The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has released a new report titled “Urban Poverty: Unpacking Yangon”. It offers a comprehensive analysis of the sharp rise in urban poverty across Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city.
Based on a July 2024 survey of 4,800 respondents, the report examines the escalating socio-economic vulnerabilities in Yangon’s urban and peri-urban areas driven by economic downturn, political instability, displacement, and shrinking international aid and donor support.
Read the full report here.
Key insights
- Urban poverty has surged from 10% in 2017 to 43% in 2023, translating to nearly 2.7 million people now living in poverty.
- Depth of poverty has worsened, with 26% of the population falling far below the poverty line—up from just 2% in 2017.
- In peri-urban areas, 25% of households are in the lowest asset quintile; 39% of migrant households are classified among the poorest.
- Migrants arriving after the 2021 military takeover face heightened risks due to lack of documentation, unstable employment, and limited access to basic services.
The report explores the overlapping dimensions of urban poverty in Yangon, including healthcare, education, livelihoods, and security, and reveals how structural breakdowns are intensifying hardship, particularly among displaced and migrant communities.
As Yangon’s vulnerable populations grow, the report calls for urgent, multi-sectoral responses that address both long-standing inequalities and emerging vulnerabilities in a context of ongoing crisis and urbanization.
The web version is available here.