Subnational survey data reveal persistent gaps in living standards across 75 low and middle-income countries
Published in Nature Communications, 2025
Cite this paper
@article{hoffmann2025subnational,
author = {Hoffmann, Roman and Patange, Omkar and Zimm, Caroline and Pachauri, Shonali and Belmin, Camille and Pelz, Setu and Brutschin, Elina and Kikstra, Jarmo S and Kuhn, Michael and Min, Jihoon and others},
title = {Subnational survey data reveal persistent gaps in living standards across 75 low and middle-income countries},
journal = {Nature Communications},
year = {2025},
volume = {16},
number = {1},
pages = {4986},
doi = {10.1038/s41467-025-60195-5}
}Abstract
Many households worldwide face substantial gaps in decent living standards (DLS), universal and essential material preconditions for achieving well-being and inclusive development. Here, we use subnational Demographic and Health Survey data from 75 low and middle-income countries (1990–2021) to explore the distribution and trends of ten living standards. We estimate that 94.9% of households in our dataset lack the material prerequisites for at least one of the ten standards, and 63.6% for one-third of them. Stark inequalities persist both within and between countries, with regions in sub-Saharan Africa experiencing the most severe deprivations.