Growth in sub-Saharan African countries has been more limited, although comparison is challenging due to limited data (available for 15 countries only).
Progress in shared prosperity has been strongest in Eastern and South-Eastern Asia, with the bottom 40 per cent of the population growing annually by 4.9 per cent, on average. Still, in all countries with data, the bottom 40 per cent of the population received less than 25 per cent of the overall income, while the richest 10 per cent received at least 20 per cent of total income.
Furthermore, in more than half of those countries (49), the bottom 40 per cent experienced income growth higher than the overall national average, indicating lower levels of inequality. In 73 of the 90 countries with comparable data during the period 2012 to 2017, this group experienced real income growth. Progress towards shared prosperity can be measured through the growth of household income (or consumption) of the poorest 40 per cent of a country’s population. Leaving no one behind means that those with lower incomes are able to benefit and participate in a country’s broader economic growth.
