Poverty and extreme poverty rates registered a drop in Mato Grosso in 2023, following the national scenario of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s (PT) first year in office. One study by the Jones dos Santos Neves Institute (IJSN)based on data made available by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), points out that 25 states in the country achieved positive results in combating poverty.
Considering the poverty line of R$664.02 per capita (per person) per month, the poverty rate in Mato Grosso varied -5.1% in the comparison between 2022 and 2023. The result leaves the state with the 11th highest variation negative and ahead of the national average, which was -4.2%. The biggest drop was recorded in the state of Amapá, with -14.8%. On the other hand, the state of Acre was the only one to show an increase in poverty, even if only slightly (0.4%).
When comparing 2022 and 2023, Brazil’s poverty rate fell from 31.6% to 27.5%. This was the lowest rate since 2012. In 2023, the country had around 59 million Brazilians living below the poverty line. Thus, more than 8.5 million individuals were lifted out of poverty last year. The extreme poverty rate decreased from 5.9% to 4.4% between 2022 and 2023.
Still according to the analysis, poverty in Mato Grosso reached 17.8% of the population in 2023, a number lower than the national average of 27.5%. The state occupies 6th place in the ranking of UFs with the lowest poverty rates in the country. country, behind only Santa Catarina (11.6%), Rio Grande do Sul (14.4%), Federal District (15.6%), São Paulo (16.5%) and Paraná (17.3%) . The highest rate was observed in Maranhão (51.6%).
For the general director of the Jones dos Santos Neves Institute, Pablo Lira, the decline that took poverty and extreme poverty to the lowest levels in a historical series that began in 2012 is due to a combination of factors, such as public assistance policies social, actions to improve the economic environment, generate employment and increase income. President Lula used social media to celebrate the result.
