Colombia

Photo: Gonzalo G. Useta

1. National MPI
2. Municipal MPI
3. Global MPI 2021 Country Briefing
4. Joined MPPN: 2013
5. Voluntary National Review
6. Dimensions magazine articles

1. National MPI

Multidimensional Poor (based on National MPI): 18.1% (in 2020)
Launch date of national MPI: August 2011
Institution responsible for national MPI: Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadísticas (DANE)
Dimensions of national MPI: education, childhood and youth conditions, work, health, and public services and housing.

In 2011, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos announced a new National Development Plan with a focus on poverty reduction. Devised by the Department of Planning, it features a Colombian Multidimensional Poverty Index (C-MPI), based on the Alkire-Foster method, which is used both to set specific targets and track progress.

The C-MPI uses the Colombian Living Standards Measurement Surveys (LSMS) in terms of data source. Dimensions, variables, and cutoffs were defined taking into account the thematic possibilities of the LSMS and a review of the following issues: dimensions frequently used in multidimensional indexes from Colombia and Latin America, discussion with experts, priorities in terms of social rights established by the Constitution, qualitative studies such as Voices of the Poor for Colombia, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs Colombia), and the government’s social policy to reduce poverty. The following table summarizes the structure of the C-MPI showing dimensions, variables, indicators, cutoffs, and weights (Angulo, 2016):

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2. Municipal MPI

In Colombia, according to municipal MPI data (source: 2018 census), the highest levels of municipal multidimensional poverty are predominantly in the Orinoquía-Amazonia and Pacific regions, and the lowest levels in municipalities located in the Central and Eastern regions of the country .

More info (in Spanish)

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5. Voluntary National Review

According to Colombia (2016) poverty reduction in Colombia occurred in all its dimensions. Non-monetary reductions were tracked and accelerated using a multidimensional measure that implemented the Alkire Foster methodology. In 2010, 30.4% of the population were MPI poor whereas in 2015 it was 20.2%. Colombia’s MPI is disaggregated by gender, age, urban/rural, and regions. Full Report Here

Colombia launched (2018) Conpes 3918 which describes the government’s strategy to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Conpes 3918 defines the 16 major guiding or cross-cutting indicators for Colombia to meet the SDGs by 2030. It selects the MPI for measuring poverty and working to achieve SDG1: End poverty in all its form everywhere. Colombia aims to reduce multidimensional poverty from 30.4% to 8.4% by 2030. See website.

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More info:

• DANE website
• Video on poverty measurement in Colombia
• “A Counting Multidimensional Poverty Index in Public Policy Context: the case of Colombia” by Roberto Angulo, Beatriz Díaz and Renata Pardo.

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Dimensiones Magazine Articles