Poverty rate down, says new survey

NAMIBIA’S population is now less poor than it was 12 years ago, according to the latest national household income survey.

The good news is that the country’s Gini coefficient has decreased from 0,7 to 0,6, although Namibia still has one of the highest income disparities in the world. The Gini coefficient is an internationally accepted measure of income inequality, which ranges from 0 – representing complete equality – to 1, which indicates total inequality.Results of the Namibia Household Income and Expenditure Survey (NHIES), which was released on Friday, show that households living in “severe poverty” have declined from 8,7 per cent to 4 per cent of the population.While 38 per cent of the country’s population was classified as poor in the first survey of 1993-94, this has dropped to only 28 per cent 12 years later – a big reduction of 10 per cent.The Omusati, Okavango, Oshikoto and Caprivi regions are the poorest in the country, according to the new NHIES survey.Households that spend 80 to 100 per cent of their income on food consumption are classified as “severely poor”, while the two per cent of households with the highest incomes spend a maximum of 40 per cent on food since they earn more.Launching the survey report, Mocks Shivute, Permanent Secretary at the National Planning Commission (NPC), said the results showed some improvement in the general welfare of the population.”Average per capita income in rural areas is at N$6 139 per annum compared to N$17 898 in urban centres.The Ohangwena Region has the lowest per capita income with N$4 304 while the highest is in Khomas with N$25 427 – what a disparity!” Shivute exclaimed.The NHIES was conducted over 12 months in 2003-04 by the Bureau of Statistics in the National Planning Commission (NPC) and was the second since Namibia’s Independence in 1990.A total of 10 920 households in all 13 regions were surveyed.Assistance came from the UN, Sweden and other development partners.Detailed questionnaires on household members and their finances were prepared by the Central Bureau of Statistics, with a record book where daily entries had to be made for 12 months by the selected households.They were instructed to record transactions item by item, including incomes and gifts given or received.About 90 per cent or 9 801 households responded.According to Simon Nhongo, UN resident co-ordinator in Namibia, the new survey results came just in time, as the Namibian Government was preparing its third development plan and implementing Vision 2030.”We need to ensure that all these results of the survey and data are thoroughly explored to assess the social and poverty impacts of potential policies in key areas [of] employment, income generation, HIV-AIDS, welfare of children and women,” he said.The Gini coefficient is an internationally accepted measure of income inequality, which ranges from 0 – representing complete equality – to 1, which indicates total inequality.Results of the Namibia Household Income and Expenditure Survey (NHIES), which was released on Friday, show that households living in “severe poverty” have declined from 8,7 per cent to 4 per cent of the population.While 38 per cent of the country’s population was classified as poor in the first survey of 1993-94, this has dropped to only 28 per cent 12 years later – a big reduction of 10 per cent.The Omusati, Okavango, Oshikoto and Caprivi regions are the poorest in the country, according to the new NHIES survey.Households that spend 80 to 100 per cent of their income on food consumption are classified as “severely poor”, while the two per cent of households with the highest incomes spend a maximum of 40 per cent on food since they earn more.Launching the survey report, Mocks Shivute, Permanent Secretary at the National Planning Commission (NPC), said the results showed some improvement in the general welfare of the population.”Average per capita income in rural areas is at N$6 139 per annum compared to N$17 898 in urban centres.The Ohangwena Region has the lowest per capita income with N$4 304 while the highest is in Khomas with N$25 427 – what a disparity!” Shivute exclaimed.The NHIES was conducted over 12 months in 2003-04 by the Bureau of Statistics in the National Planning Commission (NPC) and was the second since Namibia’s Independence in 1990.A total of 10 920 households in all 13 regions were surveyed.Assistance came from the UN, Sweden and other development partners.Detailed questionnaires on household members and their finances were prepared by the Central Bureau of Statistics, with a record book where daily entries had to be made for 12 months by the selected households.They were instructed to record transactions item by item, including incomes and gifts given or received.About 90 per cent or 9 801 households responded.According to Simon Nhongo, UN resident co-ordinator in Namibia, the new survey results came just in time, as the Namibian Government was preparing its third development plan and implementing Vision 2030.”We need to ensure that all these results of the survey and data are thoroughly explored to assess the social and poverty impacts of potential policies in key areas [of] employment, income generation, HIV-AIDS, welfare of children and women,” he said.