Economy
One million Kenyans escape from poverty
Thursday 08 June 2023
Kaketiti village in East Turkana benefits from relief items from the Kenya Red Cross. photo | Sami Lotta | NMG
Slightly more than a million Kenyans escaped poverty in 2021 as the economy recovers from the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic that has put many workers out of work.
A new report on poverty from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) showed that there were 19.1 million Kenyans who lived below the poverty line in 2021, down from 20.9 million in 2020, indicating a recovery in the economy.
This means that 38.6 percent of citizens live below the poverty line, with the total per capita consumption of less than 3,947 shillings per month in rural areas and less than 7,193 shillings per month in urban areas.
Also read: Why is it so hard to live on 46,355 shillings a month in Nairobi
In 2021, the overall poverty rate was 38.6 percent, compared to 36.1 percent in 2015/16. However, this is a decrease compared to the poverty rate of 42.9 percent in 2020. This indicates that 19.1 million individuals were poor in 2021, the Minister for the National Treasury, Prof. Nguguna Ndongo, said Thursday.
is reading: Half a million Kenyans have risen out of extreme poverty
Although the rebound in the economy has seen those who lost their jobs in 2020 return to gainful employment, real wages, adjusted for inflation, will take longer to recover, analysts say.
poverty in rural areas
According to a survey by KNBS, most of the poor live in rural areas at 13.7 million compared to 5.4 people living below the poverty line in urban areas such as Nairobi and Mombasa.
About 15.1 million Kenyans cannot put food on the table, as poverty rates in 2021 show that a third of Kenyan households are food poor.
A person is considered to be food poor if their consumption is less than 2,331 shillings per month in rural areas and 2,905 shillings per month in urban areas.
Also read: Why poor and elderly Kenyans are missing out on welfare salaries
President William Ruto’s administration, which took office in September last year, has pledged to alleviate poverty through job creation.
Through the Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), Kenya’s Kwanzaa government has said it will boost food security by investing in large-scale irrigation and providing cheap fertilizers to farmers to reduce the cost of production.
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