Human Development Report of Benin 1997

Benin’s first NHDR discusses the conceptual framework of poverty looking at both human and income poverty. One way poverty is measured is through perception surveys in which rural and urban focus-groups and individuals provided their views on poverty in Benin. Major differences in perceptions of poverty lie between the north and south; the latter attaches much more importance to income and employment, whereas the former contend that lack of food, shelter, health, income, and family are all equally important in assessing poverty conditions. The report concludes that the perceptions of the Beninese population on the fundamental dimensions of poverty vary according to the cultural values of the country’s different regions.