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The aim of this paper is to evaluate economic growth rates required in different regions of the world in order to reach the millennium development goal (MDG) of halving global poverty rates by 2015. The current situation of poverty is briefly presented in the first part of the paper, while the second part investigates the links between economic growth, inequality, and poverty reduction. By studying 99 episodes of growth or economic recession, we show that the greater the initial inequality, the lower the elasticity of poverty relative to growth, and the higher the initial economic development, the higher the elasticity. Based on these results, we estimate that the per capita growth rate required to reach the MDGs in African, Asian, and Latin American countries is around 50%, but much lower for East European countries and the Middle East.