Related Press Release
Almost half (48.2%) of females in rural areas were multidimensionally poor during the 2021 Population and Housing Census (PHC), almost 20 percentage point higher than the national average (29.7%) for all females. Multidimensional poverty is a non-monetary measure that assesses deprivation in three dimensions (health, living conditions and education). In the rural areas, six in every 10 (58.4%) females aged 15 years and older were employed in the agricultural sector more than twice the national average of three in every 10 (28.8%). Eight in every 10 (84.0%) females in rural areas were in vulnerable employment i.e., either self-employed without employees (78.0%) or a contributing family worker (6.0%). The vulnerable employment for females in rural areas is over 10 percentage points higher than the national average (71.2%). In all, 1.5 million females in rural areas were in vulnerable employment.