How geographically concentrated is poverty in Fiji?

In this paper, we present highly disaggregated estimates of expenditure‐based poverty in Fiji using data from the 2007 national census and 2008–2009 Household Income and Expenditure Survey. Predicted poverty is estimated at provincial and tikina levels. Poverty in Fiji is marked by considerable spatial heterogeneity that cannot be gauged by the division level household survey estimates revealing pockets of poverty even within relatively well‐off regions. Predicted poverty is highest in Cakaudrove province in Northern Division. Most strikingly, we find that 50% of all the poor in Fiji are concentrated in just 6 out of 85 tikinas, namely Suva, Labasa, Ba, Naitasiri, Vuda and Nadi. This finding has important implications for efficiency of targeted poverty alleviation programmes. We also focus on squatter settlements for which poverty headcount estimates using the Household Income and Expenditure Survey are not feasible. We find these settlements have rates of poverty headcount ratio that range from 38–55% depending on the Division the squatter settlement is located in; this range is significantly higher compared with the average urban poverty estimated at 26% and raises important social policy issues for addressing urban poverty.