共享指标，共享进展：来自加勒比国家贫困和不平等统一数据的见解（英）

Insights fromharmonized data onpoverty and inequalityin Caribbean countriesPublic Disclosure Authorized October 2025 SHARED M ETRICS, SHARED PROGRESS:Insights from harmonized data on poverty and inequality in Caribbean countries Summary Monetary poverty remains a concernfor the Caribbean countries analyzedhere;between roughly 10 and 25percent of people live below thepoverty linefor upper middle-incomecountries of$8.30/day. This brief analyzes poverty and inequalityin six Caribbean countries—Barbados,Belize, Jamaica, Grenada, Saint Lucia,and Suriname—for which recentharmonized microdata are available. Poverty’s strong link tolow educationand lack of employmentunderlines theimportance of fostering private sectordevelopment to create productive jobsand investing in the skills and digitalinfrastructure needed to help people meetthe labor market’s changing demands. Widespread vulnerability toproliferating shocks and high childpovertynecessitate adaptative socialprotection systems that can protectagainst extreme deprivation in the shortterm and enhance household resilience. Bolstering access to basic servicessuch as sanitation and electricity, andimproved housing, especially for poorhouseholds, can help boost livingconditions today and in the future. High inequality warrantsstrongerfiscal redistribution throughprogressive taxation and targetedsocial spending. Section 1. About this brief This brief focuses on the Caribbean countries of Barbados, Belize, Grenada, Suriname, Jamaica, and Saint Lucia.Other thanJamaica, which has a population of approximately 2.8 million, these countries are small in both population (ranging from 117,000 inGrenada to 634,000 in Suriname) and geographic size (ranging from 344 square kilometers in Grenada to 163,820 square kilometersin Suriname). Despite relatively high per capita incomes—above the average for Latin American and Caribbean—and steady economicgrowth in recent years, they face shared development challenges. All are highly vulnerable to external economic shocks and naturalhazards, which frequently undermine development gains and fiscal stability. Limited economic diversification remains a key constraint,with most of these countries relying heavily on tourism or commodity exports. While access to basic education has improved, highyouth unemployment persists. This brief draws on newly harmonized household survey data for these six Caribbean countries to present core poverty andinequality statistics.Box 1 provides details on the data and harmonization process. Section 2 presents an overview of poverty,vulnerability, and inequality across these Caribbean countries, comparing them with relevant regional and global benchmarks. Section3 explores the characteristics of poor households, examining individual and household demographics, attributes of the householdhead, dwelling conditions, and digital connectivity. Section 4 concludes and discusses implications for policy. Box 1.Dataharmonization and poverty benchmarking in Caribbean countries Insufficient comparable data hampers analysis of how Caribbean countries fare relative to global benchmarks,limiting what policymakers can learn when developing poverty-reducing policies.Household surveys in the Caribbeanare infrequently collected, and while some countries have produced national poverty estimates, these often cannot bebenchmarked against international poverty standards. Still, a number of Caribbean countries have recently implementedhousehold surveys that can be leveraged to generate internationally comparable measures of poverty and inequality. To support this effort, the World Bank has harmonized household survey data containing information on povertyand other welfare metrics for six Caribbean countries, in line with international best practices.The harmonizationprocess involves constructing consistent welfare aggregates—based on total consumption—and benchmarking themagainst international poverty lines. These harmonized poverty measures are essential for characterizing and targeting thepoor, and for informing policies that reflect their specific vulnerabilities and living conditions. Because the methodology isstandardized across countries, the resulting estimates allow for comparisons with other countries and regions1. This helpsto identify challenges that Caribbean countries share with peer countries, as well as those that are unique to the region.However, minor differences in welfare aggregates remain due to variations in survey design and data availability acrosscountries (Saavedra Facusse, Sanchez Castro, & Olivieri, 2025). The six countries covered by the harmonized data are Barbados, Belize, Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, and Suriname.Specifically, the analysis uses the Barbados Survey of Living Conditions (BSLC, 2016), Belize’s Household Budget Survey (HBS,2018), Grenada’s Survey of Living Conditions and Household Budgets (SLCHBS, 2018), Jamaica’s Survey of Living Conditions(JSLC, 2021), Saint Lucia’s