ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the extent of poverty between countries and regions in South East Asia. It examines the data base available for the study of poverty in South East Asia. All the countries of South East Asia publish national income accounts, based on the United Nations System of National Accounts, which means that they include estimates of Gross National Product by type of expenditure. Of the major countries in South East Asia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines have all carried out a series of household income and expenditure studies, using sample survey techniques. Many of the poverty studies which have been carried out in South East Asia have also investigated spatial variations in the incidence of poverty. That the various countries of South East Asia are characterised by large disparities in regional income is well known. Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand have all published regional gross domestic product estimates broken down by sector.
