Poverty in Mexico

Poverty in Mexico refers to its incidence and measurement. It is measured based on the country's social development laws and under parameters such as nutrition, clean water, housing, education, health care, social security, quality and availability of basic services in households, income and social cohesion. It is divided into two categories: moderate poverty and extreme poverty.

While 2.33% of Mexico's population lives below the international poverty line of $3.00 a day set by the World Bank, as of 2024, Mexico's government estimates that 24.2% of the population lives in moderate poverty and 5.3% lives in extreme poverty, resulting in 29.6% of Mexico's total population living below the national poverty line. According to CONEVAL, the institution designated to measure poverty in Mexico, poverty analysis should not only consider monetary income but also social factors. Six different deprivations serve as indicators in terms of poverty measurement: educational backwardness, access to health services, access to social security, access to (decent) food, quality of living spaces, and finally, access to basic services in housing (having a roof over one's head and access to certain goods and services).

To be considered poor, it is enough to have an income below the welfare line (income that is less than the basic food and non-food basket), regardless of the number of social deprivations a person has, if any. On the other hand, there is extreme poverty, the most precarious situation a person can find themselves in. This occurs when a person's income is less than the food basket, and they also experience three or more of the aforementioned deficiencies. The extreme gap is explained by the government's adoption of the multidimensional poverty method as a way to measure poverty. This method defines a person with income above the "international poverty line" or "welfare line", set by the Mexican government, as "moderately poor" if they have one or more deficiencies related to social rights, such as education (they did not complete their studies), nutrition (malnutrition or obesity), or living standards (access to basic services such as water or electricity, and secondary household goods, such as refrigerators). The Mexican government defines extreme poverty as deficiencies in both social rights and income below the "welfare line". Additional figures from SEDESOL (Mexico's social development agency) estimate that 6% of the population (7.4 million people) lives in extreme poverty and suffers from food insecurity.

The county's high poverty rates, despite Mexico's positive potential, are a recurring topic of discussion among professionals. Some economists have speculated that, in four more decades of continued economic growth, even with emigration and violence, Mexico will rank among the world's five largest economies, along with China, the United States, Japan, and India.

Recently, significant changes in government economic policy and attempts at reducing government intervention through privatization of various sectors allowed Mexico to remain Latin America's largest economy up until 2005, when it became the second largest. Despite these changes, Mexico continues to suffer from significant social inequality and a lack of opportunities. The Enrique Peña Nieto administration attempted to reduce poverty in the country by providing more professional and educational opportunities for its citizens, as well as establishing a universal healthcare system.