NAIROBI, Kenya – A new report from the World Bank paints a sobering picture of inequality’s grip on Sub-Saharan Africa, revealing how factors such as birthplace, ethnicity, gender, and parental background play a pivotal role in shaping individual destinies.
Released Thursday, the report, titled Levelling the Playing Field: Addressing Structural Inequalities to Accelerate Poverty Reduction in Africa, highlights how systemic barriers are stalling efforts to combat extreme poverty in the region.
Despite global strides in reducing extreme poverty, which is defined as living on less than $2.15 (Sh325) per day, Sub-Saharan Africa remains an outlier.
In 2022, the region’s extreme poverty rate stood at a staggering 38%, compared to single-digit rates elsewhere.
The report warns that without urgent reforms, the region’s share of the global extremely poor population—currently 60%—could rise to 87% by 2030.
Sub-Saharan Africa is ranked as the world’s second most unequal region, after Latin America.
Unequal access to essential services such as education, healthcare, jobs, and finance perpetuates cycles of poverty, the report notes.
Structural barriers mean children born into poor households often face insurmountable challenges: only 32% of the poorest families have electricity, compared to 70% of non-poor households, and many children from these families fail to complete their education on time.
Market and institutional distortions further exacerbate these inequalities, locking many young people into insecure, low-paying jobs in the informal sector.
“There is nothing inevitable about structural inequalities,” says Nistha Sinha, the report’s co-author. “Barriers to opportunities can be removed with well-designed policies that enable people to build their productive capacities.”
The report points to examples of countries in the region that have made strides in overcoming structural inequalities.
Kenya’s mobile money revolution has expanded financial inclusion, helping households better manage economic shocks.
Ethiopia’s reforms in land user rights have driven agricultural investment, while Ghana’s investments in primary education and its partial liberalization of the cocoa market have boosted both educational outcomes and rural incomes.
These success stories underline the potential for change. However, they also highlight the need for broader, systemic reform across the continent to replicate and scale such successes.
The report calls for Sub-Saharan Africa to focus on building strong economic and institutional foundations.
This includes ensuring macroeconomic stability, eliminating barriers to competition, safeguarding property rights, and reducing privileges that favor the few at the expense of the many.
Investing in human capital—through better education, healthcare, and infrastructure—is equally critical.
The region’s burgeoning youth population, with 8–11 million new entrants to the labor market each year through 2050, presents a tremendous opportunity.
Properly harnessed, this demographic shift could power significant economic growth.
Additionally, Africa’s rich reserves of green minerals, essential for the global clean energy transition, offer a lucrative avenue for revenue generation.
To capitalize on this potential, the report emphasizes the need for policies that align with sustainable development goals while addressing entrenched inequalities.
Released Thursday, the report, titled Levelling the Playing Field: Addressing Structural Inequalities to Accelerate Poverty Reduction in Africa, highlights how systemic barriers are stalling efforts to combat extreme poverty in the region.
Despite global strides in reducing extreme poverty, which is defined as living on less than $2.15 (Sh325) per day, Sub-Saharan Africa remains an outlier.
In 2022, the region’s extreme poverty rate stood at a staggering 38%, compared to single-digit rates elsewhere.
The report warns that without urgent reforms, the region’s share of the global extremely poor population—currently 60%—could rise to 87% by 2030.
Sub-Saharan Africa is ranked as the world’s second most unequal region, after Latin America.
Unequal access to essential services such as education, healthcare, jobs, and finance perpetuates cycles of poverty, the report notes.
Structural barriers mean children born into poor households often face insurmountable challenges: only 32% of the poorest families have electricity, compared to 70% of non-poor households, and many children from these families fail to complete their education on time.
Market and institutional distortions further exacerbate these inequalities, locking many young people into insecure, low-paying jobs in the informal sector.
“There is nothing inevitable about structural inequalities,” says Nistha Sinha, the report’s co-author. “Barriers to opportunities can be removed with well-designed policies that enable people to build their productive capacities.”
The report points to examples of countries in the region that have made strides in overcoming structural inequalities.
Kenya’s mobile money revolution has expanded financial inclusion, helping households better manage economic shocks.
Ethiopia’s reforms in land user rights have driven agricultural investment, while Ghana’s investments in primary education and its partial liberalization of the cocoa market have boosted both educational outcomes and rural incomes.
These success stories underline the potential for change. However, they also highlight the need for broader, systemic reform across the continent to replicate and scale such successes.
The report calls for Sub-Saharan Africa to focus on building strong economic and institutional foundations.
This includes ensuring macroeconomic stability, eliminating barriers to competition, safeguarding property rights, and reducing privileges that favor the few at the expense of the many.
Investing in human capital—through better education, healthcare, and infrastructure—is equally critical.
The region’s burgeoning youth population, with 8–11 million new entrants to the labor market each year through 2050, presents a tremendous opportunity.
Properly harnessed, this demographic shift could power significant economic growth.
Additionally, Africa’s rich reserves of green minerals, essential for the global clean energy transition, offer a lucrative avenue for revenue generation.
To capitalize on this potential, the report emphasizes the need for policies that align with sustainable development goals while addressing entrenched inequalities.
