Poverty lines
Estimating Poverty in Burundi
How has civil war changed Burundi's poverty rate?
Authors:
T. Bundervoet
Publisher:
Households in Conflict Network , 2006
Figures from the early 1990s show that Burundi suffered a poverty rate in line with average rates for Sub-Saharan Africa. A decade on, and the debilitating effects of civil war had made their mark on the country's development prospects. With very poor infrastructure, economic deterioration and civil instability, Burundi entered the second millennium as one of the poorest nations on earth.
Questioning the usefulness of common poverty measures, this paper offers a thorough analysis of poverty in Burundi. This is done by estimating an absolute poverty line based on the actually observed behaviour of rural and urban households.
As a measure of welfare, the paper focuses exclusively on household private consumption, as it is believed to be more closely related to a person's wellbeing than any other single indicator of welfare. This helps highlight the regional distribution of poverty and inequality.
Using this methodology, the author finds a poverty incidence of 71.5% in rural areas and 36.5% in Bujumbura. Significant inequality can also be identified.
In analysing the main correlates and determinants of rural poverty, the paper points to the very low levels of education and the intensity of the civil war as key factors explaining the high incidence of rural poverty.
