Zanzibar Poverty Assessment 2022 - Executive Summary - Policy options to accelerate inclusive poverty reduction

Jul 19, 2026

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The report evaluates progress in poverty reduction in Zanzibar using the last three household budget surveys, covering 2009–2019 with a spotlight on 2015–2019. Poverty based on household consumption fell from 34.9% to 25.7%, yet the pace lagged population growth, leaving only a modest decline in the number of poor. Urban poverty decreased faster than rural poverty, widening the rural–urban gap driven by differences between Unguja and Pemba, with COVID-19 effects simulated for 2020–2021. Non-monetary indicators improved, but multidimensional poverty remains substantial, and growth impacts on the poorest were weak.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages22

Reading Time55 min

AccessFree to download

Executive Summary

Poverty trends before and after COVID-19

Access to basic services and multidimensional poverty

Link between economic growth and poverty reduction

Policy directions to accelerate poverty reduction

Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Pub lic Disclosure Authorized Pub lic Disclosure Authorized EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Towards a MORE INCLUSIVE Zanzibar Economy Public ZANZIBAR POVERTY ASSESSMENT 2022 16336-ZanzibarES_FINAL. indd 1 10/26/22 11:41 AM ABSTRACT This report assesses recent progress in poverty reduction in Zanzibar. It is based on Zanzibar’s last three household budget surveys and considers the period between 2009 and 2019, with a focus on the last four years of this decade: 2015–2019. Poverty—based on household consumption—fell by 9 percentage points over the decade before the COVID-19 pandemic: it dropped from 34.9 to 25.7 percent. However, the pace of poverty reduction was slow relative to population growth and as such, the number of poor dropped by only 27,000. The drop was fastest in urban areas and because poverty levels were already lower than in rural areas, the gap between rural and urban poverty widened, driven by differences between the islands of Unguja and Pemba. Simulations suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic increased urban poverty increased by 1.8 percentage points in 2020–21 while rural poverty dropped by 0.8 percentage points. Substantial progress was also made across a range of non-monetary poverty indicators, notably in improved access to basic services including electricity and education. During the period 2009-2019, access to the electricity network increased from 38 to 57 percent, while education indicators also improved considerably. For example, between 2015 and 2019, lower secondary gross enrolment went up from 68 to 90 percent. Despite progress, gaps remain especially among the poor living in rural areas, notably in Pemba. Results from a multi-dimensional poverty index (MPI) calculated based on 3 dimensions and 13 indicators using the HBS 2019-20 indicate that 36.6 percent of Zanzibaris were multi-dimensionally poor, that is, they were deprived in at leawst a third of the MPI indicators used. Cover image by Agnieszka from Pixabay The relationship between economic growth and poverty reduction was weak as during 2009–19 growth did not sufficiently translate into improved well-being of the poorest. Although during the period 2014 to 2020-21 Zanzibar witnessed a large shift of people out of low-productivity agriculture into services, particularly of women (a 10-percentage point shift according to labor force survey data), ‘decomposition analysis’ shows that population shifts to other sectors of work barely contributed to poverty reduction. Many likely adopted low-productivity work in the services sector. In fact, the creation of quality jobs was limited, and informality increased during this period. To accelerate poverty reduction in Zanzibar, a combination of policies are required to (i) make tourism, the main growth engine of the economy, more inclusive, for example through the diversification of tourism products; (ii) improve labor market outcomes for women and youth through better skills training and internship programs; (iii) improve the distribution of public spending in education and health to make it more pro-poor; and (iv) improve the business operating and regulatory environment of SMEs and better connect farm smallholders to high-value markets to enhance value addition, job creation and poverty reduction. Image by William Mgobela from Pixabay | 16336-ZanzibarES_FINAL. indd | 2 | 10/26/22 | 11:41 AM | | --- | --- | --- | --- | ZANZIBAR POVERTY ASSESSMENT 2022 3 Image by xi Serge from Pixabay EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Poverty dropped before COVID-19, but the pace was slow relative to population growth, and the gap between rural and urban poverty widened, driven by differences between Unguja and Pemba Poverty fell over a decade before the COVID-19 pandemic, but the pace was slow relative to population growth. Zanzibar’s poverty rate fell at almost one percentage point per year during 2009–19, falling from 34.9 percent in 2009 to 30.4 perc

FAQs

What time period does the Zanzibar Poverty Assessment 2022 executive summary cover?

It covers 2009–2019 using the last three household budget surveys, with emphasis on 2015–2019 and simulations related to COVID-19 for 2020–2021.

How much did poverty fall in Zanzibar from 2009 to 2019?

Poverty based on household consumption dropped by about 9 percentage points, from 34.9% in 2009 to 25.7% in 2019.

Why did the gap between rural and urban poverty widen?

Urban poverty declined much faster than rural poverty, and because rural areas started from a higher poverty level, the rural–urban gap widened further, including differences between Unguja and Pemba.

What policy measures are proposed to accelerate poverty reduction?

A package of policies is recommended: make tourism more inclusive, improve skills and internship opportunities for women and youth, redirect education and health spending to be more pro-poor, and strengthen SME business conditions while linking smallholders to high-value markets.

Jul 19, 2026

Upload by Riley