Indicator 1.2.1 Proportion of population living below the national poverty line, by sex and age

Goal 1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere

1.2 By 2030, reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions

1.2.1 Percentage of population living below the national poverty line, by sex and age

Proportion of population living below the national poverty line

22 June 2021

Indicator 1.1.1: Proportion of population below the international poverty line, by sex, age, employment status and geographical location (urban/rural)

Lao Statistics Bureau

Mr.Vilaysook SISOULATH

Department of Social Statistics

Deputy Director General

+856 20 55 795 043; +856 21 214 740

N/A

vilaysooks@gmail.com; lstats@lsb.gov.la; https://www.lsb.gov.la

Definition:

The national poverty rate is the percentage of the total population living below the national poverty line. The rural poverty rate is the percentage of the rural population living below the national poverty line. Urban poverty rate is the percentage of the urban population living below the national poverty line.

Concepts:

In assessing poverty in Lao PDR, and how best to reduce poverty according to national definitions, focus on having a poverty line that is considered appropriate for Lao PDR. Likewise, within Lao PDR, the differences in cost of living across provinces and between urban and rural areas have to be accounted for in determining the national poverty line.

percent, %

N/A

Lao Expenditure and Consumption Survey (LECS)

The LECS 2018-2019 is the sixth and most recent round conducted in Lao PDR.

Survey method and coverage: Sample survey carried out nationwide in every province (17) and district.

Fieldwork: 12 months, from June 2018 to June 2019 (latest)

Household expenditure and income data are collected each month using the daily recording principle. All transactions were captured in a diary and classified by kind of consumption, or by result of agricultural production and business of the household. Data on purchase of goods with longer life span (durables) such as furniture, television, automobile, motorcycle and others were also recorded for the period of the past 12 months. Data on time use was captured in the middle of the month for all household members aged 10 years and higher.

Type of interview: Face-to-face

Supervision: Each team comprised 1 supervisor and 2 enumerators for each village.

Data Collection Notes: The training for trainers and supervisors was conducted for five (5) days at the Department of Statistics, Vientiane Capital, with the participation of all staff from the Statistics Section from 17 provinces. The training for enumerators lasted 11 days to cover all the 17 provinces.

Sampling Procedure: Sample design and selection (two-stage sampling)

First step: Description of sample village; Second step: Selection of sample household within the sampled villages

Questionnaires

Four questionnaires were used to collect the LECS VI :
- Household Questionnaire
- Dairy Sheet
- Time Use Questionnaire
- Village Questionnaire
- Price Questionnaire

For detailed methodology, please see the survey report

(Link provided in the reference section).

Every five years, next collection will be form June 2024 to June 2025

One year after the reference period, next release is on 2026

Lao Statistics Bureau

Lao Statistics Bureau in cooperation with the World Bank

By virtue of the Lao PDR Statistics Law of 2010 and 2017, the LSB executes census and national sample surveys and other specific surveys that are defined in the Strategy for the Development of National Statistical System (SDNSS) in each period of time.

Monitoring national poverty is important for country-specific development agendas. National poverty lines are used to make more accurate estimates of poverty consistent with the country’s specific economic and social circumstances and are not intended for international comparisons of poverty rates.

Caveats and limitations inherent to survey data applies.

Where I (.) is an indicator function that takes on a value of 1 if the bracketed expression is true and 0, otherwise. If individual consumption or income y_i is less than the national poverty line z (for example, in absolute terms the line could be the price of a consumption bundle or in relative terms a percentage of the income distribution), then I (.) is equal to 1 and the individual is counted as poor. N_p is the total, urban or rural number of poor. N is the total, urban or rural population.

National poverty rates use country-specific poverty line, reflecting the country’s economic and social circumstances.

Standard data review and validation protocols were implemented from data collection, processing, calculation to finalization and publication of the results of the survey.

Likewise, consultation process with line ministries and partner agencies on the national data submitted for the SDGs Indicators were conducted prior to the publication of results.

Managing the quality of the indicator is guided by the Lao PDR Statistics Law of 2017 and in accordance with the recommendations of the UN Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics.

In general, the quality of the survey results is considered high given the quality management, quality assurance and standards implemented along with the high response rates for all groups.

The LECS has been conducted at five-year intervals since 1992/1993. Data are available from 1992/1993 to 2018/2019.

Disaggregated by rural and urban, sex and age group

The Lao Expenditure and Consumption Survey, 2018/2019 https://laosis.lsb.gov.la/board/BoardList.do?bbs_bbsid=B404

The UNSD SDG Indicators, Metadata repository https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/metadata/

Lao PDR Statistics Law, 2017
https://www.lsb.gov.la