Latest Inequality & Poverty Headcounts (2022)
National Poverty Headcount Ratio
64.3%
Share of population below the national poverty line (2022 LCMS).
Rural Poverty Incidence
~77.0%
Poverty remains overwhelmingly high and stagnant in rural areas.
Gini Coefficient (Inequality)
51.5
High inequality globally (0 = perfect equality; 100 = perfect inequality).
Rural Poverty vs. National Gini Index (1996–2022)
**Insight:** The period of high economic growth (2000s) failed to significantly reduce rural poverty, and was often accompanied by increasing national inequality.
Stakeholder Insights & Policy Relevance
Government / Social Ministries
- **Targeting:** Poverty mapping shows high heterogeneity even within provinces. Resources like the **Constituency Development Fund (CDF)** must be spatially targeted to high-poverty wards (e.g., in Luangwa District).
- **Social Protection:** The **Social Cash Transfer (SCT)** program is vital. Adequacy (benefit amount) and coverage must increase to match the 64% poverty rate and counter inflation erosion.
- **Urban Shift:** Urban poverty spiked from 23.5% (2015) to **32% (2022)**, requiring new social programs focused on urban job creation and livelihood support.
Development Partners / NGOs
- **Rural Resilience:** Since growth failed the rural poor, focus should shift to **climate resilience** (irrigation, drought-resistant seeds) and **non-farm rural income** generation to de-link livelihoods from volatile rain-fed agriculture.
- **Multidimensionality:** Addressing poverty requires more than just income. Focus interventions on the 70% of children facing **multiple overlapping deprivations** (health, water, sanitation, education).
- **Policy Advocacy:** Support efforts to stabilize the **fiscal regime** and **monetary policy**. Macroeconomic volatility directly translates into higher food prices and unemployment, spiking urban poverty.
Public / Research Commentary
- **Growth Failure:** The high Gini coefficient (51.5) indicates that economic growth primarily benefits the wealthy, leaving the majority behind—a classic "non-inclusive growth" trap.
- **Disparity:** Poverty is overwhelmingly concentrated in rural areas (**80% of the poor** are rural residents), contrasting sharply with the relatively lower poverty rates in Lusaka and the Copperbelt.
- **Historical Low:** The Gini index peaked near **0.70 in the mid-1990s** and while it has slightly moderated since (51.5 is lower than 70, but still extreme), inequality remains a massive structural challenge.