According to the United Nations, the poverty rate in the different countries of the world has been reduced by more than half since 2000. However, in developing countries, one person in ten still lives on less than $1.90 a day (global poverty line in PPP 2011). The phenomenon is even more critical in West Africa with more than 30% of the population living below the global poverty line per day (OXFAM International, 2020).
In popular understanding and even in the ranks of some economists, it is common to associate an increase in per capita income with an improvement in the quality of life. However, quality of life and per capita income may not be in phase; one explanation is the unequal distribution of national wealth.
For example, although Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana are similar in terms of per capita output, the maternal mortality gap is very high. Similarly, Benin, although it has a higher per capita production than Burkina Faso, has a much higher maternal mortality rate than its neighbor.
A few key points are worth highlighting :
. A high level of production per capita does not necessarily reflect a good quality of life (measured here by maternal mortality).
. Two countries that are similar in terms of level (production per capita) may have different standards of living (access to drinking water, infant and maternal mortality, access to education, etc.).
Graph: GDP/capita in PPP (constant 2017 dollars) and maternal mortality rate per 100,000 live births
Source: AJEB, December 2020
CJEA