Speaking on the Long Form podcast hosted by Sanny Ntayombya, Murenzi defended the recent findings from the 7th Integrated Household and Living Conditions Survey (EICV7), highlighting a remarkable 12.4% reduction in poverty, while also rubbishing past accusations of data manipulation against Rwanda.<\/p>\n
The EICV7 survey, released on Wednesday, April 16, revealed that Rwanda\u2019s poverty rate dropped from 39.8% in 2017 to 27.4% in 2024, lifting approximately 1.5 million people out of poverty over seven years. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s equivalent to 1.5 million people coming out of poverty within a period of seven years,\u201d Murenzi said, describing the reduction as a \u201csurprise\u201d given the stagnation in poverty levels between 2014 and 2017, when the rate only fell from 39.1% to 38.2%. <\/p>\n
He attributed the progress to cumulative government efforts and methodological updates, including capturing food consumed outside homes, such as through school feeding programs, and adjusting the calorie threshold for extreme poverty from 2,500 to 2,400 calories per day.<\/p>\n
Murenzi strongly defended NISR\u2019s data integrity, addressing a 2019 Financial Times article that accused Rwanda of misrepresenting poverty statistics. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t give weight to such criticism because of who they are,\u201d he stated, arguing that critics like the Financial Times lack the statistical expertise of authoritative institutions like the World Bank, Iinternatinal Monetary Fund (IMF), and United Nations (UN) Statistics Division, all of which validate NISR\u2019s methodologies. <\/p>\n
He stressed Rwanda\u2019s adherence to international standards, noting, \u201cWhat we do across various statistics… are things done following international standards practices.\u201d <\/p>\n
Murenzi also refuted claims of World Bank dissent, highlighting ongoing collaboration, with a senior World Bank economist present at the EICV7 launch to endorse the findings.<\/p>\n
The NISR chief underscored the institute\u2019s independence, denying any political pressure to manipulate data. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no pressure for me because I\u2019m not the one implementing,\u201d he said, explaining that NISR\u2019s role is to measure, not implement, policies. <\/p>\n
He pointed to NISR\u2019s transparency in reporting unfavourable trends, such as unemployment rising to 21% during COVID, negative GDP growth, and inflation peaking at 20% in 2022. <\/p>\n
Murenzi also cited NISR\u2019s rigorous approach to evaluating local government performance (Imihigo), using evidence-based checks like household sampling and site visits to counter inflated claims.<\/p>\n
Beyond poverty, the EICV7 highlighted Rwanda\u2019s inequality challenges, with a national Gini coefficient of 0.37 indicating moderate inequality, while Kigali\u2019s 0.44 reflects a higher wealth gap. <\/p>\n
\u201cIn Kigali… you have a concentration of those in the country who are well off,\u201d Murenzi explained, noting that provinces show lower inequality (0.27\u20130.3) due to smaller disparities. <\/p>\n
He clarified that this does not mean provinces are uniformly poor, but rather that wealth gaps are less pronounced outside the capital.<\/p>\n
Murenzi also addressed Rwanda\u2019s Vision 2035 goal of achieving upper-middle-income status, requiring a GDP per capita of approximately $4,000 by 2035. Acknowledging the ambition, he noted that it demands annual growth of around 12%, far exceeding recent trends. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no ambiguity that this ambition requires another change in the way things are done,\u201d he said, citing government-wide efforts to enhance efficiency and evidence-based policymaking. <\/p>\n
He envisioned an expanded role for NISR, with analysts working directly with ministries like Agriculture to optimise interventions. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe are saying our role is going to include sending our analysts to work with ministries… to say in your interventions how is evidence,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
On poverty metrics, Murenzi clarified why Rwanda\u2019s poverty line (~560,000 RWF\/year, or ~$400 at 1,400 RWF\/USD) differs from the World Bank\u2019s $2.15\/day global benchmark. <\/p>\n
\u201cEvery country has its poverty line because it is reflecting the context the cost of living,\u201d he said, noting that Rwanda\u2019s line accounts for local costs, unlike the World Bank\u2019s standardized measure for cross-country comparisons. <\/p>\n
The extreme poverty threshold, set at 2,400 calories per day, aligns with World Food Programme standards, reflecting Rwanda\u2019s evolving economic activities from subsistence farming to mixed sectors.<\/p>\n
Murenzi emphasised data accessibility, confirming that the EICV7 report and anonymised raw data are available on NISR\u2019s website. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe report is already on our website. We are already tweeting it and sharing a link,\u201d he said, adding that the data\u2019s transparency allows independent verification. <\/p>\n
Watch the full interview below:
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