This immense decline and the regions lead on the global level have been mainly due to the poverty reduction in China and India, as these two countries alone have lifted 650 million people out of extreme poverty. The highest incidence of extreme poverty is recorded in South and South-West Asia (28.7 per cent in 2010), whereas the lowest is in North and Central Asia (1.0 per cent in 2011). It is noteworthy that, since 1990, East and North-East Asia and South-East Asia have recorded the fastest absolute reductions in poverty rates compared with those in other subregions.