Written By : Sun Fiji Newsroom. The Ba province had the highest proportion of poor people, according to latest analysis on the poverty rate in the country.
The quantitative analysis compiled by economist Dr Wadan Narsey highlights poverty figures in the 14 provinces.
Out of the 14 provinces, Ba as the biggest province had 25 percent of the total poverty numbers.
However, the northern province of Bua has 63 percent of its people living under the poverty line. Rural Ra has 53 percent, rural Macuata has 57 percent and rural Cakaudrove with 53 percent.
“Ba, while it had roughly average incidence of poverty of 34 percent, had the highest proportion of the poor at 25 percent because of its massive population size,” said Dr Narsey in his new publication The Quantitative Analysis of Poverty in Fiji.
“Naitasiri and Macuata followed with 13 and 12 percent respectively.”
He said while the estimates of the incidence of poverty give some idea about the proportions of a population, which is below the basic need poverty line.
It does not tell us how far below the poverty line the poor are or the depth of their poverty.
Dr Narsey’s report reveals 35 percent of Fiji’s population lives in poverty.
The poorest ethnic sub-group are rural Indians who make up 44 percent of the total number.