Poverty & Equity Brief October 2024 BURKINA FASO The national poverty rate increased 1.8 percentage points from 41.4 percent in 2018/19 to 43.2 percent in 2021/22, with a dramatic increase in the Sahel region. Poverty rates in the Sahel region (which accounts for over 40 percent of recorded insecurity-related casualties in 2022) increased dramatically from 44.2 to 76.1 percent, becoming by far the poorest region. Poverty increased 4.3 percentage points in Ouagadougou (from 2.9 to 7.2 percent), compared to a 2.1 percentage point increase in other urban areas (22.4 to 24.5 percent) and 1.6 percentage points in rural areas (51.1 to 52.7 percent). These official numbers may somewhat underestimate poverty given the difficulty in sampling IDPs (internally displaced persons), who make up almost 10 percent of the population. The increase in poverty in urban areas was most likely driven by high inflation, especially food price inflation. For the poor in Ouagadougou and other urban areas, food purchases account for 43 and 36 percent of total consumption, respectively, while this is only 29 percent for the poor in rural areas who also rely on their own production. Despite this, poverty remains much higher in rural areas where almost 90 percent of the poor live. The national Gini index fell from 38.6 to 36.1. The conflict in Burkina Faso continues, with similar numbers of causalities in 2024 as in 2023. The humanitarian situation in Burkina Faso remains critical, with over two million people internally displaced from March 2023. The presence of IDPs causes additional strain on host communities, both in terms of food supplies and critical infrastructure. Furthermore, four million people have been affected by the closure of hundreds of health centers, and hundreds more that are providing only minimal services. Despite recent government efforts, over 5,000 schools remain closed, impacting 800,000 children. Burkina Faso faces drastic food insecurity, with approximately 7.2 million people in the crisis or emergency phase in the 2024 lean season. Food prices, which had been quite stable, are starting to show some increases. Access to markets in the north and east by both government/humanitarians and private traders has eased somewhat, but an estimated 2 to 2.5 million people still require food assistance during the lean season. Evidence from high frequency phone surveys also shows an increase in food insecurity in 2024, despite the stabilization of the situation. $2.15 Poverty Rate $6.85 Poverty Rate Gini Index Prosperity Gap 2021 2021 2021 2021 25.3% 88.1% 37.4 9.1 Poverty Rate Inequality 100 70 60 80 50 Poverty Rate (%) Gini Index 40 60 30 20 40 10 20 0 2000 2010 2020 2000 2010 2020 $2.15 Poverty Rate $3.65 Poverty Rate $6.85 Poverty Rate Gini Index Poverty at Different Lines Poverty Line Number of Poor Rate Year (Thousands) (%)   National Poverty Line 9,549.7 43.2 2021         International Poverty Line ($2.15/day) 5,586.4 25.3 2021         Lower Middle Income Class Poverty Line ($3.65/day) 13,424.6 60.7 2021         Upper Middle Income Class Poverty Line ($6.85/day) 19,479.4 88.1 2021         Multidimensional Poverty Measure   53.0 2021         Group and Multidimensional Poverty Poverty by Group Poverty Rate (%) Multidimensional Poverty Components (% of Pop.)   Urban population 6.7 Daily income less than US$2.15 per person 25.3 Rural population 31.9 At least one school-aged child is not enrolled in school 51.0 Males 25.2 No adult has completed primary education 47.9 Females 25.4 No access to limited-standard drinking water 17.3 0 to 14 years old 28.7 No access to limited-standard sanitation 58.7 15 to 64 years old 22.1 No access to electricity 35.3 65 and older 24.6 Without education (16+) 28.8 Primary education (16+) 16.2 Secondary education (16+) 11.8 Tertiary/post-secondary education (16+) N/A* Note: Data for the "Poverty by Group" table is derived from a 2021 survey and data for the "Multidimensional Poverty Components" table is derived from a 2021 survey. The rates in the "Poverty by Group" table above are shown at the $2.15 international line. "N/A" denotes a missing/removed value, while "N/A*" refers to a value which was removed due to having fewer than 30 observations. Poverty Data & Methodology In 2021/22, Burkina Faso conducted the second round of the Enquête Harmonisée sur les Conditions de Vie des Ménages (EHCVM), a standardized household survey for WAEMU countries. This is an initiative of the WAEMU Commission, supported by the World Bank, and features comparable questionnaires and methodologies. The welfare measure for poverty estimation is annual consumption per capita, spatially and temporally deflated. A new national poverty line was constructed in 2021/22, which did not use inflation to update the 2018/19 line as the CPI may not accurately measure the increased cost of living due to a variety of price shocks experienced between 2018 and 2021. The new poverty line follows the same cost-of-basic-needs approach, with the food poverty line reflecting the cost of a basket of foods providing 2,300 kilocalories. The non-food-poverty line is a portion of the non-food consumption expenditure of households located around the food poverty line. The sum of the two poverty lines gives the national poverty line. The timing of the implementation of the 2018/19 and 2021/22 surveys was not identical, and different methods for adjusting for the cost of living were applied. In addition, the 2021/22 welfare aggregate excludes hospitalization expenditures. Harmonization The numbers presented in this brief are based on the SSAPOV database. SSAPOV is a database of harmonized nationally representative household surveys managed by Sub-Saharan Team for Statistical Development. It contains more than 100 surveys covering 45 out of the 48 countries in the SSA region. The three countries not covered in the database are Eritrea, Equatorial Guinea, and Somalia. Terms of use of the data adhere to agreements with the original data producers. Africa Western & Central Poverty Economist: Elizabeth Foster