List of countries by percentage of population living in poverty

This is a list of countries and territories by percentage of population living in poverty, as recorded by the World Bank and International Labour Organization.

Poverty is about not having enough money to meet basic needs including food, clothing and shelter.^[4][5] There are many working definitions of "poverty", with considerable debate on the most accurate definition of the term.

Lack of income security, economic stability and the predictability of one's continued means to meet basic needs all serve as absolute indicators of poverty. Poverty may therefore also be defined as the economic condition of lacking predictable and stable means of meeting basic life needs.

As a result of the adoption of the 2017 PPPs, the global poverty lines have been revised in 2022: The international poverty line, used to define extreme global poverty, was revised to US$2.15 from US$1.90. Poverty lines for other sets of countries have also been revised upwards. The poverty line for lower middle-income countries (LMICs) has moved to US$3.65 from US$3.20, while the poverty line for upper middle-income countries (UMICs) has moved to US$6.85 from US$5.50.^[6]

The first table lists countries by the percentage of their population with an income of less than $2.15 (the extreme poverty line), $3.65 and $6.85 US dollars a day in 2017 international PPP prices. The data is from the most recent year available from the World Bank API.^[1][2][3]

As differences in price levels across the world evolve, the global poverty line has to be periodically updated to reflect these changes. The World Bank updated the global poverty lines in September 2022. The decision follows the release in 2020 of new purchasing power parities (PPPs)—the main data used to convert different currencies into a common, comparable unit and account for price differences across countries. The new extreme poverty line of $2.15 per person per day is based on 2017 PPPs.^[7] This means that anyone living on less than $2.15 a day is considered to be living in extreme poverty. About 692 million people globally were in this situation in 2024.^[8]

The second table lists countries by the percentage of the population living below the national poverty line—the poverty line deemed appropriate for a country by its authorities. National estimates are based on population-weighted subgroup estimates from household surveys.^[9]

Definitions of the poverty line vary considerably among nations. For example, rich nations generally employ more generous standards of poverty than poor nations. Even among rich nations, the standards differ greatly. Thus, the numbers are not comparable among countries. Even when nations do use the same method, some issues may remain.^[10]

According to the World Bank, "Poverty headcount ratio at a defined value a day is the percentage of the population living on less than that value a day at 2017 purchasing power adjusted prices. As a result of revisions in PPP exchange rates, poverty rates for individual countries cannot be compared with poverty rates reported in earlier editions."^[11] "National poverty headcount ratio is the percentage of the population living below the national poverty line(s). National estimates are based on population-weighted subgroup estimates from household surveys."^[12]

A country may have a unique national poverty line or separate poverty lines for rural and urban areas, or for different geographic areas to reflect differences in the cost of living or sometimes to reflect differences in diets and consumption baskets. National poverty lines reflect local perceptions of the level and composition of consumption or income needed to be non-poor. The perceived boundary between poor and non-poor typically rises with the average income of a country and thus does not provide a uniform measure for comparing poverty rates across countries. Almost all national poverty lines in developing economies are anchored to the cost of a food bundle - based on the prevailing national diet of the poor - that provides adequate nutrition for good health and normal activity, plus an allowance for nonfood spending.^[9]

The third table lists countries by the percentage of the working population with an income of less than $2.15 (the extreme poverty line), and up to $3.65 a day (the moderate poverty line). The data is from the most recent year available from ILOSTAT, the International Labour Organization database.^[13]

According to International Labour Organization, "the working poor are employed people who live in households that fall below an accepted poverty line. While poverty in the developed world is often associated with unemployment, the extreme poverty that exists throughout much of the developing world is largely a problem of employed persons in these societies. For these poor workers, the problem is typically one of employment quality. Reducing poverty in line with the SDGs therefore necessitates boosting the employment opportunities and incomes of the working poor – those people who are employed, but who are nevertheless unable to lift themselves and their families above the poverty threshold."^[14]