The details were added (the first version was posted at 6:27 p.m.)
Azerbaijan, Baku, Oct. 21 / Trend A. Akhundov /
Social expenditures of Azerbaijan's state budget increased by more than 8 times over the last ten years, chairman of the parliamentary committee on economic policy Ziyad Samadzade said at a conference on "Measures on poverty reduction in Azerbaijan and human rights protection" on Friday.
"Azerbaijan holds one of the leading positions in the world on the dynamics of this index growth," Samadzade said.
He said that about 13-14 percent of GDP were provided at the expense of state budget at the beginning of the century. The figure is 32-33 percent now.
"Azerbaijan corresponds to international standards on this index," he said. The growth of this share means that state spending increases on social sectors, education, healthcare and other spheres."
He said that this figure will hit 40 percent next year.
He also stressed that economic indices in separate regions of the country greatly vary.
"Removing this gap is one of our biggest challenges," he said. It is necessary to focus on the targeted state social aid to achieve this objective."
He said that the situation with the Gini coefficient, which shows the difference between the rich and the poor is acceptable in Azerbaijan. However, it is necessary to continue conducting measures to mitigate them.
"The poverty level to the amount of 9 percent is a good index," he said. The proper socio-economic policy plays an important role in the decline of this index in Azerbaijan."
Deputy Minister of Economic Development Niyazi Safarov said that the poverty level in Azerbaijan decreased from 49 percent in 2001 to 9.1 percent in 2010.
"More than 40,000 enterprises were opened in Azerbaijan in 2004-2010," he said. The incomes increased by 4.5 times."