Trends and Patterns in Wealth Index Assets: Observations From 68 Countries

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FIGURE 1
Geographic Distribution of EquityTool Countries
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FIGURE 2
Frequency of Appearance of Unique Asset Categories in Most Recent EquityTools (N=68)
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FIGURE 3
Changes in EquityTool Asset Appearance Over Time

TABLE 1.

EquityTool Countries by Region

Region	No. of Countries	Countries
East Asia and the Pacific	9	Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Thailand, Timor Leste, Vietnam
Europe and Central Asia	2	Armenia, Tajikistan
Latin America and the Caribbean	11	Argentina, Belize, Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay
Middle East and North Africa	3	Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia
South Asia	5	Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan
Sub-Saharan Africa	38	Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe

TABLE 2.

Frequency of Appearance of Assets in EquityTools by Country Income Group,^a No. (%)

Asset	Low-Income Countries (N=26)	Lower-Middle-Income Countries (N=31)	Upper-Middle-Income Countries (N=11)
Bank account	19 (73.1)	22 (71.0)	—
Bed	7 (26.9)	—	—
Car or truck	—	—	5 (45.5)
Chair	7 (26.9)	—	—
Computer	—	18 (58.1)	8 (72.7)
Cooking fuel	23 (88.5)	24 (77.4)	3 (27.3)
Cupboard/bookcase	7 (26.9)	—	—
Drinking water source	11 (42.3)	14 (45.2)	5 (45.5)
DVD/VCD player	—	—	3 (27.3)
Electric fan	—	12 (38.7)	—
Electricity	23 (88.5)	12 (38.7)	—
Exterior wall material	19 (73.1)	16 (51.6)	4 (36.4)
Floor material	24 (92.3)	22 (71.0)	6 (54.5)
Internet access	—	—	4 (36.4)
Landline telephone	—	—	4 (36.4)
Microwave	—	—	7 (63.6)
Mobile phone	9 (34.6)	—	—
Radio	13 (50.0)	—	—
Refrigerator	12 (46.2)	27 (87.1)	5 (45.5)
Roof material	19 (73.1)	14 (45.2)	6 (54.5)
Sofa/divan	—	—	5 (45.5)
Television	22 (84.6)	19 (61.3)	—
Toilet facility	14 (53.8)	19 (61.3)	9 (81.8)
Washing machine	—	11 (35.5)	5 (45.5)
Watch	13 (50.0)	10 (32.3)	—

↵^a Contains all assets appearing in 25% or more of the most recent EquityTool for each country for any of the 3 country income groups.

TABLE 3.

Frequency of Appearance of Type of Roof, Wall, and Floor Materials in EquityTools by Country Income Group,^a No. (%)

Material Type	Low-Income Countries (N=43)			Lower-Middle-Income Countries (N=43)			Upper-Middle-Income Countries (N=12)
Material Type	Roof	Wall	Floor	Roof	Wall	Floor	Roof	Wall	Floor
Finished	28 (65.1)	29 (67.4)	33 (76.7)	18 (41.9)	26 (60.5)	21 (48.8)	9 (75.0)	12 (100.0)	9 (75.0)
Rudimentary	2 (4.7)	1 (2.3)	8 (18.6)	2 (4.7)	4 (9.3)	1 (2.3)	—	—	—
Natural	23 (53.5)	40 (93.0)	16 (37.2)	4 (9.3)	20 (46.5)	10 (23.3)	—	—	—

↵^a Contains data from all EquityTools. Some EquityTools include more than one asset item.

TABLE 4.

Frequency of Appearance of Cooking Fuels in EquityTools by Country Income Group,^a No. (%)

Cooking Fuel	Low-Income Countries (N=43)	Lower-Middle-Income Countries (N=43)	Upper-Middle-Income Countries (N=12)
Agricultural products (crops, straw, shrubs, grass)	2 (4.7)	2 (4.7)	—
Animal dung	1 (2.3)	—	—
Charcoal	18 (41.9)	2 (4.7)	1 (8.3)
Electricity	4 (9.3)	4 (9.3)	1 (8.3)
Kerosene	—	1 (2.3)	—
Cooking gas (LPG, natural, biogas)	4 (9.3)	24 (55.8)	3 (25.0)
Wood	33 (76.7)	24 (55.8)	1 (8.3)

Abbreviation: LPG, liquefied petroleum gas.
↵^a Contains data from all EquityTools. Some EquityTools contain more than one cooking fuel asset question.

TABLE 5.

Frequency of Appearance of Water Sources in EquityTools by Country Income Group,^a No. (%)

Water Sources	Low-Income Countries (N=43)	Lower-Middle-Income Countries (N=43)	Upper-Middle-Income Countries (N=12)
Piped water
Piped into dwelling	8 (18.6)	8 (18.6)	4 (33.3)
Piped into a yard/plot	6 (14.0)	—	—
Public tap/standpipe	3 (7.0)	—	—
Tube well or borehole	1 (2.3)	1 (2.3)	—
Packaged/sold water
Bottled water	—	7 (16.3)	1 (8.3)
Sachet water	—	2 (4.7)	—
Water sales company	2 (4.7)	—	—
Protected ground source
Protected spring	—	1 (2.3)	—
Protected well	1 (2.3)	1 (2.3)	—
Unprotected ground or surface source
Surface water (river/dam/lake/pond/stream/canal/irrigation channel)	1 (2.3)	1 (2.3)	—
Unprotected spring	4 (9.3)	—	—
Unprotected well	3 (7.0)	2 (4.7)	—

↵^a Contains data from all EquityTools. Some EquityTools contain more than one water source asset item.

TABLE 6.

Frequency of Toilet Types in EquityTools by Country Income Group,^a No. (%)

Toilet Types	Low-Income Countries (N=43)	Lower-Middle-Income Countries (N=43)	Upper-Middle-Income Countries (N=12)
Flush or pour flush toilet
Flush to the piped sewer system	6 (14.0)	10 (23.3)	9 (75.0)
Flush to pit latrine	1 (2.3)	—	—
Flush to septic tank	11 (25.6)	10 (23.3)	1 (8.3)
Flush to somewhere else	1 (2.3)	—	1 (8.3)
Toilet in own dwelling	—	3 (7.0)	2 (16.7)
Toilet outside dwelling	—	—	1 (8.3)
Pit latrine
Pit latrine with slab	7 (16.3)	—	—
Pit latrine without slab/open pit	4 (9.3)	4 (9.3)	—
Ventilated improved pit latrine	1 (2.3)	—	—
No facility/bush/field
No facilities/bush/field	15 (34.9)	7 (16.3)	—
Other
Any type of toilet/latrine	—	1 (2.3)	1 (8.3)