Poverty in this report is measured using estimated consumption expenditures. The poverty line is a threshold below which people are deemed poor. In 2005/06, the poverty line was estimated at Ksh1,562 and Ksh2,913 per adult equivalent per month for rural and urban households respectively. Nationally, 45.2 percent of the population lives below the poverty line (2009 estimates), down from 46 percent in 2005/06.
Figure 2.7: Percent of individuals below poverty line in Kenya and by rural/urban
Half of the people in rural areas and one third in urban areas live below the poverty line, a difference of 18 percentage points between rural and urban areas as indicated in figure 2.7.
As illustrated in figure 2.8, roughly 8 out of every 10 people in Turkana, Mandera and Wajir Counties are poor. The proportion of individuals below the poverty line in Turkana (87.5 percent) is four times that in Nairobi, which has the lowest poverty at 21.8 percent.
Figure 2.8: Headcount Index: Percentageof individuals below poverty line in counties
Figure 2.9:Proportion of population below poverty line (headcount index) nationally
The national inequalities in poverty across counties are depicted in Figure 2.9, which shows the incidence of poverty is higher in the Northern and Coastal regions of the country and significantly lower in others especially in Nairobi and the central region of the country.