Canada vs United States: Poverty: Share of population living on less than $40 a day
Canada
18.9%
in 2022
United States
22.6%
in 2024
Canada rank
112th
United States rank
109th
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $40 a day over time
- Canada
- United States
How they compare
United States currently reports 22.6% against 18.9% in Canada, a difference of 3.7%.
That makes United States's figure about 1.2 times Canada's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 46 shared years of data; in 1971 it was Canada ahead.
Canada ranks 112th and United States ranks 109th of 120 countries.
Across the 6 decades both report, Canada averaged higher in 4 and United States in 2.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Canada | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 55.9% | 40.5% | 15.4% | Canada |
| 1980s | 41.7% | 37.2% | 4.5% | Canada |
| 1990s | 40.5% | 34.2% | 6.2% | Canada |
| 2000s | 32.4% | 29.8% | 2.6% | Canada |
| 2010s | 24.4% | 28.9% | 4.4% | United States |
| 2020s | 17.2% | 20.9% | 3.8% | United States |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day, Canada or United States?
- United States, at 22.6% against 18.9% in Canada as of 2024.
- What is the difference in poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day between Canada and United States?
- 3.7%, with United States ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Canada and United States?
- 46 years are reported by both, from 1971 to 2022.
- How do Canada and United States rank globally for poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day?
- Canada ranks 112th and United States ranks 109th of 120 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Poverty: Share of population living on less than $40 a day. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Percentage of population living in households with an income or consumption below $40 per day.