Extreme Poverty Drops – and It’s Not Stopping There!

The African country of Kenya saw about half a million of its citizens be lifted out of extreme poverty in 2021 thanks to strong economic progress, which will translate into an even further decline in the poverty rate in the country.

In a single year, the number of Kenyans living in extreme poverty, meaning with less than $1.9 a day, went from 19.2 million – or 35.7% – in 2020 to 18.8 million – or 34.4% in 2021. This year, that number will be under 18.7 million with the help of global lender projects.

As part of Kenya’s economic progress that started before the pandemic, the country’s economy reached 7.5% in 2021 with the creation of some 926,100 jobs, the highest number in the last six years. Kenya’s gross domestic product grows at an average annual rate of 5% – contributing to the decline of extreme poverty from 45.2% in 2009 to 34.4% in 2019 – and it is projected to reach 5.2% over the 2022-2024 period. As a result, poverty is expected to fall to 33.4% in 2022, an all-time low.