|
|
Rural poverty in Nicaragua
Nicaragua
is the second poorest country in Latin America after Haiti. Poverty
is largely a rural problem in Nicaragua, although there are pockets
of poverty in the capital, Managua, and in other urban areas. Close
to half (43 per cent) of the people in Nicaragua live in rural areas.
Two out of three of them (68 per cent) struggle to survive on little
more than US$1 per day.
Overall, poverty in Nicaragua has decreased in recent years, dropping
from 50.3 per cent in 1993 to 45.8 per cent in 2001, but natural disasters
and distortion of commodity prices in the international market led
to an increase in poverty in several regions. One of those regions
is the coffee-dependent central region, where poverty increased by
5.7 per cent between 1998 and 2001. Although coffee prices rose recently,
indebted farmers are still paying off loans.
Who are Nicaragua's rural poor people?
The most vulnerable people in rural
areas include the families of small-scale farmers and landless farm
workers, and families that combine both agricultural and other income-generating
activities on the farm. Off-farm activities are an important source
of income. In most rural families, at least one member works off the
farm.
Households headed by women, young people under 15 years of age and
indigenous people are among the poorest and most disadvantaged groups
in rural Nicaragua . About 17 per cent of rural households are managed
by women, but only 15 per cent of women hold title to land under their
own names, and they receive only 11 per cent of loans. Most rural
women cultivate land that is not theirs.
Where are Nicaragua's rural poor people?
Most of Nicaragua 's rural poor people
live in the vast, dry central region where natural resources are limited,
land has been overexploited and there is a high population density.
Most families live on marginal land, where water is scarce. Still,
80 per cent of the rural poor depend on agriculture for their livelihood,
causing a severe strain on the fragile environment.
Rural people's dependence on just a few crops (sorghum and maize in
the lowlands and beans and vegetables in the highlands) makes them
very vulnerable to market variations and climatic conditions. Recent
droughts have seriously affected food security and sources of income.
There is a high rate of seasonal migration to the Pacific region of
the country, where workers are needed to harvest crops for export.
Why are rural people poor in Nicaragua?
Ten
years of civil war between 1980 and 1990 and an economic crisis that
began in 1987 have caused the collapse of the country's economy. Environmental
disasters such as Hurricane Mitch, which caused extensive destruction
and loss of life in November 1998, have also worsened conditions for
the rural poor. Because of limited employment opportunities and inadequate
infrastructure such as roads, water and electricity supplies, the
incomes and productivity of poor rural people remain at low levels.
In 2001, only one out of five extremely poor rural households had
access to electricity.
Poor people in rural areas face many constraints, including physical
isolation, fragile ecosystems, difficult access to land and other natural
resources, low productivity of soils, obstacles to market access and
lack of public services such as education and health and legal services.
Unemployment, which averages up to 12 per cent for the country as a
whole, exceeds 20 per cent among poor rural families. Many rural people
migrate to urban areas or abroad looking for work. Remittances are an
important source of income for one in five Nicaraguan families and account
for 20 per cent of GDP.
Source: IFAD
email this article
|
|
Nicaragua
capital: Managua
GNI per capita: US$530 - 1,250
[more
maps...]
| Statistics |
| Total population (million): |
5.3 |
| Rural population density (people per km2),
2002: |
119.6 |
| Number of rural poor (million) |
1.6 |
| Poor as % of total rural population, 1998: |
68.5 |
| GNI per capita (US$), 2003: |
740.0 |
| Population living below US$1 a day (%), 2001: |
45.1 |
| Population living below US$2 a day (%), 2001: |
79.9 |
| Population living below the national poverty line
(%): |
47.9 |
| Share of poorest 20% in national income or consumption
(%), 2001: |
5.6 |
| Source: World Bank |
|
|
|
