The Khalifa International Foundation (KIF) for Humanitarian Works has released an analytical report titled “Drawing a line in the sand KIF’s Poverty Line Methodology Note” revealing estimates for poverty lines in Libya in light of the economic challenges and price fluctuations the country is experiencing.
The report relies on the basic needs approach, defining poverty as the inability of households to afford the minimum cost of basic goods and services, such as healthcare , housing, and hygiene. To determine this cost, a “Minimum Expenditure Basket” was calculated, reflecting basic needs according to international humanitarian standards.
Based on field prices and actual consumption patterns, the study concluded that the extreme poverty line—which covers the minimum for survival—amounts to approximately 1,250 LYD per month for a family of five. Meanwhile, the absolute poverty line—which includes basic service costs such as housing, education, and healthcare alongside food—is estimated at approximately 2,700 LYD per month for the same family.
The analysis also relied on three main cities representing the Libyan regions—Benghazi, Tripoli, and Sebha—to account for disparities in living costs.
The study was based on a mix of primary and secondary data, where commodity prices were collected from local markets during the period from January 28 to February 8, 2026. This included groceries, local markets, and supermarkets, recording several price points for each commodity and adopting the median price to ensure accuracy.
The results of the 2022–2023 Household Income and Expenditure Survey were also used to determine consumption patterns. The design of the expenditure basket was based on international references, most notably the World Health Organization, with contextual adjustments to ensure compatibility with the Libyan market. The basket provides approximately 2,100 calories per person daily according to the Sphere Handbook.
Furthermore, the Adult Equivalent method was used according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) equivalent scale, where a five-member family is equivalent to 3.2 Adult equivalents, reflecting differences in needs according to age.
The results showed that Sebha recorded the highest expenditure basket cost among the three cities; therefore, it was adopted as the national reference for determining the poverty line, in a conservative approach aimed at covering the highest living costs and avoiding the exclusion of the most vulnerable families.
The Foundation emphasized that these estimates will be subject to a quarterly update, based on changes in the prices of the expenditure basket in local markets, which are closely linked to exchange rate fluctuations in the black market.
The report pointed to a number of challenges, including limiting data collection to major cities exclude rural areas, relying on relatively old expenditure data, and using the black market exchange rate as an inflation indicator in light of limited official data.
Nevertheless, the report provides a practical and consistent framework for estimating poverty in Libya, with the possibility of developing it in the future when more data becomes available