A new report by the National Statistics Institute (INEI) shows a worrying increase in poverty in Peru. Between 2022 and 2023, the proportion of the poor population increased from 27.5% to 29%, corresponding to about 9.8 million people. Extreme poverty also increased by 0.7 percentage points during the same period and now affects 5.7% of the population, about 1.9 million people.
According to INEI, people are considered poor if they do not have enough income to finance a basic basket of food and other necessary goods and services. In 2023, the average monthly cost of this was 446 soles (about 111 euros), although there are strong regional differences. Extremely poor is someone who cannot even afford the food in this basket, for which the limit is 251 soles (about 62 euros).
The increase in poverty is particularly evident in urban areas, while it has decreased slightly in rural areas. Nevertheless, poverty remains significantly higher in rural areas at 39.8% than in urban areas (26.4%). Indigenous populations and children are particularly affected. Native speakers of indigenous languages have a poverty rate seven percentage points higher than Spanish speakers, and the rate of extreme poverty is almost twice as high (9.1% vs. 4.8%). Child poverty is 43.3% for children under six and 39.3% for children aged six to eleven. In rural areas, more than half of children in these age groups are poor.
Additionally, 31.4% of Peruvians are considered at risk of falling into poverty, meaning that over 60% of the population is either poor or at risk of becoming poor. Despite a decrease of 0.9 percentage points compared to the previous year, this figure remains alarmingly high.
The government has been accused of trying to delay or prevent the publication of the INEI report, which Prime Minister Gustavo Adrianzén denied. He called for the figures to be viewed "without panicking" and pointed to economic growth of 2.85% in the first quarter of 2024. Adrianzén expressed confidence that poverty figures will soon fall.
President Dina Boluarte blamed the protests against her seizure of power in December 2022 for the high poverty rate. These protests and their violent repression destabilized the country for months. The news portal Infobae, on the other hand, cites the weak economic situation and high inflation as the main reasons. In 2023, inflation peaked at 9.3%, with food prices rising as high as 16%, while incomes rose by only 4.5%. Low-income families, who spend around 40% of their income on food, are particularly hard hit.
Former Economy and Finance Minister David Tuesta predicts that it could take decades for poverty rates to return to pre-coronavirus levels. He criticized lack of productivity and poor governance as the country's main problems.
In regional comparison, Peru has not fared too badly so far. According to the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, the proportion of poor people in Peru was also 29% in 2022.
