International Conference

LEAVING NO ONE BEHIND IN THE FIGHT AGAINST POVERTY, EXCLUSION AND INEQUALITY

Official Statistics, Trends and profile on Poverty And Inequality in Botswana

By

Anna MajelantleStatistician GeneralStatistics Botswana

20th March 2018Gaborone, Botswana

Organisation Of The Presentation

• Objectives of the report

• Source of poverty and inequality statistics

• Definition and methodologies for poverty measurements

• Poverty trends in Botswana

• Summary

Objectives Of The Report

• To give an outline of :‐

‘who are the Poor ’

Where are they ‘ and 

Poverty levels in Botswana 

3

SOUCES OF POVERTY DATA 

Censuses

• Botswana Population and Housing Censuses conducted every10 years from the colonial ages in 1904.

• However, the first comprehensive census was conducted in1965, the latest in 2011 and the next is scheduled for 2021.– Poverty indicators from censuses include information on housing,living conditions and ownership of durable asserts.

4

Surveys

SB (and predecessor‐ CSO) conducted;–Five Household Income and Expenditure(Multi Topic Household) Surveys  

–Every ten years ‐ 1984/5; 1993/4; 2002/03; –after five years ‐ 2009/10; 2015/16

‐ Planning for annual surveys

5

Definition and Methodologies for Poverty Measurements 

Botswana uses two methods– Poverty Datum Line (PDL) and– Dollar a Day

6

PDL– The PDL is the minimum basket of goods and services deemed necessaryand adequate to meet basic needs for the households/individual.

– The goods and services in this basket include; food, clothing, personalitems, household goods and shelter.

– Considers an individual by age, sex, location and market prices and

– total consumption or income (expenditure, Aid, wages in‐kind, giftsreceived, school meals).

7

Dollar a Day method

• Internationally harmonised measurement used to compare monitory poverty levels across Countries in the World.

• Measures extreme poverty

• World Bank adjusted from $1.25 in 2005 to $1.90 in 2011

8

• Poverty Trends in Botswana

9

Households Size

• The 2010 survey showed the highest household size of 7.3 members among poor households in urban villages. 

10

11

1985/6 1993/4 2002/3 2009/10 2015/6

National 59 47 30.6 19.3 16.3Cities and Towns 0 0 10.6 8 9.4Urban Villages 19.3 24.3 25.4 19.9 13.4Rural Areas 54 40.1 44.8 24.3 24.2

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Percen

tage (%

) of P

oor P

ersons 

Chart 1: Poverty Incidence by Strata 1985 ‐ 2016

12

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Sowa TownNorth EastGaboroneSouth EastKgatlengJwanengLobatse

Selibe PhikweCentral Serowe

FrancistownCentral Boteti

Kgalagadi NorthBarolong

Central BobonongKweneng East

OrapaNgwaketse/SouthernCentral Mahalapye

ChobeCentral TutumeNgamiland EastNgamiland West

GhanziKgalagadi SouthNgwaketse WestKweneng West

National

Percentage (%)

District/Sub‐distric

t

Chart 2: Poverty Incidence by District and Sub‐district level 2009/10 and 2015/16

BMTHS 2015/16 BCWIS 2009/10

13

14

Table 2:  Percentage Distribution of Poor Households by Sex of Household Head ‐2009/10 & 2015/16

2009/2010 2015/2016

StratumMale 

HeadedFemale Headed

All Male HeadedFemale Headed

All

Cities/Towns 51.5 48.5 100 45.9 54.1 100

Urban Villages 34.5 65.5 100 42.4 57.6 100

Rural areas 42.5 57.5 100 46.2 53.8 100

National 41.1 58.9 100 45.0 55.0 100

16

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

0 ‐ 4

5 ‐ 9

10 ‐ 14

15 ‐ 19

20 ‐ 24

25 ‐ 29

30 ‐ 34

35 ‐ 39

40 ‐ 44

45 ‐ 49

50 ‐ 54

55 ‐ 59

60 ‐ 64

65 ‐ 69

70 ‐ 74

75 ‐ 79

80 Plus

Percen

tage (%

) of P

oor P

ersons

Age Group

Figure 1: Percentage Distribution of Poor Population by Age Group ‐2009/10

Both Sexes

17

 Married  Living together  Separated  Divorced  Widowed/Widower  Never marriedCities/towns 24.1 25.7 1 0 8.1 41.1Urban villages 29.3 10.4 0.3 1.7 21.1 37.1Rural areas 25.3 25.7 2 2.8 13.9 30.4National 26.4 20.8 1.3 2.1 15.5 33.8

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Percen

tage (%

) of P

oor H

ouseho

ld Heads

Chart 3: Percentage (%) of Poor Household Heads by Marital Status and Strata ‐2009/10

18

Table 3: Poverty Incidence by Strata - 2015/16 (Without Government Aid)

Stratum Poverty Head Count (%)Number of personsbelow poverty datumline

Poverty HeadCount (%)

Number of persons belowpoverty datum line

With Government Aid Without Government Aid

Cities/towns 9.4 41, 093 11.650,901

Urban villages 13.4 121, 230 21.1191,935

Rural areas 24.2 175, 087 35.9260,360

National 16.3 337, 410 24.3 503,196

19

Cities/Towns Urban villages Rural areas National

8.1

17.1

26.4

19.9

5.1

19.3

36.1

23.4

2.7

6

8.46.4

2

5.1

8.8

5.8

Chart 4: Proportions of Persons living below $/Day line HIES ‐ 1993/94

HIES ‐ 2002/03

BCWIS ‐ 2009/10

BMTHS ‐ 2015/16

Table 4: Heads of households Living Below Dollar A Day By Occupation - 2009/10

Occupation Number Percentage (%)

Cattle Herders 1,874 13.6

Subsistence Agricultural and Related Workers 1,861 13.5

Domestic Maids and Related Helpers, Cleaners 1,079 7.8

Security Guards 969 7.0

Farm Labourers 487 3.5

Bricklayers and Stonemasons 339 2.5

Construction and Maintenance Labourers 330 2.4

Shop Salespersons and Demonstrators 316 2.3

Construction Carpenters and Joiners 294 2.1

Cashiers and Ticket Clerks 267 1.9

Elementary Occupations NEC 256 1.9

Car, Taxi, Van, Motorcycle and Bus Drivers 239 1.7

Agricultural and Related Labourers NEC 220 1.6

Other 5,245 38.1

All 13,777 100.0

Inequality‐GINI Coefficient

• The Gini Coefficient index is a measure that shows the level ofdisparity in income or wealth distribution between the rich andpoor in a nation. The Gini Coefficient ranges from Zero to Onewhere one means that there is complete inequality while zeromeans that there is complete equality.

• Information on consumption is more reliable than that ofincome, which is more liable to under/over reporting.

21

Urban Rural NationalHIES 2002/03 0.550 0.505 0.571BCWIS 2009/10 0.510 0.438 0.495BMTHS 2015/16 0.518 0.474 0.522

0.000

0.100

0.200

0.300

0.400

0.500

0.600

Gini Coe

fficient 

STRATA

Chart 5:  Gini Coefficient ‐ Consumption Inequality by Strata 2002/03, 2009/10 & 2015/16 

TABLE 6: DEVELOPMENT AGENDA INDICATOR VALUES – 2015/16

Agenda/Vision Goal Indicator Statistics (%)

2030 End poverty in all its forms everywhere.

1.1.1: Proportion of Population below the International poverty line by sex, employment status and geographical location.

National 5.8Cities and Towns 2Urban Villages 5.1Rural Areas 8.8

1.2.1: Proportion of population living below the national poverty line, by sex and age.

National 16.3

2036 A high standard of living, quality of life and well being for all.

Share of population living under the poverty datum line (head count poverty rate)

National 16.3

Gini Coefficent. National(consumption)

0.52

2063Reduce (Improve) the 2013 Gini 

Coefficient by atleast 20%. Reduce Income Inequality by 20%

Gini Coefficent. National(consumption)

0.52

23

Summary: Profile of Persons & Households Living Below Dollar A Day

•Have average family size of 6 or more members comprising mostly more children.•Mostly Never Married Persons (especially females)•Mostly Untrained Heads of Households• Predominantly Persons Employed in the Private Sector – in cities and towns• Mostly Persons employed as cattle headers, Security Guards, Petrol Attendants and Shop Assistants (elementary occupations)•Persons engaged in subsistence agriculture – in rural areas•Unemployed Persons in Urban Villages and Rural Areas•Persons engaged in household duties/caring for the sick – in urban villages and rural areas.

• The fight against poverty needs collective efforts, partnership and use of credible official statistics for informed decisions, targeted interventions, monitoring and evaluation processes.

25

THANK YOU

26