Minute30.com .- This Tuesday, April 22, the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE) reported that the multidimensional poverty rate in Colombia was 11.5% in 2024, which represents a decrease of 0.6 percentage points compared to 2023, when it stood at 12.1%.

This decrease reflects a slight improvement in the living conditions of the population, although strong regional and gender inequalities still persist. The report was presented by the director of the entity, Piedad Urdinola.

Rural areas continue to be the most affected: in populated centers and dispersed rural areas, multidimensional poverty reaches 24.3%, a figure that triples the 7.8% registered in the municipal capitals. This difference shows the structural gaps between the countryside and the city in access to education, health, public services and housing conditions.

By region, Orinoquía-Amazonía (20.3%) and the Caribbean region (18.5%) registered the highest levels of the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI). In contrast, Bogotá presented the lowest incidence of the MPI with 5.4%, consolidating itself as the territory with the best indicators in this measurement.

Regarding the gender approach, DANE highlighted that 12.9% of households headed by women are in a situation of multidimensional poverty, compared to 10.4% of those headed by men, which represents a significant gap. This difference, in addition to being statistically relevant compared to 2023 (when it was 11.2%), reflects the persistent inequality that women face in the socioeconomic field.

Among the 15 indicators that make up the MPI, the greatest improvements were observed in school backwardness and critical overcrowding. The school gap fell by 2.3 percentage points, from 24.3% in 2023 to 22.0% in 2024. For its part, critical overcrowding fell one point, from 7.1% to 6.1%. Both changes were considered statistically significant, and show progress in key conditions for social well-being.

h3>Multidimensional poverty

Multidimensional poverty, unlike monetary poverty, does not focus only on the lack of income, but rather considers multiple deprivations in different dimensions of life. It measures the lack of access to education, health, living conditions and other areas crucial for the well-being of people and households.

The Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) is a tool used to measure this form of poverty. The MPI identifies the deprivations that a person experiences simultaneously in areas such as health, education, living conditions, among others. For example, a person could be poor in health (poor nutrition, limited access to health services), in education (little or no access to school), and also in living conditions (lack of access to clean water, sanitation or adequate housing).

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