Poverty in Colombia

Last updated
Poverty in Colombia by Luis Perez.jpg
Informal brick housing.
Bogota barrio Chico carrera 8 entre calles 93 y 94.JPG
District with excellent public services

Poverty statistics

Colombian poverty rates, 2002-2016.Income-Based Poverty, Extreme Income-Based Poverty, and Multidimensional Poverty Colombia Poverty 2016.png
Colombian poverty rates, 2002–2016.Income-Based Poverty, Extreme Income-Based Poverty, and Multidimensional Poverty

In 2017, the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE) reported that 26.9% of the population were living below the poverty line, of which 7.4% in "extreme poverty". The multidimensional poverty rate stands at 17.0% of the population. [2]

Contents

Unemployment

The average national unemployment rate in 2017 was 9.4%, [3] although the informality is the biggest problem facing the labour market (the income of formal workers climbed 24.8% in 5 years while labor incomes of informal workers rose only 9%). [4]

Inequality

According to the World Bank, Colombia's Gini coefficient (a measurement of inequality in wealth distribution) was 0.587 in 2000 and 0.535 in 2013, ranking alongside Chile, Panama, Brazil and Honduras as the most unequal Latin American countries in terms of wealth distribution. [5]

Literacy

In 2015, a total of 94.58% of the population aged 15 and older were recorded as literate, including 98.53% of those aged 15–24. [6]

Malnutrition

In 2010, 3.4% of the children under 5 years old in Colombia suffer from global malnutrition (deficiency of weight for age) and up to 13% suffer from chronic malnutrition (deficiency of height for age). The situation is worse for the indigenous peoples of Colombia, who in the same indicators recorded rates of 7.5% and 29.5% respectively. [7]

Social strata in Colombia

Colombia's social strata have been divided as follows and have been extensively used by the government as a reference to develop social welfare programs, statistical information and to some degree for the assignment of lands.

Stratum 1The system is the classification of the residential properties that should receive public services. [8]

The system does not consider the income per person. [9]

Stratum 2
Stratum 3
Stratum 4
Stratum 5
Stratum 6

The system is the classification of the residential properties that should receive public services. [8] Although the system does not consider the income per person and the rules say that the residential real estate should stratify and not households. [9] All mayors should do the stratification of residential properties of their municipality or district. [8]

In 1994, this stratification policy was made into law in order to grant subsidies to the poorest residents. The system is organized so that the people living in upper layers (strata 5 and 6) pay more for services like electricity, water and sewage than the groups in the lower strata. [10] Critics of the system say that it impedes social mobility through stigmatization, while its proponents argue that it allows the poor to locate to areas where they will be able to access subsidized services. [10] There are many studies that have shown that the socio-economic stratum is a bad instrument to allocate subsidies. [11] [12] [13] In particular, these studies show that there is a high percentage of households of strata 1 and 2 which have a level of consumption similar to the households of strata 5 and 6 (18% of households in stratum 1, 36% of households in 2 and 66% of households in stratum 3 are located in quintiles 4 and 5 of the distribution of consumption. 98% of households in stratum 6 is in these quintiles). [14]

Although nowadays there are more reliable sources to determine capacity to pay.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gini coefficient</span> Measure of inequality of a distribution

In economics, the Gini coefficient, also known as the Gini index or Gini ratio, is a measure of statistical dispersion intended to represent the income inequality, the wealth inequality, or the consumption inequality within a nation or a social group. It was developed by Italian statistician and sociologist Corrado Gini.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Social class in the United States</span> Grouping Americans by some measure of social status

Social class in the United States refers to the idea of grouping Americans by some measure of social status, typically by economic status. However, it could also refer to social status and/or location. The idea that American society can be divided into social classes is disputed, and there are many competing class systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Income distribution</span> How a countrys total GDP is distributed amongst its population

In economics, income distribution covers how a country's total GDP is distributed amongst its population. Economic theory and economic policy have long seen income and its distribution as a central concern. Unequal distribution of income causes economic inequality which is a concern in almost all countries around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Upper middle class</span> Social class

In sociology, the upper middle class is the social group constituted by higher status members of the middle class. This is in contrast to the term lower middle class, which is used for the group at the opposite end of the middle-class stratum, and to the broader term middle class. There is considerable debate as to how the upper middle class might be defined. According to sociologist Max Weber, the upper middle class consists of well-educated professionals with postgraduate degrees and comfortable incomes.

The Laeken indicators is a set of common European statistical indicators on poverty and social exclusion, established at the European Council of December 2001 in the Brussels quarter of Laeken, Belgium. They were developed as part of the Lisbon Strategy, of the previous year, which envisioned the coordination of European social policies at country level based on a set of common goals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Economic mobility</span> Ability to improve ones economic status

Economic mobility is the ability of an individual, family or some other group to improve their economic status—usually measured in income. Economic mobility is often measured by movement between income quintiles. Economic mobility may be considered a type of social mobility, which is often measured in change in income.

Water supply and sanitation in Colombia have been improved in many ways over the past decades. Between 1990 and 2010, access to improved sanitation increased from 67% to 82%, but access to improved water sources increased only slightly from 89% to 94%. In particular, coverage in rural areas lags behind. Furthermore, despite improvements, the quality of water and sanitation services remains inadequate. For example, only 73% of those receiving public services receive water of potable quality and in 2006 only 25% of the wastewater generated in the country underwent any kind of treatment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Affluence in the United States</span> Economical and financial advantage

Affluence refers to an individual's or household's economical and financial advantage in comparison to others. It may be assessed through either income or wealth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Income inequality in the United States</span> National income inequality

Income inequality has fluctuated considerably in the United States since measurements began around 1915, moving in an arc between peaks in the 1920s and 2000s, with a 30-year period of relatively lower inequality between 1950 and 1980.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Social issues in Brazil</span>

Brazil ranks 49.3 in the Gini coefficient index, with the richest 10% of Brazilians earning 43% of the nation's income, the poorest 34% earn less than 1.2%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Health care in Colombia</span>

Health care in Colombia refers to the prevention, treatment, and management of illness and the preservation of mental and physical well-being through the services offered by the medical, nursing, and allied health professions in the Republic of Colombia.

Income in India discusses the financial state in India. With rising economic growth and prosperity, India’s income is also rising rapidly. As an overview, India's per capita net national income or NNI was around 1.97 lakh rupees in 2022. The per-capita income is a crude indicator of the prosperity of a country. In contrast, the gross national income at constant prices stood at over 128 trillion rupees. The same year, GRI growth rate at constant prices was around 6.6 percent. While GNI and NNI are both indicators for a country's economic performance and welfare, the GNI is related to the GDP or the Gross Domestic Product plus the net receipts from abroad, including wages and salaries, property income, net taxes and subsidies receivable from abroad. On the other hand, the NNI of a country is equal to its GNI net of depreciation.

Poverty in South America is prevalent in most of its countries. Those that have the highest rates of poverty per population are Suriname, Bolivia and Venezuela. Recent political shifts in the region have led to improvements in some of these countries. In general, most South American economies have attempted to tackle poverty with stronger economic regulations, foreign direct investments and implementation of microeconomic policies to reduce poverty.

Brazil has been tackling problems of income inequality despite high rates of growth. Its GDP growth in 2010 was 7.5%. In recent decades, there has been a decline in inequality for the country as a whole. Brazil's GINI coefficient, a measure of income inequality, has slowly decreased from 0.596 in 2001 to 0.543 in 2009. However, the numbers still point to a rather significant problem of income disparity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Social class in Colombia</span>

There have always been marked distinctions of social class in Colombia, although twentieth-century economic development has increased social mobility to some extent. Distinctions are based on wealth, social status, and race. Informal networks (roscas) centered on a person in a position of power are one factor in upper-class dominance. Official demographic categories based mainly on housing characteristics shed some light on the socioeconomic makeup of the population.

Malnutrition is a condition that affects bodily capacities of an individual, including growth, pregnancy, lactation, resistance to illness, and cognitive and physical development. Malnutrition is commonly used in reference to undernourishment, or a condition in which an individual's diet does not include sufficient calories and proteins to sustain physiological needs, but it also includes overnourishment, or the consumption of excess calories.

Estratos de Pupunahue is the name given to the sedimentary strata of Oligocene-Miocene age that crop out in Pupunahue and Mulpún near Valdivia, Chile. Outside this locality Estratos de Pupunahue extends below the surface over a larger area. The thickness of the strata varies from a few meters to 530 meters. The strata were initially described by Henning Illies. The strata are made up of conglomerate, sandstone and mudstone. The clast of the conglomerates are made up of metamorphic rock and the disposition of the conglomerates varies from clast-supported to matrix-supported. The sandstone and mudstone contain layers of lignite coal that exceed 30 cm in thickness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wealth inequality in Latin America</span>

Wealth inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean refers to economic discrepancies among people of the region. A report release in 2013 by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs entitled Inequality Matters. Report of the World Social Situation, observed that: ‘Declines in the wage share have been attributed to the impact of labour-saving technological change and to a general weakening of labour market regulations and institutions. Such declines are likely to affect individuals in the middle and bottom of the income distribution disproportionately, since they rely mostly on labour income.’ In addition, the report noted that ‘highly-unequal land distribution has created social and political tensions and is a source of economic inefficiency, as small landholders frequently lack access to credit and other resources to increase productivity, while big owners may not have had enough incentive to do so.

The Colombian middle class is a social class in Colombia, it is a broadly used term. There are many definitions. Middle class also has subcategories, such as upper middle class and lower middle and it can contain a very large number of individuals with vastly different professions and ways of living. Middle class and the overall standards of living are affected by the economy of a country, one which has a growing economy and positive economic indicators, will be more likely to have a larger middle class with decent standards of living and less inequality. Colombia is a country that has been experiencing a significantly fast economic growth, which has impacted the income, wealth and expenditure of its population, and the proportion of its population belonging to middle class.

References

  1. goo.gl/Vs8gki
  2. "socio-economic policies" (PDF). dane.gov.co. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 November 2018. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  3. "Colombia Unemployment Rate" (PDF). dane.gov.co. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  4. "Incomes of informal workers grow less" (in Spanish). portafolio.co. Archived from the original on 21 December 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  5. "Gini Index". World Bank. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
  6. "UNESCO Institute for Statistics Colombia Profile". 27 November 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
  7. "ENSIN – Encuesta Nacional de Situación Nutricional en Colombia" (PDF). Archived from the original on 27 March 2016. Retrieved 29 December 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  8. 1 2 3 CONGRESO DE COLOMBIA. Ley 142 de 1994 (julio 11), artículo 102.
  9. 1 2 "Preguntas_frecuentes_estratificación" (PDF). dane.gov.co.
  10. 1 2 "Colombia - social stratification by law | ifhp.org". Archived from the original on 2013-09-17. Retrieved 2013-08-20.
  11. LUCÍA MINA ROSER. "Estratificación socioeconómica como instrumento de focalización" (PDF).[ permanent dead link ]
  12. Carlos Medina, Leonardo Fabio Morales. "Demanda por Servicios Públicos Domiciliarios en Colombia y Subsidios: Implicaciones sobre el Bienestar" (PDF).[ permanent dead link ]
  13. UN. ECLAC. Office in Bogotá (15 December 2006). La Estratificación Socioeconómica para el Cobro de los Servicios Públicos Domiciliarios en Colombia: ¿Solidaridad o Focalización?. ISBN   9789213229682.
  14. "Estratos socioeconómicos: Sobre sus usos, abusos y eliminación". lasillavacia.com. 18 December 2013.
  15. 1 2 "Identificar la incidencia de la estratificación socioeconómica urbana sobre la segregación de los hogares bogotanos" (PDF). Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Sede Bogotá – Facultad de Ciencias Económicas.
  16. 1 2 "Estratos están mandados a recoger, dice estudio de esta universidad". civico.com.