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.
Poverty headcount ratio (2024)Poverty trendWorld Bank Live with less than $1.00 a day 0.1% (0.13 million) Live with less than $2.00 a day 0.55% (0.72 million) Live with less than $2.50 a day 1.01% (1.32 million) Live with less than $4.00 a day 3.6% (4.71 million) Live with less than $5.00 a day 6.5% (8.51 million)
While 1.65% 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.
Background Mexico's unequal development between the richer urban zones and the considerably poorer rural zones has been attributed to the fast economic growth that took place during the so-called Mexican miracle, the period in which the Mexican economy transitioned from an agricultural economy to an industrial one. This led many people to relocate to the cities. Even though investments were pouring into urban infrastructure, the government couldn't accommodate the rapid influx of people, which led to the development of slums on the outskirts of many Mexican cities. The constant government corruption is another factor to which poverty is frequently attributed. Only in recent years, after various economic setbacks, Mexico has recovered to a level where the middle class, once virtually nonexistent, is beginning to flourish.
Social stratification, still greatly present in Mexico, can be traced back to the country's origin. In the Colonial Period, before its independence, the upper class was composed of those who owned the land, and the lower class was made up of those who worked the land. After the Mexican Revolution, the government ceded an estimated 50 percent of the land to the general population, covering a small portion of the gap between the wealthy and the poor. Land ownership continued to be the main source of wealth for Mexicans and has dictated the hierarchy of wealth distribution amongst the population. After the country entered its economic industrial transformation, industrialists, businessmen, and politicians have controlled the direction of wealth in Mexico and have remained among the wealthy.
The average individual gross annual income in Mexico in 2002 was US$6,879.37 (2010 dollars). 12.3 percent of the Mexican labor force earns the daily minimum wage or MX$1,343.28 per month (approx. US$111.94 November 2010 exchange rates). 20.5 of the labor force earns twice the minimum wage and 21.4 percent earns up to three times the daily minimum wage while 18.6 earn no more than five daily minimum wages. Only 11.8 percent of the working population earn wages equal or above MX$6,716.40 (US$559.70) per month. According to Jaime Saavedra, World Bank Poverty Manager for Latin America, Mexico has made considerable strides in poverty reduction since the late 1990s, with performance above the Latin American average. Saavedra explained that: "Between 2000 and 2004, extreme poverty fell almost seven percentage points, which can be explained by development in rural areas, where extreme poverty fell from 42.4 per cent to 27.9 per cent. The urban poverty rate, however, got stuck at 11.3 per cent."
Government involvements Social development began to take place in the form of written policy in the early 1900s. The Mexican Constitution, approved in 1917, outlined the basic social protections citizens are entitled to, including the right to property, education, health care, and employment; and it establishes the federal government responsible for the execution and enforcement of these protections.
The global economic crisis of the late 1920s and forward slowed down any possibility of social development in the country. Between the 1920s and the 1940s, illiteracy rates ranged from 61.5 to 58 percent, prompting the government to focus on establishing social protection institutions. By the late 1950s, 59 percent of the population knew how to read and write. In the 2000s, only 9.5 percent of the population older than 15 years was illiterate. By the 1960s, individual involvement of some states to increase social development, along with the country's economic growth, as well as employment opportunities and greater income, and the migration of people from rural states to urban areas, helped reduce poverty nationwide. The 1970s and 1980s saw the transformation of government and economic policies. The government gave way to flexible foreign trade, deregulation, and privatization of several sectors. After the economic crisis of the 1990s, Mexico recovered to become an emerging economic power; however, the number of poor nationwide has remained constant even with the country's overall growth.
Regional variation
Historically, southern states like Chiapas, Oaxaca, and Guerrero have remained segregated from the rest of the country. Their implementation of infrastructure, social development, education, and economic growth has been poorly accounted for. These states hold the highest levels of illiteracy, unemployment, lack of basic services such as running water and sanitation, overall urban infrastructure, and government establishment. As citizens of the least fortunate states have noticed growth and improvements in other states, many have simply left seeking better opportunities.
Causes of poverty The reasons for poverty in Mexico are complex and widely extensive. There is an agreement that a combination of uneven distribution of wealth and resources sponsored by economic and political agendas to favor the rich and powerful is a major contributor to the millions left behind.
Individual condition
In the economic sense, access to insufficient monetary means to afford goods and services becomes the immediate reason to be poor. Because a person's personal income dictates what he or she can afford and what he or she will remain deprived of, the first common cause of poverty is the individual condition. This means, a person's individual circumstances and possibilities create their opportunity for access to goods and services. This condition is triggered by a person's income, education, training or work experience, social network, age, health, and other socio-economic factors:
Lack of and unavailability of education As the population has grown, the number of students enrolled in schools throughout the country has grown tremendously since the 1950s. At the same time, government efforts to accommodate the growing student population, improving the quality of instruction and promoting prevalent school attendance has not been enough and therefore education has not remained among priorities for families who must struggle with poverty. 700,000 students from grades 1-9 dropped out of school in 2009 across Mexico. 7.9 percent (almost 9 million) of the population is illiterate. 73% of Mexican households have at least one member without education or education below the 7th grade. 40 percent of people in the states of Chiapas, Veracruz, Hidalgo, Oaxaca and Guerrero have education below the 7th grade.
Low quality public education
The state of public education in Mexico has been a topic of concern due to challenges in achieving educational progress. Efforts to address these challenges have faced obstacles, particularly in relation to teacher unions that have been criticized for demanding significant concessions while delivering limited results. This situation has led to concerns about the overall quality and efficiency of public education. Critics argue that these issues contribute to a broader problem of inadequate access to quality education, which, in turn, has implications for human development. Some argue that these challenges can lead to a lower human development index (HDI) and impact individuals' opportunities for personal and professional growth, potentially contributing to a cycle of poverty.
Underemployment