Once considered among the most promising economies in Southeast Asia with a growing middle class, Myanmar is now suffering from soaring levels of poverty as a devastating civil war drives tens of millions further into destitution, according to a new United Nations report. Almost half of Myanmar’s population of 54 million is below the poverty line, with 49.7% of people living on less than 76 US cents a day — a figure that has doubled since 2017, researchers with the UN Development Program (UNDP) found. Three years after the military seized power in a coup, the economic situation in the country has rapidly deteriorated to a point where the middle class is at risk of being wiped out and families are forced to cut back on food, health and education due to soaring inflation, the report found. The researchers paint an alarming picture where an additional 25% of people in Myanmar were…
