Kenya ranked 8th poorest country in the world — and the poverty escape rate is worrying

david nganga

June 28, 2018 1:18 PM

At least 14.7 million people are very poor as they consume less than $1.90 (Sh197) per day.

Kenya has been ranked eighth globally and sixth in Africa among countries with the largest number of people living in extreme poverty.

In a new report by Vienna-based World Clock Report, at least 29 per cent (14.7 million) of the 49,684,304 people are very poor as they consume less than $1.90 (Sh197) per day.

This is a 33 per cent increase from last year when the report said that about 11 million Kenyans were living in poverty.

The country's poverty escape rate stands at 0.5 people per minute, putting at risk the United Nation's drive to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

UN’s SDGs aim at reducing the number of people living in extreme poverty by 2030.

Devolution

Official data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KEBS) shows that the proportion of Kenyans living in poverty has fallen by 10.5 percentage points in a decade to 36.1 per cent thanks to economic expansion and devolution of resources to local authorities.

Nigeria is the world's poverty capital as 86.9 million people are currently living in extreme poverty.

India follows closely with about 71.5 million people living in poverty, according to the researchers.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (60.9 million), Ethiopia (23.9 million), Tanzania (19.9 million), Mozambique (17.8 million people) and Uganda (14.2 million) are among other African nations that made it to the top 10 world's poverty list ranking.

david nganga