Poverty, Shared Prosperity, and Equity Update - Guinea Bissau

Abstract

Poverty increased by 2.8 percentage points between 2018 and 2021 in Guinea Bissau. Trends in poverty between 2018 and 2021 have largely gone in the same direction in urban and rural areas but remain higher in rural areas. Although overall consumption growth contracted in both rural and urban areas, rural households experienced a slightly larger contraction than urban areas. However, growth in consumption is observed among the poorest households especially in urban areas - with annualized growth rates of up to 6 percent for households in the ninth centile of the distribution. In rural areas on the other hand, annualized consumption growth is negative across most of the distribution- but more (less) pronounced for the richest (poorest) households. As a result, Guinea Bissau recorded a slight decline in consumption inequality during the period - driven by larger reduction in inequality in urban areas, mainly Bissau.