Poverty: every fourth inhabitant of the Northern macroregion is poor

25.5% of the population in Northern macroregion countries are stricken with poverty, according to an analysis by the National Society of Industry (SNI).

This means that in regions such as Cajamarca, Ancash, La Libertad, Piura, Lambaeque, San Martin, Amazonas and Tumbesone in four is poor.

Poverty is higher in Cajamarca, where it reaches 39.7% of the population, followed by Amazonas (30.1%) and La Libertad (26.8%).

With such a high level of poverty, therefore, indicates a high level of informality in each of these regions.

SNI data show that in the northern regions, labor informality affects an average of 82.2% of workers, i.e. eight out of every 10 people. This figure is much higher depending on the area.

“While in Lambayeque the informal lifestyle is 76.2%, in Cajamarca this figure reaches 89.4%, that is, 9 out of 10 workers in the region work without access to benefits such as vacation or social security,” said Jesús Salazar Nishi, president of SNI.

Low GDP in the northern region

According to SNI, residents of the Northern macroregion perceive low Real GDP per capita of S$10,555, much lower than Lima’s per capita GDP of S$20,236.

What is obtained in the Northern macro-region is also lower than what is perceived in the Southern (S/16 470) and Central (S/12 603) macro-regions, which is a matter of concern, since 30% of the economically active population (EAP) of the employed part of the country is on north.

“Another major problem that the Northern macro-region suffers from is the reduction in the participation of its industry in GDPsince its contribution increased from 12.8% to 10.7% of total GDP from 2015 to 2021, which is in line with the decline in the share of national GDP in manufacturing in recent years,” Nishi said.

The union also warns, based on data from the Comptroller’s Office, that in regions such as Cajamarca, Ancash, La Libertad, Piura, Lambaeque, San Martin, Amazonas and Tumbes, the 717 paralyzed businesses represent a huge potential for reopening the construction sector and other items .