Rwanda Poverty Assessment

The last poverty assessment for Rwanda
was conducted in 1997. Three years after the genocide, the
country was characterized by deep and widespread poverty,
rock-bottom health indicators, and pervasive hunger and food
insecurity. In real terms, gross domestic product (GDP) per
capita was lower than it had been in 1960. In real terms,
the economy quadrupled between 1995 and 2013. Enrolment in
primary school is near universal and infant and child
mortality are among the lowest in Africa. A large part of
the population, including the extreme poor, is covered by
public health insurance. This poverty assessment focuses on
the evolution of poverty and other social indicators over
the past decade (2000-1 and 2010-11). Using data from a
variety of sources, mainly the three household living
standards surveys (EICV) and the three demographic and
health surveys (DHS) conducted during the past decade, the
poverty assessment documents trends in monetary and
non-monetary dimensions of living standards and examines the
drivers of observed trends. The aim of the poverty
assessment is to provide policy makers and development
partners with information and analysis that can be used to
improve the effectiveness of their poverty reduction and
social programs.