# 1437: poorest countries : Lyall comments

[Robert Corbett <bcorbett@netcom.com>]

From: J. David Lyall <dlyall@cruzio.com>

I am wondering how the "poorest country" is determined.
Haiti is certainly poor on average. I have never visited
any South American countries, but a co-worker of mine
married a Bolivian woman (Croatian Ustashi refugee stock)
and says that the Andean Indians are desperately poor.
The Indios are what, 80% of the population?

A rural policeman makes $30 US per month in Bolivia.
How does that compare with a Haitian country gendarme?
About 1/3 of the Haitian pay?

What figures do they use to justify this "poorest country in the
Americas"
rubric. What does "rubric" mean?

----
J. David Lyall
     [ Jedidiah Daudi in full ki-swahili ]
http://members.cruzio.com/~dlyall/