Research on Poverty and Increasing Vulnerability in Africa(2018-2022)

This research report investigates poverty and increasing vulnerability in Africa over the past five years. It identifies the concepts of poverty and vulnerability, evaluates poverty trends, and analyzes the scale of poverty in Africa. The methodology employs a quantitative research approach using secondary data collected from websites, journals, and articles, analyzed through ICT techniques. The findings reveal fluctuating poverty rates, with a significant rise in 2022, and highlight the most vulnerable countries. The report concludes that poverty is a primary driver of vulnerability in Africa, providing statistical data and analysis to support this claim. Desklib offers this assignment as an example of the kind of solved assignments and past papers available on its platform.

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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................2
Background..................................................................................................................................2
Research Aim...............................................................................................................................2
Research Objectives.....................................................................................................................2
Research Questions......................................................................................................................2
LITERATURE REVIEW................................................................................................................3
Theme 1: Concept of Poverty and Vulnerability.........................................................................3
Theme 2: Analysis of poverty and increasing vulnerability in Africa.........................................3
Theme 3: Scale of poverty and increasing vulnerability in Africa in last 5 years until recently.3
METHODOLOGY..........................................................................................................................4
Research Type.............................................................................................................................4
Research Approach......................................................................................................................4
Data Collection............................................................................................................................4
Data Analysis...............................................................................................................................5
Ethical Consideration...................................................................................................................5
Research Limitation.....................................................................................................................5
CLACULATION AND RESULTS.................................................................................................5
DISCUSSION..................................................................................................................................8
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
RECOMMENDATION...................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11
Online........................................................................................................................................12
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INTRODUCTION
Poverty and vulnerability in Africa is the major concern which should be addressed and
denoted in terms of how effectively this problem is being addressed and this helps in signifying
that this has been major concern for the country. There are the largest population of people who
are vulnerable to falling into poverty are in West Africa and East Africa. This is the major issue
or problem which the country is facing at large scale.
Background
Poverty and vulnerability are the factors which have been existing since many years in
Africa and this has been increasing and raising the concerns regarding the poverty and
vulnerability at large scale. There are some major causes of poverty which have been addressed
as — limited employment opportunities, poor infrastructure, poor resource usage. Research
strategy and methodology are the ways in which the research will be completed and along with
this proper finding will be concluded at large scale.
Research Aim
To analyse poverty and increasing vulnerability in Africa in the last 5 years
Research Objectives
 To identify the concept of poverty and vulnerability.
 To evaluate poverty and increasing in vulnerability in Africa.
 To identify the scales of poverty and increasing vulnerability in Africa in last 5 years.
 To recommend strategies for improving poverty and vulnerability in Africa in past 2 to 3
years.
Research Questions
 What is the concept of poverty and vulnerability?
 How it is analysing poverty and increasing vulnerability in Africa.
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LITERATURE REVIEW
Theme 1: Concept of Poverty and Vulnerability
As per the opinion of Akintunde et al. (2021) poverty is a state where people of the
country do not have enough money to meet its basic needs such as food, shelter, cloths. The
poverty arises due to the lack of education and employment within the country. In simple term,
poverty is a state of having few possession as well as the little income.
However, Azzarri and Signorelli (2020) has stated that vulnerability is the state where
people are being exposed to the possibility of being attacked or harmed by the other countries or
people either physically or emotionally. The Covid-19 is considering as one of the major factor
behind the rise in the vulnerability in the Africa countries. Due to Covid-19, people have lost
their job which leads to rise in the unemployment rate of country (Li et al. 2021).
Theme 2: Analysis of poverty and increasing vulnerability in Africa
According to the view of Bolarinwa and Akinlo (2021) poverty rate in Africa has been
increasing from past years which might be because of the global pandemic. In the year 2022, the
poverty rate is 55.5% while on the other hand it was 39.9% in the year 2021 (Azu et al. 2022).
The poverty rate of Africa is increasing and is come under the top countries having highest
poverty rate in the year 2022. It is analysed that the poverty is Africa is causes because of the
low income, poverty, poor healthcare system, lack of education as well as the Covid-19.
However, on the other hand, Fosu and Gafa (2020) stated that poverty and increasing
vulnerability in Africa has leads to lower GDP and economic growth of country. The country is
unable to provide the proper welfare to the people living in this country.
As stated by Dang and Dabalen (2019), the analysis of increasing vulnerability in Africa in
recent years is easily possible with the poverty in country. It is identified from the secondary
information that the natural disaster, unemployment rate in Africa has result into increase in the
vulnerability in past two years during the Covid-19 pandemic situation. This is one of the major
reason behind the rise in the vulnerability in Africa.
Theme 3: Scale of poverty and increasing vulnerability in Africa in last 5 years
As per the opinion of Becker and Frankema (2019) the scale of poverty in Africa is
measured with the poverty rate of Africa as well as the different countries of Africa. The poverty
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rate of Africa as a percentage of global in the year 2022 is 55.5% (Fisker and Tarp, 2021). It is
also analysed from the research that in the year 2022, the number of people live in extreme
poverty in Africa is 460 million (van den Brakel and Almeida, 2022).
On the other hand, Ayompe et al. (2021) has stated that scale of rise in vulnerability is
analysed with the unemployment rate of that country. Africa is one of the most vulnerable
continents to poverty. The top five African country which have highest level of vulnerability to
Poverty in Africa is South Sudan, Equatorial Guinea, Madagascar, Guinea-Bissau, Eritrea. The
vulnerable to poverty is categorized as one of the major factor or causes to rise in vulnerability in
Africa in the last five years.
METHODOLOGY
Research Type
There are two types of research method such as qualitative and quantitative. The qualitative
research includes theoretical information in the research while the quantitative method include
facts and figures related to topic in the research. In this study, the scholar has been selected
quantitative method of research in order to conduct the research on poverty and rise in
vulnerability in Africa over period of last five years.
Research Approach
There are two types of research approach such as inductive and deductive approach. The
inductive approach fit with qualitative research while on the other hand the deductive approach
fits with the quantitative approach (Omomowo, 2018). Thus, in the present study, scholar has
used deductive approach to conduct study on poverty and vulnerability in Africa in last five
years.
Data Collection
This section states the sources or methods from where data regarding the research topic has
been collected. There are two method of data collection such as primary and secondary data. In
the present study, the scholar has selected or gathered data from secondary sources such as
websites, books, journals, articles etc.
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Data Analysis
In order to analyse the data collected from secondary sources, there are two methods that is
thematic and ICT techniques. The scholar in the present study have selected ICT techniques to
analyse the gather data from secondary sources. In this, the scholar will analyse the data using
the descriptive statistics, tables and graphs.
Ethical Consideration
In order to conduct the whole study in ethical manner, the authorised websites have been
selected by the scholar to collect facts and figures about the topic. Also, all the secondary data
has been collected by the scholar from the reliable sources published after year 2017 (Mattes,
2020).
Research Limitation
There is various limitation faced by scholar while conducting this research such as lack of
time, accessibility as well as the lack of resources. It is because majority of websites fall under
the category of paid.
CALCULATION AND RESULTS
Table 1: Descriptive statistics of number of African populations living in extreme poverty over
the last 5 years
Years African population live in
extreme poverty (million)
2022 460
2021 490
2020 422
2019 478
2018 433
Median 460
Mode N/A
Average 456.6
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Sum 2283
Min 422
Max 490
Range 68
Standard Deviation 25.8426005
(Statista, 2022)
Figure 1: Graphical presentation of descriptive statistic of African populations living in extreme
poverty (in Million)
Interpretation: The above table and its graphical interpretation indicate the number of
African populations live in extreme poverty in Africa continent. It has also stated that in year
2020, the number of populations is highest as compared to previous years. The median of the
data set indicate that 460 million people is living in extreme poverty, average indicate 456.6
million of African people live in extreme poverty in Africa (World Bank Group, 2018). The
standard deviation of the dataset indicates the deviation between each year data from its mean
value is 25.8426005. This indicates the low deviation between each year data from its means.
Table 2: Poverty rate in Africa Continent over last 5 years
Years Poverty Rate (%)
2022 55.5
2021 39.9
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2020 37
2019 34
2018 40
(Statista, 2022)
Figure 2: Graphical presentation of poverty rate in Africa over last 5 years
Interpretation: The above table and graph represent the poverty rate in Africa continent
over the last 5 years that is from 2018 to 2022. On this basis, it is analysed that in the year 2022,
the poverty rate is higher than previous year. But overall, it is analysed that the poverty rate in
Africa has fluctuated over the five years without showing continuous increase or decrease trend
(Nyandoro and Dube, 2018).
Table 3: Poverty rates in different countries of Africa in the year 2022
Countries Poverty Rate (%)
South Sundan 82.30
Equatorial Guinea 76.80
Madagascar 70.70
Guinea-Bissau 69.30
Eritrea 69.00
Burundi 64.90
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Guatemala 59.30
Sao Tome and Principe 66.70
Central African Republic 62.00
(Statista, 2022)
Figure 3: Graphical presentation of poverty rate of different countries of Africa in year 2022
Interpretation: The above table and its graphical presentation indicate the poverty rate of
different African countries in the year 2022. On this basis, it is analysed that South Sundun is an
African country which has highest poverty rate as compares to all other African Countries. It is
analysed from the above table is that top five countries having highest poverty rate is South
Sudan, Equatorial Guinea, Madagascar, Guinea-Bissau, Eritrea. This also indicates that these
five countries are high in vulnerability to poverty in Africa. The poverty is the main cause to rise
in vulnerability in Africa continent (Gassner et al. 2019).
DISCUSSION
Poverty and rise in vulnerability are the major issues that Africa continent in the recent time
is facing. It is found out from the data analysis that poverty rate in Africa as percentage to global
poverty rate in fluctuating over the past five year. The poverty rate of Africa in year 2022 is
55.5%. It is also found out from the statistical data analysis, that number of people in Africa live
in extreme poverty rate has increased in the recent year which might be because of the global
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pandemic situation. The number of African countries living in extreme poverty in year 2022 is
460 million. Basically, Dang and Dabalen (2019) in the literature review also stated that Africa
has seen a decrease in the number of African population live in extreme poverty in the year 2022
as compared to previous year. It is also reviewed that the poverty rate of Africa as a percentage
of global poverty rate has increased in the year 2022 but fluctuated over the last five years. There
is no static trend in the poverty rate of Africa continent.
Further, it is also found out from the data analysis as well as facts and figures calculation,
that the top five countries of Africa seen rise in the vulnerability to poverty is South Sudan,
Equatorial Guinea, Madagascar, Guinea-Bissau, Eritrea. This is also stated by Roelen et al.
(2019) that the top five countries of Africa whose poverty rate is highest in the year 2022 and
this leads to the rise in the vulnerability in Africa are South Sudan, Equatorial Guinea,
Madagascar, Guinea-Bissau, Eritrea.
CONCLUSION
After summing up the above investigation, it has been concluded that the poverty is the main
cause of the rise in the vulnerability in Africa continent. From secondary sources and data
analysis using ICT technique it is analysed that average number of African populations living in
extreme poverty is 456.6. It is also concluded from the whole investigation that the poverty rate
of African continent as a global population is increase in the year 2022 to 55.5% as compared to
2021 i.e., 39.9%. However, the poverty rate fluctuates over the period of five years. It is also
analysed from the secondary research and its data analysis that the top five countries of Africa
having highest poverty rate is South Sudan, Equatorial Guinea, Madagascar, Guinea-Bissau,
Eritrea and also they highest level of vulnerability in Africa.
RECOMMENDATION
On the basis of above investigation, the following strategy is recommended to government
of African countries to reduce the poverty and vulnerability within the countries:
 The government of African countries should provide proper education to poor children.
For this, the government of African countries need to donate funds to poor people so that
they can educate their children.
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 The countries of Africa should support environmental protection programs in order to
reduce poverty and vulnerability (World Bank Group, 2018).
 Ensuring proper health care is also one of the best ways to reduce poverty within the
African countries.
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REFERENCES
Books and journals
Akintunde, T. Y., Akintunde, O. D., Musa, T. H., Sayibu, M., Tassang, A. E., Reed, L. M. and
Chen, S., (2021) Expanding telemedicine to reduce the burden on the healthcare systems
and poverty in Africa for a post-coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic
reformation. Global Health Journal. 5(3). pp.128-134.
Ayompe, L. M., Nkongho, R. N., Masso, C. and Egoh, B. N., (2021) Does investment in palm oil
trade alleviate smallholders from poverty in Africa? Investigating profitability from a
biodiversity hotspot, Cameroon. PloS one. 16(9). p.e0256498.
Azzarri, C. and Signorelli, S., (2020) Climate and poverty in Africa South of the Sahara. World
development. 125. p.104691.
Becker, F. and Frankema, E., (2019) Poverty in Africa. In Routledge International Handbook of
Poverty (pp. 203-216). Routledge.
Bolarinwa, S. T. and Akinlo, A. E., (2021) Is there a nonlinear relationship between financial
development and income inequality in Africa? Evidence from dynamic panel
threshold. The Journal of Economic Asymmetries. 24. p.e00226.
Dang, H. A. H. and Dabalen, A. L., (2019) Is poverty in Africa mostly chronic or transient?
Evidence from synthetic panel data. The Journal of Development Studies. 55(7).
pp.1527-1547.
Fosu, A. K. and Gafa, D. W., (2020) Progress on poverty in Africa: how have growth and
inequality mattered?. African Review of Economics and Finance. 12(1). pp.61-101.
Kwaw-Nimeson, E. and Tian, Z., (2021) The impact of agricultural producer price on sustainable
food security in Africa–a system GMM approach. Agricultural and Resource Economics:
International Scientific E-Journal. 7(1868-2021-1454). pp.60-76.
Mattes, R., (2020) Lived poverty on the rise: Decade of living-standard gains ends in Africa.
Nyandoro, M. and Dube, T., (2018) Poverty in Africa since independence. The history of African
development: An online textbook for a new generation of African students and teachers,
pp.1-18.
Omomowo, K. E., (2018) Poverty in africa. In The Development of Africa (pp. 69-94). Cham:
Springer
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Li, L., Di, L., Zhang, C., Guo, L. and Di, Y., (2021) Remote Sensing of Urban Poverty and
Gentrification. Remote Sensing. 13(20). p.4022.
Azu, B., Dibie, E., Ifeanyi, S. and Okoro, E., (2022) Assessing The Socio-Economic Impact of
Coronavrius in Africa. International Journal of Development and Economic
Sustainability. 10(3). pp.19-31.
Fisker, P. and Tarp, F., (2021) Poverty and Exposure to Climate Change in sub-Saharan Africa.
van den Brakel, J. and Almeida, R.J., (2022) Extracting Information on Poverty and Wellbeing
from Aerial and Satellite Images using Deep Learning.
World Bank Group, (2018) Overcoming poverty and inequality in South Africa: An assessment
of drivers, constraints and opportunities. Available at:
https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents-reports/documentdetail/
530481521735906534/overcoming-poverty-and-inequality-in-south-africa-an-
assessment-of-drivers-constraints-and-opportunities
Economic Development in Africa Report 2021. Available at:
<chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://unctad.org/system/files/
official-document/aldcafrica2021_en.pdf2021
Number of people living below the extreme poverty line in Africa from 2016 to 2027. Available
at:<https://www.statista.com/statistics/1228533/number-of-people-living-below-the-
extreme-poverty-line-in-africa/#:~:text=Number%20of%20people%20living%20in
%20extreme%20poverty%20in%20Africa%202016%2D2027&text=In%202022%2C
%20around%20460%20million,compared%20to%20the%20previous%20years.>
Poverty Rate by Country 2022. Available at:https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-
rankings/poverty-rate-by-country2022
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