Living conditions of Botswana haveimproved over the past decade and poverty has reducedsignificantly. This decrease was accompanied by aconsiderable decline in both depth and severity of poverty,indicating that consumption has improved among the poor.While rural areas led the poverty reduction, the share ofthe poor living in urban areas has increased. Botswana’sprogress toward reduction of extreme poverty and inequalitywas among the world’s strongest in the second half of 2000s.During this period, the economic growth has been stronglypro-poor. Botswana is one of the top performers in Africawhen measured by annual consumption distribution growth forthe bottom 40 percentile. However, despite these noteworthyimprovements, inequality remains high. The study concludesthat with adequate macro and social policies, and a strongfocus on improving equity, Botswana has a historicalopportunity to build on recent achievements and move towardseradicating extreme poverty within one generation. Theanalyses was conducted in close collaboration with theStatistics Botswana, utilizing the data generated throughthe nationally representative households income andexpenditure surveys conducted by Statistics Botswana in2002/2003 and 2009/2010. The report benefited greatly fromthe leadership by the Poverty Eradication Unit.
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