Number of people living in extreme poverty in Australia
Australia: Number of people living in extreme poverty was 25.42 million people in 2020. ▲ Rising
Number of people living in extreme poverty in Australia, 1981–2020
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
Australia recorded 25.42 million people for number of people living in extreme poverty in 2020. That is the highest value across all 13 years on record.
That represents a change of up 2.4% on the previous year and up 16.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of people living in extreme poverty in Australia peaked at 25.42 million people in 2020 and was at its lowest, 14.76 million people, in 1981.
That places Australia 37th out of 120 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 13 years of available data.
Number of people living in extreme poverty in Australia, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 14.76 million people | — |
| 1985 | 15.61 million people | +5.8% |
| 1989 | 16.68 million people | +6.8% |
| 1995 | 17.82 million people | +6.9% |
| 2001 | 19.10 million people | +7.2% |
| 2003 | 19.50 million people | +2.1% |
| 2004 | 19.79 million people | +1.5% |
| 2008 | 21.14 million people | +6.8% |
| 2010 | 21.92 million people | +3.7% |
| 2014 | 23.33 million people | +6.4% |
| 2016 | 24.07 million people | +3.2% |
| 2018 | 24.81 million people | +3.1% |
| 2020 | 25.42 million people | +2.4% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 25.42 million people is above the median for high income countries, which is 9.58 million people, 2.7× the median. (42 countries reporting)
- Australia's 25.42 million people is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 71.66 million people, 35% of the median. (11 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 15.68 million people | 14.76 million people | 16.68 million people | 3 |
| 1990s | 17.82 million people | 17.82 million people | 17.82 million people | 1 |
| 2000s | 19.89 million people | 19.10 million people | 21.14 million people | 4 |
| 2010s | 23.53 million people | 21.92 million people | 24.81 million people | 4 |
| 2020s | 25.42 million people | 25.42 million people | 25.42 million people | 1 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More poverty & inequality data for Australia
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 3 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fertility rate vs. share living in extreme poverty 1.64 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 2,690 kg per hectare (2024)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, annual growth rate -0.0446 % change on previous year (2024)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 30.36 (2022)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 30.4% (2022)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of people living in extreme poverty in Australia?
- Number of people living in extreme poverty in Australia was 25.42 million people in 2020, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest number of people living in extreme poverty recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 25.42 million people in 2020.
- What is the lowest number of people living in extreme poverty recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 14.76 million people in 1981.
- How does Australia rank for number of people living in extreme poverty?
- Australia ranks 37th out of 120 countries with data for 2020.
- Is number of people living in extreme poverty rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 16.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Number of people living in extreme poverty. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 13 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of people living in households with an income or consumption above $3 per day.