1.9 thousand people were reduced (0.84 percent) and rural areas were reduced by 4.6 thousand people (0.65 percent).
The contribution of food commodities to the Poverty Line is greater than the contribution of non-food commodities (housing, clothing, education, and health). In March 2013, the contribution of the Food Poverty Line to the Poverty Line amounted to 79.33 percent. This figure (79.33 percent) is not much different from September 2012 which reached 80.90 percent.
In March 2013, there were 6 food commodities that contributed the most to the value of the Poverty Line in urban and rural areas, namely rice, filter clove cigarettes, tuna / cakalang, sugar, coconut oil and instant noodles. Meanwhile, the two non-food commodities which contributed the most to the value of the Poverty Line both urban and rural, namely the cost of housing and education.
During September 2012 - March 2013, the Poverty Depth Index (P1) and the Poverty Severity Index (P2) showed an increase. This indicates that the average expenditure of the poor tends to increasingly move away from the Poverty Line and the disparity in expenditure among the poor itself is also increasing.
