Data from the 2019-2020 Household Income and Expenditure Survey shows that more Christians and iTaukei are living in poverty in Fiji in comparison to other races and religions.
According to the survey, 258,053 of Fiji’s total population of 864,132 were living in poverty. Of this, 200,871 were Christians, 41,042 were Hindus and 11,679 were Muslims.
Analysis of data revealed that 192,977 iTaukei were living in poverty compared with 58,933 Fijians of Indian descent.
The HIE survey found 29.9 per cent of all Fijians were living in poverty during the survey period.
“A single national poverty line was set at $2,179.39 per adult equivalent (AE) per year, or $41.91 per week,” the survey stated.
“This means that a person in Fiji is considered poor if his or her per AE annual consumption expenditure is less than $2,179.39 or less than $41.91 per week.
“In other words, individuals living below this national poverty line cannot afford to buy the essential food and non-food items for their living.”
Of the 258,053 living in poverty, 160,450 were in rural areas and 97,602 were living in urban centres.
The survey found that 134,060 males and 123,992 females were living below the poverty line.
The highest number of poor at 106,988 were living in the West, followed by 87,766 in the Central Division.
The survey found that 47,819 people were classified as living in absolute poverty in the North and 15,480 were captured in the Eastern Division.
The HIE survey stated 65,782 people in the rural Western Division were living below the poverty line, followed by 46,588 in urban Central, 41,178 in rural Central and 41,206 in urban Western.
The study also stated 97,586 people who were legally married were classified as living in absolute poverty.
