Poverty in Tanzania has been falling for a decade, but recently the pace has slowed, raising concern about lack of correlation between economic growth and poverty reduction rate.
The Tanzania Mainland Poverty Assessment Report by the World Bank Group shows that between 2007 and 2018 Tanzania’s national poverty rate fell from 34.4 to 26.4 percent.
The report which was launched by Industry and Trade minister Innocent Bashungwa attributed the trend to gradual improvement in living conditions and human capital. The country’s strategy to diversify toward solar energy has started to pay off, particularly in rural areas, where 33 percent of households use solar energy for lighting compared to 14 percent in urban areas.
“Last year Tanzania recorded sustained increase in access to basic services and improvement in human capital outcomes,” reads a report in part. However, Tanzania’s success is not unmitigated as poverty was not reduced as much as the population grew.
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