Poverty Rate by Country

Poverty rates vary enormously from one country to the next. In South Sudan, the latest estimate places more than 82% of the population below the national poverty line. In China, the figure stands at zero. Between these extremes lies a wide spectrum: Madagascar at 75%, Honduras at 63%, Nigeria at 56%, and Mexico at 30% on one side, and Malaysia at 5%, Kazakhstan at 5%, and Belarus at 4% on the other. These numbers come from each country's own definition of poverty, not from a single global benchmark. Across the 144 countries with available data between 2015 and 2024, the latest reported poverty rates range from 0% to 82%, with the observation year varying by country.

The World Bank's Poverty and Inequality Platform compiles these figures from official national sources, meaning the data reflects poverty as each country defines it for itself. Some countries update their poverty measurements annually; others conduct surveys once every few years. As a result, the latest available data for some countries comes from 2024, while for others it may be 2021 or even 2015.

What the "poverty rate" actually means in this dataset

The indicator is called the poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines. In simple terms, it is the percentage of a country's population that lives below the income or consumption threshold that the country itself considers the minimum necessary to meet basic needs. Each country sets its own poverty line, typically based on the cost of a basket of essential goods such as food, clothing, and shelter.

This is not the same as the international poverty line that the World Bank uses for global comparisons across countries. A country with a relatively high national poverty line may report a higher poverty rate than a poorer country with a very low national poverty line, simply because the threshold is set higher. The national poverty line is designed for domestic policy: it tells a government how many of its own citizens fall below what it considers an acceptable standard.

Poverty Rate by Country Table — Latest Available Data (2015–2024)

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#	Country	Latest Data (%)	Year
1	South Sudan SS	82.3%	2016
2	Madagascar MG	75.2%	2021
3	Central African Republic CF	68.8%	2021
4	Mozambique MZ	65%	2022
5	Honduras HN	62.9%	2024
6	Zambia ZM	60%	2022
7	Eswatini SZ	58.9%	2016
8	Sierra Leone SL	56.8%	2018
9	DR Congo CD	56.2%	2020
10	Nigeria NG	56.2%	2022
11	Guatemala GT	56%	2023
12	Sao Tome and Principe ST	55.5%	2017
13	Somalia SO	55.4%	2022
14	Gambia GM	53.4%	2020
15	Belize BZ	52%	2018
16	Burundi BI	51%	2020
17	Liberia LR	50.9%	2016
18	Equatorial Guinea GQ	50.7%	2022
19	Malawi MW	50.7%	2019
20	Guinea-Bissau GW	50.5%	2021
21	Lesotho LS	49.7%	2017
22	Afghanistan AF	47.1%	2019
23	Mali ML	45.5%	2021
24	Chad TD	44.8%	2022
25	Togo TG	43.8%	2021
26	Guinea GN	43.7%	2018
27	Burkina Faso BF	43.2%	2021
28	Niger NE	41.2%	2021
29	Kenya KE	39.8%	2022
30	Zimbabwe ZW	38.3%	2019
31	Argentina AR	38.1%	2024
32	South Africa ZA	37.9%	2022
33	Bolivia BO	37.7%	2024
34	Cameroon CM	37.7%	2021
35	Ivory Coast CI	37.5%	2021
36	Senegal SN	37.5%	2021
37	Benin BJ	36.2%	2021
38	Egypt EG	33.5%	2021
39	Gabon GA	33.4%	2017
40	Ethiopia ET	33.1%	2021
41	Venezuela VE	33.1%	2015
42	Palestine PS	32.8%	2023
43	Angola AO	32.3%	2018
44	Colombia CO	31.8%	2024
45	Mauritania MR	31.8%	2019
46	Moldova MD	31.6%	2023
47	Mexico MX	29.6%	2024
48	Ecuador EC	28%	2024
49	Peru PE	27.6%	2024
50	Rwanda RW	27.4%	2023
51	El Salvador SV	27.2%	2023
52	Mongolia MN	27.1%	2022
53	Tanzania TZ	26.4%	2018
54	Barbados BB	25.7%	2016
55	Kyrgyzstan KG	25.7%	2024
56	Seychelles SC	25.3%	2018
57	Grenada GD	25%	2018
58	Saint Lucia LC	25%	2015
59	Nicaragua NI	24.9%	2016
60	Cape Verde CV	24.8%	2023
61	Myanmar MM	24.8%	2017
62	Fiji FJ	24.1%	2019
63	Ghana GH	23.4%	2016
64	Ukraine UA	23.2%	2020
65	Estonia EE	22.5%	2022
66	Latvia LV	22.5%	2022
67	North Macedonia MK	21.9%	2023
68	Pakistan PK	21.9%	2018
69	Samoa WS	21.9%	2018
70	Armenia AM	21.7%	2024
71	Bulgaria BG	21.7%	2023
72	Panama PA	21.7%	2023
73	Djibouti DJ	21.1%	2017
74	Lithuania LT	20.9%	2021
75	Tonga TO	20.6%	2021
76	Costa Rica CR	20.3%	2024
77	Croatia HR	20.3%	2024
78	Nepal NP	20.3%	2022
79	Spain ES	20.2%	2022
80	Italy IT	20.1%	2021
81	Paraguay PY	20.1%	2024
82	Montenegro ME	20%	2023
83	Tajikistan TJ	19.8%	2024
84	Albania AL	19.7%	2022
85	Serbia RS	19.7%	2023
86	Dominican Republic DO	19%	2024
87	Romania RO	19%	2023
88	Greece GR	18.8%	2021
89	Bangladesh BD	18.7%	2022
90	United Kingdom GB	18.6%	2017
91	Kosovo XK	17.6%	2015
92	Suriname SR	17.6%	2022
93	Iraq IQ	17.5%	2023
94	Namibia NA	17.4%	2015
95	Luxembourg LU	17.3%	2021
96	Uruguay UY	17.3%	2024
97	Bosnia and Herzegovina BA	16.9%	2015
98	Malta MT	16.7%	2021
99	Tunisia TN	16.6%	2021
100	Portugal PT	16.4%	2021
101	Botswana BW	16.1%	2015
102	Sweden SE	16.1%	2022
103	Uganda UG	16.1%	2023
104	Vanuatu VU	15.9%	2019
105	Switzerland CH	15.8%	2021
106	Jordan JO	15.7%	2018
107	France FR	15.6%	2021
108	Philippines PH	15.5%	2023
109	Laos LA	15%	2024
110	Austria AT	14.8%	2021
111	Germany DE	14.8%	2021
112	Netherlands NL	14.5%	2021
113	Sri Lanka LK	14.3%	2019
114	Ireland IE	14%	2021
115	Cyprus CY	13.9%	2021
116	Slovakia SK	13.7%	2021
117	Poland PL	13.3%	2024
118	Türkiye TR	13%	2024
119	Slovenia SI	12.7%	2022
120	Bhutan BT	12.4%	2022
121	Denmark DK	12.4%	2021
122	Belgium BE	12.3%	2022
123	Finland FI	12.2%	2022
124	Norway NO	12.2%	2021
125	Hungary HU	12.1%	2021
126	Czech Republic CZ	10.2%	2021
127	Georgia GE	9.4%	2024
128	Indonesia ID	9%	2024
129	Uzbekistan UZ	8.9%	2024
130	Iceland IS	8.8%	2017
131	Mauritius MU	8.4%	2023
132	Jamaica JM	8.2%	2023
133	Marshall Islands MH	7.2%	2019
134	Russia RU	7.2%	2024
135	Chile CL	6.5%	2022
136	Kiribati KI	5.5%	2023
137	Maldives MV	5.4%	2019
138	Thailand TH	5.4%	2022
139	Malaysia MY	5.1%	2023
140	Kazakhstan KZ	5%	2024
141	Vietnam VN	4.2%	2022
142	Morocco MA	3.9%	2022
143	Belarus BY	3.5%	2024
144	China CN	0%	2020

Where poverty rates are highest and lowest

Among countries with available data, the highest poverty rates are concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Latin America. South Sudan (82.3%, 2016) tops the list, followed by Madagascar (75.2%, 2021), the Central African Republic (68.8%, 2021), and Mozambique (65.0%, 2022). Honduras reports the highest rate in the Americas at 62.9% (2024). Zambia (60.0%, 2022), Sierra Leone (56.8%, 2018), the Democratic Republic of Congo (56.2%, 2020), and Nigeria (56.2%, 2022) complete the upper end of the scale — all reporting that more than half of their populations live below the national poverty line.

At the other end, the lowest reported poverty rates come from a mix of upper-middle-income and high-income countries. China reports 0.0% (2020), the lowest in the dataset, reflecting the fact that its national poverty line had been met for the entire population by that year. Morocco (3.9%, 2022), Belarus (3.5%, 2024), Kazakhstan (5.0%, 2024), Malaysia (5.1%, 2023), Thailand (5.4%, 2022), and Russia (7.2%, 2024) all report rates below 10%. Iceland (8.8%, 2017), Georgia (9.4%, 2024), and Indonesia (9.0%, 2024) also fall in the single-digit range.

It is important to note that the observation year differs across countries. For example, China's data is from 2020, South Sudan's from 2016, and Iceland's from 2017. The poverty rate in these countries may have changed since their last reported measurement.

Regional patterns across the dataset

Sub-Saharan African countries make up a significant share of the highest poverty rates in the dataset. Madagascar, the Central African Republic, Mozambique, Zambia, Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, and Somalia all record rates above 50%. Several Latin American countries also report relatively high figures: Honduras (62.9%), Guatemala (56.0%), and Bolivia (37.7%) are among the notable examples.

Countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia tend to report lower poverty rates under their national definitions. Belarus (3.5%), Kazakhstan (5.0%), Russia (7.2%), and Georgia (9.4%) all fall in the single digits. Many European Union member states in the dataset report rates between 10% and 25%, reflecting national poverty lines that are set at relatively higher income thresholds.

These patterns should be read with caution. A lower poverty rate in one country does not necessarily mean its population is better off than in a country with a higher rate — it may simply mean the poverty line is set lower. Regional comparisons within the dataset are most meaningful when grouped by countries with similar income levels and similar approaches to defining poverty.

Countries where poverty rates have changed notably

Several countries in the dataset show clear trends over the 2015–2024 period. The Dominican Republic recorded one of the largest declines, falling from 34.8% in 2016 to 19.0% in 2024. Mexico's poverty rate dropped from 43.2% in 2016 to 29.6% in 2024. Jamaica saw a decline from 21.2% in 2015 to 8.2% by 2023. Georgia's rate fell from 21.6% (2015) to 9.4% (2024). Armenia declined from 29.8% (2015) to 21.7% (2024), and the Philippines from 23.5% (2015) to 15.5% (2023).

Russia's poverty rate shows a steady downward trend from 13.5% in 2015 to 7.2% in 2024. Romania declined from 25.3% (2015) to 19.0% (2023), and Serbia from 25.9% (2015) to 19.7% (2023). Ukraine recorded a sharp drop from 51.9% in 2015 to 23.2% in 2020, although data after 2020 is not available in this dataset.

Not all movements were downward. Argentina's poverty rate increased from 30.3% in 2016 to 38.1% in 2024, with notable year-to-year volatility. Peru also saw a rise from 21.8% (2015) to 27.6% (2024), and Moldova increased from 25.2% (2019) to 31.6% (2023).

These trends reflect changes observable in the data itself. The dataset does not explain why these changes occurred, but it provides a consistent record of how the measured poverty rate has evolved within each country's own national framework.

How to interpret the data correctly

The most important thing to understand about national poverty lines is that they are not standardized across countries. A person classified as poor in Norway would almost certainly not be considered poor in Madagascar, because Norway's poverty line is set at a much higher income level. This means that comparing poverty rates between countries can be misleading if the comparison is treated as a like-for-like measure of material deprivation.

National poverty rates are most useful for understanding poverty trends within a single country over time. When a country's statistical office measures poverty using the same methodology across multiple years, the resulting trend shows whether the share of people below the national minimum is rising or falling. That is valuable information for policymakers and for anyone tracking social progress.

The dataset also highlights which countries conduct regular poverty surveys and which do not. Countries that report data annually or near-annually, such as Turkey and Russia, provide a continuous picture of poverty trends. Others report data only sporadically, leaving gaps that make trend analysis difficult.

Data Notes

The data is sourced from the World Bank's Poverty and Inequality Platform (PIP). The indicator is the poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines, expressed as a percentage of the total population. It covers the period from 2015 to 2024 and includes 144 countries with at least one observation within this window. The data is compiled from official government sources or computed by World Bank staff using each country's own national poverty line.

Because countries conduct poverty surveys on different schedules, not every country has data for every year. For the country-level overview presented in this article, the latest available observation within 2015–2024 is used for each country. The specific year of the latest observation varies: 24 countries have 2024 data, 19 have 2023 data, 25 have 2022 data, and the remainder have data from earlier years within the range.

Users who need strictly comparable cross-country poverty data should consult the World Bank's international poverty line indicators, which apply a uniform threshold across countries.