The government wants to reduce the proportion of the population living below the poverty line to more than 50% by 2043, according to the proposed National Development Strategy 2024-2043. 

Currently 68.2% of the population lives below the poverty line and the Executive's goal is for this percentage to fall to 27.7% by 2043.

The document published by the Ministry of Economy and Finance and quoted by O Pais states that 46.1% of the population was poor in 2015 and 68.2% in 2022.

"The poverty rate of 68.2% is still high, with a large part of the population living below the poverty line. Access to education, health and basic services is limited, especially in rural areas," says the document.

The Executive also estimates that poverty increased from 46.1% in 2014 to 68.2% in 2020, a change that was more noticeable in rural areas, with high rates in the Central (68.9%) and Northern (78.5%) regions of the country, according to the Fifth Poverty Assessment 2021.

In this document, the government states that "one of the most distinctive dimensions of Mozambique's development challenges is the high level of chronic malnutrition, the rate of which remains high at over 35%".

The document quoted by the newspaper also says that the country's overall social situation made progress between 2000 and 2022, especially in the areas of education, energy and employment, according to the 2022 Family Budget Survey, despite persistent challenges.

However, in the world ranking, Mozambique remains on the list of the poorest countries, occupying position 185 out of 191 countries analyzed in terms of the 2021 Human Development Index