Rwandans 3rd Poorest in Region–Report

{New and modern structures emerging in Kigali city/photo: Kakwerere James}

{{Rwandan People are third poorest people in East Africa, according to the Global Monitoring Report 2013 released by the World Bank and the International Monetary.}}

Statistics from the report indicate that Rwanda’s head count stands at 63.17% subject to the new poverty cut-off point of US$1.25 per person.

The poverty scoring is based on the number of people living below US$ 1.25 per day. However, previous studies have used US$1 per day but that has since been replaced by a much higher figure (US$1.25).

The report ranks Ugandans as the richest in the region with a score of poverty head count at 38.01% .

Kenyans are in the the second position despite having the largest economy in the region, they are poorer than Ugandans. Kenya’s poverty head count stands at 43.37%.

Meanwhile Tanzania stands at 67.87% based on the latest available data.

Burundi falls in the last position with the highest levels of poverty in the region owing to the recent political cirisis in the largely subsistence agriculture economy.

The poverty head count for Burundi stands at 81.32% showing how war has affected the livelihoods of in the agriculture-rich nation.

Burundi and neighbouring Tanzania therefore have the largest proportion of poor people among the members of the East African Community.

According to the report, sub-Saharan Africa has lagged behind in attaining the millennium development goals (MDGs), including halving poverty levels.

“In 1990, with poverty rates of about 55%, sub-Saharan Africa and East Asia were at the same starting position for MDG (and intention) to halve the number of people in extreme poverty,” the report reads.

“By 2010, East Asia made spectacular progress and reduced extreme poverty rate to 12% compared to sub-Saharan Africa which still had a poverty rate of 48%.”

The report suggested that growth of town dwellers helps to reduce poverty. In Africa urbanisation has increased from 30% of the population in 1980 to 50% in 2011.

“Urbanisation helps pull people out of poverty and advances progress towards the MDGs, but, if not managed well, it can also lead to burgeoning growth of slums, pollution, and crime,” says the report.