For example, only in 4 of the 16 countries in Africa with available data — Burundi, Malawi, Sao Tome and Principe and Zambia — were the poverty rates for female-headed households higher compared to male-headed households (figure 8.2). The largest difference, of 8 percentage points, is observed in Malawi, where 59 per cent of people living in female-headed households are poor compared to 51 per cent of those living in male-headed households. In the other countries or areas with available data in the region, male-headed households had similar or higher poverty rates than female-headed households. In Burkina Faso, Ghana, Niger and Nigeria (all in Western Africa) the poverty rates for male-headed households were higher than those for female-headed households by more than 8 percentage points. For example, 44 per cent of people living in female-headed households in Nigeria were poor compared to 58 per cent of people living in male-headed households. Greater poverty rates for female-headed households, by more than 5 percentage points, were observed in Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.