a poverty profile for sierra leone kristen himelein world bank june 26, 2013
DESCRIPTION
3 o Poverty has decreased between 2003 and 2011, but more than half of the population is still below the poverty line. o Led by strong growth in rural areas, yet rural poverty is still higher than urban poverty. o Inequality has decreased. o Sierra Leone continues to be a very young and predominantly rural and agricultural country. o Improvements in indicators have been uneven over this period, and many people, particularly those in remote areas, have difficulty accessing public services.TRANSCRIPT
A POVERTY PROFILE FOR SIERRA LEONE
Kristen HimeleinWorld BankJune 26, 2013
Data & Analysis
2
o The data on which this profile is based are the 2003 and 2011 rounds of the Sierra Leone Integrated Household Survey (SLIHS) conducted by Statistics Sierra Leone (SSL).
o This analytic work was produced in collaboration between SSL and the World Bank.
o The forthcoming work to follow will include more detailed analysis proposed on health, education, agriculture, labor, and the impact of changes in food and fuel prices.
Main Findings
3
o Poverty has decreased between 2003 and 2011, but more than half of the population is still below the poverty line.
o Led by strong growth in rural areas, yet rural poverty is still higher than urban poverty.
o Inequality has decreased.o Sierra Leone continues to be a very young and
predominantly rural and agricultural country.o Improvements in indicators have been uneven over
this period, and many people, particularly those in remote areas, have difficulty accessing public services.
Overall Poverty
4
Nationally, poverty has decreased from 66.4 to 52.9 percent between 2003 and 2011 – a
reduction of more than 10 percent.
Poverty by Region
5
o Poverty has decreased in all regions except the Western region:
Region 2003 2011 % changeEastern 86.0 61.3 -28.8%Northern 80.6 61.0 -24.3%Southern 64.1 55.4 -13.6%Western 20.7 28.0 35.1%
Poverty by Location
6
o Poverty has also decreased overall in both rural and urban areas, even though it increased in Freetown:
2003 2011 % changeRural 78.7 66.1 -16.0%Freetown 13.6 20.7 52.3%Other Urban 70.9 39.5 -44.3%
Poverty by District (2011)
7
Different Districts had Different Types of Poverty
8
Headcount Food ExtremeKailahun 60.9 50.1 12.0Kenema 61.6 50.0 17.9Kono 61.3 52.9 19.7Bombali 57.9 58.3 24.8Kambia 53.9 42.1 6.6Koinadugu 54.3 38.0 10.2Port Loko 59.9 46.4 20.3Tonkolili 76.4 64.4 10.8Bo 50.7 52.4 16.3Bonthe 51.4 35.5 8.1Moyamba 70.8 51.8 19.7Pujehun 54.1 47.3 16.5Western rural 57.1 57.0 15.9Western urban 20.7 32.9 3.3
What is going on in Freetown?
9
o Poverty increased 52 percent in the city of Freetown and 35 percent overall in the Western region.
o A possible explanation is that many poor people have moved from the countryside to the Freetown.• Increase in voting age population
o WB and SSL are collaborating on future work to further explore these issues.
Agenda for Prosperity
10
o At the same pace as seen between 2003 and 2011, poverty will be 23% in 2030.
o To meet AfP goals, per capita growth needs to increase from 1.2 to 4.8% annually, which means overall GDP must grow around 9% and growth must remain “pro-poor.”
20112013
20152017
20192021
20232025
20272029
0.0
5.0
10.0
15.0
20.0
25.0
30.0
35.0
40.0
45.0
50.0
Current Growth Agenda for Prosperity
Inequality
11
o Overall from 2003 to 2011, national inequality levels have decreased. The Gini coefficient decreased from 0.39 in 2003 to 0.32 in 2011.
o Inequality decreased in both Freetown and rural areas, but increased in urban areas outside of Freetown.
o The overall decrease in inequality can largely be attributed to measured fall in prosperity in Freetown, and by rural areas catching up with urban areas generally.
Inequality
12
Demographics
13
o Despite a recent sharp fall in the fertility rate, Sierra Leone remains a very young country and will face demographic challenges in coming years.
Population Growth (% annual) Population Pyramid
Under 55 to 9
10 to 1415 to 1920 to 2425 to 2930 to 3435 to 3940 to 4445 to 4950 to 5455 to 5960 to 6465 to 6970 to 7475 to 7980 to 8485 to 89
90+
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 % of Population of Sierra Leone 2003
Males Females
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 20110
1
2
3
4
5
6
Poverty & Gender
14
o In urban areas, male and female headed households are equally likely to be poor, but in rural areas, female headed households are less likely to be poor.
overall urban rural0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
Male Female
Pove
rty
Inci
denc
e
Agriculture
15
o Agriculture remains the dominant livelihood throughout the majority of Sierra Leone.
o In 52.4 percent of households, the head listed agriculture as their main occupation. In rural areas, this percentage was 78.3 percent.
o 55.5 percent of male-headed households versus 44.1 percent of female-headed households listed agriculture as their main occupation.
o With the exception of Western, Kono, Kenema, and Bo districts, agriculture remains the main activity for household heads throughout the country.
Agriculture
16
Poverty & Agriculture
17
o Households in which agriculture is the primary occupation of the household head are poorer than other occupations.
o The poverty headcount for agricultural households showed an 18.5 percent decrease from 74.6 in 2003 to 60.8 in 2011, while other households showed a 25.5 percent decrease from 41.2 to 30.7 percent.
Poverty & Education
18
o In 2011, 56 percent of adults over the age of 15 had never attended formal school.
o Households with lower levels of education of the head were more likely to be poor.
no education some or complete primary some or complete junior school
some or complete secondary
post-secondary0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
2003 2011
Education of Household Head
Pove
rty
Incid
ence
Education
19
Current enrollment indicators show mixed results.
2003 2011
100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100% attending
20191817161514131211109876
Age
2003 vs 2011 Primary Junior Secondary Post - Secondary
Education
20
Net primary enrollment
Gender & Education
21
Gender parity in education has been achieved for younger children, but girls’ enrollment rates fall off sharply when women enter childbearing years.
Boys Girls
100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100% attending
20191817161514131211109876
Age
Boys vs Girls Primary Junior Secondary Post - Secondary
Location & Education
22
Children in urban areas go to school earlier, stay in school longer, and are more likely to reach higher levels of education.
Urban Rural
100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100% attending
20191817161514131211109876
Age
Urban vs Rural Primary Junior Secondary Post-Secondary
Health
23
1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4
rura
l
Free
tow
n
othe
r
quintile age location
Hospital Maternity Other At home
o Those in urban areas and those in the wealthier quintiles of consumption were more likely to be born in modern facilities.
o These numbers have also increased for younger children, particularly since the passage of the Free Health Care Initiative.
Distance to Services
24
o Access to public services varies by service and location. While nearly all households have a nearby primary school, rural areas have to travel much greater distances to reach a secondary school.
Rural Freetown Other urban Rural Freetown Other urbanPrimary School Secondary School
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
0-14 minutes 15-29 minutes 30-44 minutes45-59 minutes 60-179 minutes Over 180 minutes
Electricity
25
o Most of Sierra Leone was in the dark.
Conclusions
26
o Poverty and inequality have gone down in Sierra Leone in the post-war period, but growth rates must increase further to meet AfP targets.
o The population was young and still predominantly agricultural.
o The government faces challenges with delivering services, particularly to rural and remote populations.