Press Release
Mogadishu, Wednesday August 30, 2023. SNBS launches Poverty and Inequality Report that provides valuable insights into the current state of poverty across Somalia. The poverty statistics were calculated based on the Somali Integrated Household Budget Survey data collected in 2022.
The findings indicate that 54.4 percent of the Somali population live below the poverty line, as they consume less than $2.06 per person day. The combined poverty line for food and non-food basic needs shows that the annual expenditure per person is $754 and $2.06 daily.
The report also highlights the main sources of food consumption, with purchases accounting for 93 percent of total food consumed, followed by own production and in-kind at 2.9 percent each. Furthermore, the report reveals that poverty is highest among the nomadic population at 78.4 percent, followed by the rural population at 65.5 percent, and lowest in urban areas at 46.1 percent. However, since population is denser in urban areas, there are more poor people in urban areas than in rural and nomadic areas which are sparsely populated.
With respect to inequality, the 90-10 quantile ratio shows that per-capita consumption is 4.96 times larger at the 90th percentile compared to the 10th percentile. The Gini index, a measure of inequality, was found to be 35.2 nationally in 2022. It was highest among nomadic population at 41.7, followed by urban areas at 33.6, and lowest in rural areas at 31.9.
The report also draws nexus between poverty and household size, indicating that poverty incidence increases with increase in household sizes. For instance, households with 1—3 members have a poverty incidence of 24.3 percent, while households with 10 or more members have the highest poverty incidence at 63.4 percent. Likewise, poverty declines with rise in literacy rate. Approximately 56.4 percent of households whose heads had no formal education live in poverty, compared to about 9.6 percent of those living in households headed by people with a higher education.
For more details, SNBS encourage you to read the full report https://nbs.gov.so/somalia-poverty-report2023/. It provides a comprehensive analysis of poverty and inequality in Somalia and offers valuable insights for policymakers and development practitioners.
