New report explores multidimensional poverty in Egypt
The Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) has published a study of multidimensional poverty using the first national Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) for Egypt.
The national Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) was developed following a comprehensive consultation process led by the Ministry of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation, together with the national statistics office (CAPMAS) with a view to becoming an official measure of multidimensional poverty in Egypt.
The report explores the profile of multidimensional poverty across the country based on data from Egypt’s Household Income, Expenditure, and Consumption Survey (HIECS) for the period 2021/2022.
According to the key findings, more than one in five people (21% of the population) were multidimensionally poor in Egypt in 2022.
A person is considered poor if they are deprived in 29% or more of the 19 weighted indicators across seven dimensions of education, health, housing, services, employment, social protection and food security (equivalent to two or more of the seven dimensions).
Nationally, the main contributing dimensions to the MPI are services and employment, which each contribute 19%, followed by housing and education, which each contribute 15%. Poverty is more concentrated in rural areas where people face challenges in access to services. In rural areas, almost every third person was multidimensionally poor. In rural areas, the proportion of people living in poverty was 28%, more than twice as high as in urban areas (12%).
The national MPI helps to highlight demographic differences, and plays a role in exposing differences between female- and male-headed households, as well as gender disparities in deprivation profiles.
The objective of the MPI is to provide a comprehensive social policy framework. The report lays out the major challenges and priorities for policy action and discusses the effectiveness of social welfare programmes and macroeconomic policies in alleviating multidimensional poverty. The national MPI is aligned with ongoing initiatives such as Vision 2030 for Egypt, Agenda 2030 of the SDGs, Hayah Kareema (or decent life) programme and Egypt's Human Rights Strategy.
The report was written in partnership with the Ministry of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation, the Ministry of Social Solidarity, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI).
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