The percentage of people living below $1 per day declined slightly, but the percentage living below $2 per day increased from 25 to 30 percent of the population, due to increases in Egypt, Morocco, and Yemen. Poverty reduction is strongly linked with economic growth. Past high growth has been accompanied by significant poverty reduction—and sharp downturns have been accompanied by sharp increases in poverty. Recent data from Tunisia, however, suggest that the response of poverty reduction to growth may be declining, so faster growth will be needed to achieve similar poverty reductions to those in the past.