Poverty and social indicators

Over the last two or three decades, the quality of life in Bogotá has undoubtedly improved. Life expectancy rose by five years between the early 1970s and the early 1990s and the infant mortality rate fell from 50 per thousand live births in 1971 to 22 in 1993 (Rinaudo et al., 1994: 28). The proportion of homes built out of flimsy materials fell from 7 per cent in 1973 to 3 per cent in 1993. Per capita incomes have been rising, and between 1971 and 1993 the city's gross domestic product rose at an annual rate of 2.2 per cent. Poverty has also been falling, with the proportion of Bogotános living in poverty declining from 57 per cent in 1973 to 17 per cent in 1991, and of those living in extreme need from 26 to 4 per cent (Londoño de la Cuesta, 1992: 15).

Bogotá has much less poverty than most other Colombian cities. In 198485, household expenditure showed that while 18 per cent of Bogotános were living below the poverty line, the equivalent figures for 13 other major cities ranged from a low of 22 per cent in Bucaramanga to 40 per cent in Montería (Muñoz, 1991: 286). Since 1980, most Bogotános have fared much better than the inhabitants of Lima, Mexico City, or Rio de Janeiro. Nevertheless, far too many people live in poverty. Some 800,000 people lack basic needs and 200,000 live in misery (Londoño de la Cuesta, 1992: 15) M Bogotá is also a very unequal city; in 1985, the poorest quintile received only 4 per cent of the city's income, the top docile 37 per cent (Lopez, 1990: 41). There is little sign that the distribution of income has improved over time. Escobar (n.d.) was unable to show whether the distribution of income in the city had improved or deteriorated between 1985 and 1991, a disturbing finding in a city which has a higher level of inequality than that found in the country's other major cities.