[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-108692-en":3,"doc-seo-108692-105":31,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":93},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":20,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":21,"is_downloadable":21,"audit_status":21,"page_count":22,"language":23,"language_code":24,"site_id":25,"html_lang":24,"table_of_contents":26,"faqs":27,"seo_title":28,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":29,"read_time":30},108692,13056703019404,"Miles","https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_29158cc5080c5b710cf443261637dec0",8,"Research & Report","Income Inequality in Africa - Africa Economics Policy Note (November 2022)","Income inequality in Africa remains high and acts against poverty reduction by weakening growth, limiting social cohesion, and concentrating gains among wealthier groups. Despite declines in poverty and some signs of reduced inequality, within-country and between-country inequality levels and their evolution are still uncertain. The note links inequity to slower GDP growth through reduced opportunity and efficiency, discusses measurement challenges across surveys, and highlights policy directions such as investing in assets for the poorest and accelerating the Africa Continental Free Trade Area.","Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disc losure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized  \nNOVEMBER 2022 | No. 1  \nAFRICA ECONOMICS POLICY NOTE OFFICE OF THE CHIEF ECONOMIST, AFRICA REGION  \nINCOME INEQUALITY IN AFRICA¹  \nAfrica and Latin America are the most unequal continents, as far as income distribution is concerned.  \nHigh levels of income inequality act against poverty reduction through accelerated economic growth adversely impacting the cohesion of African societies.  \nThere has been no significant decline in within-country inequality in Africa since 2000 atthe continental level, though the decline can be observed among the richest African countries, which are also the most unequal.  \nWith accelerated per capita GDP growth, poverty rates have dropped in most African countries, and on the continent altogether since the beginning of the millennium, but the contribution of reduced inequality to that trend remains uncertain. Africa experienceda significant decline in aggregate head count poverty rate from 48% in 2000 to 34% in 2019.2 Yet, this decline in the proportion of poor in total population was insufficient to contain the growth in the absolute number of poor (+57 million) given the rapid population growth (+505 million people) between 2000 and 2019.3 As a result, Africa was in 2019 home to 27 of the world’s 28 poorest countries and had more extremely poor people (433 million) than the rest of the world combined. Ontop of a rapid population growth, high levels of income  \nIn contrast, one can observe a significant decline in between-country inequality: in Africa, poor countries have systematically grown faster, in per capita terms, than richer ones since 2000.  \nThe combination of these two trends suggests a decline in income inequality among African citizens, at least until the COVID-19 crisis.  \nInvesting in projects demanding assets owned by poorest households, unskilled labor notably, will complement efforts to increase the human capital of poorest households to eventually reduce within-country income inequality. Accelerated implementation of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area should also contribute to further reduce between-country inequality.  \ninequality may have contributed to lessen the impact of economic growth on poverty reduction,4 should its fruits be concentrated among the wealthier. However, the magnitude and evolution of income inequality in Africa, within and between countries, remain uncertain, and it is the aim of this note to unpack some of its aspects.  \nA consequence of inequity, income inequality affects GDP growth and the cohesion of African societies.  \nWorld Bank (World Development Report, 2006) emphasizes the logical link between inequity — the inequality of opportunities, and economic growth: inequity prevents some economic agents, whether individuals or firms, from fully expressing their economic potential, thus reducing  \n1 Prepared by Tewodros Dessie and Sebastien Dessus, CAFCE, International Finance Corporation. Authors are thankful to Cesar Calderon, Andrew Dabalen and Johannes Hoogeveen for their comments and suggestions.  \n2 Source: Authors’ computations based on World Bank Povcalnet. Poverty is measured at PPP US$1 .9 a day.  \n3 The situation further deteriorated with the recession created by the COVID crisis, with an estimated number of poor at 514 million by 2021 (Source: United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, 2021) .  \n4 See Bourguignon (2004) for a discussion on how GDP growth and income inequality determine poverty.  \neconomic efficiency and slowing down growth. At the same time, inequity feeds, along with other factors, into income inequality.5 Inequity, which is thus responsible for both slow growth and high inequality, is most likely the consequence of elite’s capture (Bourguignon and Dessus, 2009). And such capture is getting increasingly contested in Africa. In the last two decades, localized conflicts, mass demonstrations and protests have significantly increa","cbCaillkGm7qMtU1","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaillkGm7qMtU1","pdf",329210,5,1,7,"English","en",105,"# Income Inequality in Africa\n## Poverty trends and inequality dynamics\n## Links between inequity, growth, and social cohesion\n## Measuring income inequality and data challenges\n## Policy implications and recommendations","[{\"question\":\"How does income inequality affect poverty reduction and economic growth in Africa?\",\"answer\":\"High income inequality undermines poverty reduction by acting against accelerated economic growth and weakening cohesion in African societies. It can also slow GDP growth by limiting opportunities and economic potential for individuals and firms.\"},{\"question\":\"What evidence does the note provide about poverty changes from 2000 to 2019?\",\"answer\":\"Aggregate headcount poverty fell from 48% in 2000 to 34% in 2019. However, the absolute number of poor increased substantially due to rapid population growth.\"},{\"question\":\"Why is measuring income inequality across countries in Africa difficult?\",\"answer\":\"Consumption surveys can underestimate the richest households and income-based inequality can differ from consumption-based patterns because savings are higher among the rich. Lack of comparability across countries further complicates aggregation at the continental level.\"}]","Income Inequality in Africa - Africa Economics Policy Note (November 2022) | PDF",1784473256,18,{"code":4,"msg":32,"data":33},"ok",{"site_id":25,"language":24,"slug":34,"title":13,"keywords":35,"description":14,"schema_data":36,"social_meta":88,"head_meta":90,"extra_data":92,"updated_unix":29},"income-inequality-in-africa-africa-economics-policy-note-november-2022","",{"@graph":37,"@context":87},[38,55,70],{"@type":39,"itemListElement":40},"BreadcrumbList",[41,45,49,52],{"item":42,"name":43,"@type":44,"position":21},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":46,"name":47,"@type":44,"position":48},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":50,"name":12,"@type":44,"position":51},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":53,"name":13,"@type":44,"position":54},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/income-inequality-in-africa-africa-economics-policy-note-november-2022/108692/",4,{"url":53,"name":13,"@type":56,"author":57,"headline":13,"publisher":59,"fileFormat":62,"inLanguage":24,"description":14,"dateModified":63,"datePublished":64,"encodingFormat":62,"isAccessibleForFree":65,"interactionStatistic":66},"DigitalDocument",{"name":9,"@type":58},"Person",{"url":42,"name":60,"@type":61},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-07-30","2026-07-19",true,{"@type":67,"interactionType":68,"userInteractionCount":20},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":69},"ViewAction",{"@type":71,"mainEntity":72},"FAQPage",[73,79,83],{"name":74,"@type":75,"acceptedAnswer":76},"How does income inequality affect poverty reduction and economic growth in Africa?","Question",{"text":77,"@type":78},"High income inequality undermines poverty reduction by acting against accelerated economic growth and weakening cohesion in African societies. It can also slow GDP growth by limiting opportunities and economic potential for individuals and firms.","Answer",{"name":80,"@type":75,"acceptedAnswer":81},"What evidence does the note provide about poverty changes from 2000 to 2019?",{"text":82,"@type":78},"Aggregate headcount poverty fell from 48% in 2000 to 34% in 2019. However, the absolute number of poor increased substantially due to rapid population growth.",{"name":84,"@type":75,"acceptedAnswer":85},"Why is measuring income inequality across countries in Africa difficult?",{"text":86,"@type":78},"Consumption surveys can underestimate the richest households and income-based inequality can differ from consumption-based patterns because savings are higher among the rich. Lack of comparability across countries further complicates aggregation at the continental level.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":53,"og:type":89,"og:title":13,"og:site_name":60,"og:description":14},"article",{"robots":91,"canonical":53},"index,follow",{"doc_id":7,"site_id":25},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":94},[95,99,103,107,111,116,120,123,128,131,135],{"id":21,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":96,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":98},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":48,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":100,"show_sort_weight":101,"slug":102},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":54,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":104,"show_sort_weight":105,"slug":106},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":20,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":108,"show_sort_weight":109,"slug":110},"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":112,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":113,"show_sort_weight":114,"slug":115},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":117,"show_sort_weight":118,"slug":119},"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":11,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":12,"show_sort_weight":121,"slug":122},30,"research-report",{"id":124,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":125,"show_sort_weight":126,"slug":127},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":126,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":129,"show_sort_weight":126,"slug":130},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":132,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":133,"show_sort_weight":132,"slug":134},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":136,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":137,"show_sort_weight":20,"slug":138},19,"General","general"]