In Brazil, Peru and Uruguay (data for urban areas), the poverty rate fell by at least three percentage points, in Costa Rica and Paraguay it declined by more than two points, and in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and Panama it dropped by around one percentage point. Only in Mexico did the situation worsen, as the poverty rate rose by 3.1 percentage points between 2006 and 2008, reflecting the first effects of the economic crisis that began late in 2008 (see figure 1.2). For their part, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico and Panama posted increases of between 1.4 and 2.5 percentage points, while Costa Rica and Uruguay recorded slight increases. In Colombia, indigence increased by 2.7 percentage points between 2005 and 2008, which is the equivalent of a 0.9-point annual increase. Because ECLAC has not finished processing the new surveys, the data for 2008 have been preliminarily estimated by applying the percentage variations implied in the figures officially published by the country for 2005 (as estimated by ECLAC). All countries in the region reported poverty rates that, for the first time, were lower than those of 2002.