Financial analyst Joel Bhagwandin has disputed claims of poor management of poverty in Guyana, saying the poverty rate has fallen below 20 per cent in 2025.
Bhagwandin cited a 2022 World Bank report which stated that Guyana’s poverty level—measured using the upper-middle income poverty line of US$5.50 per day in 2011 terms—fell from nearly 61 per cent in 2006 to 48 per cent in 2019, but remained among the highest in Latin America and the Caribbean.
He said the World Bank continues to use 2019 data due to a lack of recent information, but some people still treat the outdated figures as current.
“With respect to estimating the poverty level in Guyana in the absence of an updated, credible, and reliable report or data on the poverty level, anecdotal and economic indicators suggest that the rate of poverty is significantly lower than 48 per cent,” Bhagwandin said.
He noted that base-level workers such as unskilled labourers and domestic staff earn more than US$5.50 per day, or US$165 per month, or G$34,402.
“A domestic helper earns $160,000/month, a cleaner earns more than $80,000/month, the lowest rank security officer earns more than $80,000/month, a labourer in the construction sector earns at a minimum $5,000/day (US$25/day),” Bhagwandin said.
He added that poverty is typically assessed at the household level, and indicators such as rising net disposable income, successful social welfare and housing programmes, and growing vehicle ownership suggest significant improvement.
Bhagwandin said that any “academically honest and methodologically sound” poverty assessment would show a dramatic reduction in poverty from over 90 per cent in the late 1980s to below 20 per cent in 2025, due to the current government’s strategies.
