Poverty rate in Mexico

This map shows the percentage of the population living in poverty per municipality during 2010 (click here for full screen). Clusters of municipalities where more than 80% of the population is classified as poor can be found in the Northwestern mountains, Southern mountains and near the border with Guatemala.

High poverty rates can be found in less accessible areas, usually at high altitudes where scarce water supply makes large scale agriculture difficult. Moreover, poverty has a higher incidence in municipalities with larger indigenous populations.

While the poverty rate of large urban areas is around 20 to 39% percent, it is still significantly less than that of rural areas.

Last summer, CONEVAL published new data at the State level. The new statistics show that Mexico’s poverty rate fell slightly between 2010 and 2012, dropping 0.6 percent, from 46.1 percent to 45.5 percent (check out this article by the Wilson Center).

It would be interesting to see what the new statistics look like at the municipality level.