table ii also shows that only seven subsaharan african countries had poverty rates below per cent in up from two cote d ivoire and gabon in in general countries with extremely high poverty levels also trail behind in respect of a number of demographic and social indicators such as life expectancy at birth infant mortality and childrens school enrolment and completion rates although these declines are encouraging they still leave a large proportion of the total population living in extreme poverty and all countries face major challenges in meeting the millennium development goal target