Somalia MPI

MPI originally introduced: 2024

Latest results: Somalia MPI 2022

In December 2024, the Somalia National Bureau of Statistics (SNBS) and the Somalia Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MoLSA), launched the first national Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) for Somalia as an official national measure of poverty.  

The report was prepared in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and OPHI. Based on data from the 2022 Somalia Integrated Household Budget Survey (SIHBS), the report serves as a critical tool to prioritize resources where they are most needed and measure the effectiveness of poverty reduction programmes. 

Additional information concerning the MPI, and microdata or tables may be obtained from the Somalia National Bureau of Statistics (SNBS). 

Somalia MPI structure: dimensions and indicators

Poverty Cut-Off: A person is considered poor if they are deprived in 35% or more of the 13 weighted indicators.

Dimension 

Indicator  

Deprivation cutoff 

Weight 

Education  

School attendance A household is deprived if a school age child is not attending to school  

1/10 

 

Years of schooling A household is deprived if no member older than school age has 8 years of education or more 

1/10 

 

Health  

Food Security  A household is deprived if any member of the household ate only a few kinds of foods, or skipped a meal, or ate less than they thought they should, or were hungry but did not eat, or ran out of food, or went without eating for a whole day because of a lack of money or other resources 

1/10 

 

Access health care A household is deprived if any member has been sick in the last month and did not seek any advice or treatment for his/her condition 1/10 

Living Standard 

Housing  A household is deprived if the housing materials are non-permanent (exterior walls, roof, floor) and not nomadic 1/15 
Cooking fuel  A household is deprived if it cooks with solid fuels. If nomadic, the household is deprived if it does not have a separate room, OR the cooking is inside the dwelling 

1/15 

 

Overcrowding  A household is deprived if a sleeping room is shared by more than 3 members 

1/15 

 

Services 

Electricity A household is deprived if the main source of lighting is firewood, torch, kerosene, candles or other and the household is not nomadic.  1/15 
Water A household is deprived if it does not have any access to an improved source of drinking water or if the household has access to improved water but the main source of water for drinking is not located in own dwelling, yard or piped to a neighbour, AND the roundtrip time to get water is more than 30 minutes. In the case of nomadic households, the distance is not considered.  

1/15 

 

Sanitation  A household is deprived if the household does not have access to improved sanitation and shared with other households and the household is not nomadic 

1/15 

 

Inclusion 

Asset  A household is deprived if it does not own at least 2 small assets and does not own any livestock  

1/15 

 

Shocks A household is deprived if the household experienced a reduction of assets or income due to shocks 

1/15 

 

Unemployment  A household is deprived if any working-age member is unemployed and has been looking for a job or trying to start a business during the past 4 weeks and has been available to start a job during the last 2 weeks 

1/15 

 

Source: SNBS and MoLSA (2024). Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) for Somalia Report 2024, p. 9

More information on the National MPI of Somalia

Official institutions responsible for statistics

Events

Somalia MPI report 2024 cover image