in contrast several of the countries that have made most progress in reducing extreme poverty nationwide are also those that have made this a priority in rural areas for example brazil chile and costa rica which have already met the first mdg target or are very close to doing so display progress rates in rural areas that are a similar or superior to those in urban zones this result suggests that prioritizing progress among the country s most backward groups can be a viable strategy when combined with pursuit of a general improvement in living standards see figure