- 123 - 21. In this general context, the United States invasion of 20 December 1989 caused the destruction of hundreds of dwellings in two of the most heavily populated districts of the capital, thus worsening the already critical housing problem. 22. During the period 1990-1993, the average annual growth rate was, however, about 8 per cent and real per capita income was 6.3 per cent, with growth taking place primarily in the services sector and in the capital and the Canal Zone. Macroeconomic indicators show that the national economy was making a good recovery on the whole but, as the Government notes, the distribution of its benefits did not make it possible to eliminate or, in most cases, even to remedy existing deep-rooted structural inequalities which are reflected mainly in the level and distribution of income, as well as in differentiated access to public services. 23. From the political and geographical point of view, 48 per cent of the country’s corregimientos 1/ have a per capita income that is lower than the cost of the basic food basket in Panama City (195.16 balboas 2/ per month) and, in 84 per cent of the corregimientos, income is lower than the "expanded food basket". 24. The unemployment rate is still high. In 1989, it stood at 16.3 per cent for the entire territory, falling to 12.9 per cent in 1993. A large part of the population is underemployed. The result has been a drop in the earnings of the poorest groups and a deterioration in the real wages of workers in private enterprise. Housing situation 25. The housing shortage is unanimously recognized, both by the Government and by non-governmental organizations and international agencies. According to sources, it stands at between 200,000 and 250,000 dwellings. For example, an article in the newspaper La Prensa of 14 October 1994 reported the need for 240,000 dwellings, 60 per cent of them in Panama City and Colón. The Ministry of Housing, for its part, estimates that, in 1993, there was a shortage of 195,244 dwellings, 48 per cent of that amount in the province of Panama. 3/ 26. The average number of occupants per dwelling is 4.4 for the entire territory, and 24 per cent of dwellings have only one room. Conditions of habitability are often quite dramatic: 18.5 per cent of dwellings have dirt floors, 16.3 per cent have no drinking-water, and these figures are higher in the poorest provinces in the country (Bocas del Toro, Chiriquí, San Blas and Veraguas). Health services are lacking in 44 per cent of cases and electricity is also in short supply. In many districts, access roads are nearly impracticable and workplaces and schools are far away from dwellings. 27. At the institutional level, three agencies are involved mainly in the housing and urban development sector: the Ministry of Housing, the National Mortgage Bank and the Savings Bank. 28. An Act of 25 January 1993 set up the Ministry of Housing, which defines and coordinates national housing policy, particularly in respect of housing projects for low-income population groups. The National Mortgage Bank