In 2022, Brazil, under the Bolsonaro administration, saw its poverty rate significantly drop from 36.7% in 2021 to 31.6%.
This information comes from the Brazilian stats agency IBGE. They also noted a decrease in extreme poverty, from 9% to 5.9%.
These figures sharply counter the autumn 2022 election claims of the current left-wing government, which alleged a massive increase in poverty under Bolsonaro’s administration.
The number of people living in poverty reduced remarkably. It decreased by 10.2 million, from 67.8 million to 57.6 million.
Similarly, the count of those in extreme poverty fell by 6.5 million, from 12.7 million to 6.2 million.
This reduction happened across all regions. Notably, the North and the Northeast showed significant declines.
In the North, poverty dropped by 5.9 percentage points and extreme poverty by 7.2 points. The Northeast saw a decrease of 5.8 points in poverty and 6.2 points in extreme poverty.
Children up to 14 years old and seniors over 60 had different poverty rates.
For children, 49.1% were poor and 10% extremely poor. For seniors, these rates were 14.8% and 2.3%, respectively.
Reduction happened across all regions
Black or mixed-race individuals faced higher poverty rates. In 2022, 40% of them were poor, compared to 21% of white individuals.
Single black or mixed-race women with young children were most affected. In their households, 72.2% lived in poverty, and 22.6% in extreme poverty.
Social programs played a key role in income for the extremely poor. In 2022, these programs made up 67% of their income. Work income contributed only 27.4% for this group.
The IBGE emphasized the importance of social benefits for low-income families. For the poor, social benefits made up 20.5% of their income, while earnings from work constituted 63.1%.
Without social programs, poverty rates would have been higher. Without them, the general poverty rate would have risen by 12%, from 31.6% to 35.4%.
The extreme poverty rate would have increased by 80%, from 5.9% to 10.6%.