Africa Region Working Paper Series No. 87

Abstract

The paper analyzes progress in poverty reduction in Mozambique between 1996/7 and 2002/3 using two cross-sectional national household surveys. The analysis shows that strong growth in household income has caused poverty to decline rapidly most broad groups - the agricultural and non-agricultural sectors and in urban as well as in rural areas. Improvements were recorded in both monetary and non-monetary poverty measures. One key factor in ensuring broad-based growth was that inequality did not change significantly so poverty reduction could be broad-based. But despite good progress, more than 50 percent of the population still lives in poverty. Lifting this group out of poverty will require continued broad-based growth and further expansion of social services.

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