The Zambia Statistics Agency (ZamStats) with support from
the UN Family of co-operating partners conducted the eighth Living Conditions and Monitoring Survey (LCMS) in June/July 2022.
■ national average poverty has worsened from 54% to 60% of the population are poor.
■ Rural Poverty has worsened and now stands at an average of 78.8%.
■ Urban poverty has worsened and now stands at 31.8% from 23.4%.
■ Muchinga has taken over as the poorest province in the country standing at 82.6% poor population after Western Province and Luapula provinces.
■ Lusaka (27%) and Copperbelt (35.9%),had the least poverty levels though higher than in 2015.
HIGHLIGHTS
The first LCMS was conducted in 1996. The other LCMS survey
were done in 1998, 2002/2003, 2004, 2006 and 2015.
5.3 INCIDENCE OF POVERTY BY PROVINCE
By province, results show that poverty levels have gone slightly down in North-western (61.6% from 66.4%), Luapula (77.3% from 81.1%), Western
(78.6% from 82.6%) and Northern (78.0% from 79.7%) provinces (See Figure 5.3).
Muchinga province had the highest proportion of the population that was poor at 82.6 percent, followed by Western and Northern provinces.
Lusaka
(27%) and Copperbelt (35.9%), had the least poverty levels though higher than in 2015.
The Zambia Statistics Agency (ZamStats) has adopted the material well-being approach of poverty measurement in which the poor are defined as those
members of society who are unable to afford minimum basic human needs, comprising food and essential non-food items, given all their total income.
