Number of people living in extreme poverty in Botswana
Botswana: Number of people living in extreme poverty was 1.75 million people in 2015. ▲ Rising
Number of people living in extreme poverty in Botswana, 1985–2015
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
Botswana recorded 1.75 million people for number of people living in extreme poverty in 2015. That is the highest value across all 5 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 52.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of people living in extreme poverty in Botswana peaked at 1.75 million people in 2015 and was at its lowest, 570,505 people, in 1985.
Botswana ranks 112th of 120 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
Number of people living in extreme poverty in Botswana, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 570,505 people | — |
| 1993 | 829,557 people | +45.4% |
| 2002 | 1.15 million people | +38.4% |
| 2009 | 1.58 million people | +37.6% |
| 2015 | 1.75 million people | +11.0% |
Botswana compared with similar countries
- Botswana's 1.75 million people is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 16.37 million people, 11% of the median. (35 countries reporting)
- Botswana's 1.75 million people is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 10.66 million people, 16% of the median. (26 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 570,505 people | 570,505 people | 570,505 people | 1 |
| 1990s | 829,557 people | 829,557 people | 829,557 people | 1 |
| 2000s | 1.36 million people | 1.15 million people | 1.58 million people | 2 |
| 2010s | 1.75 million people | 1.75 million people | 1.75 million people | 1 |
Countries ranked near Botswana
More poverty & inequality data for Botswana
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 0 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 2.73 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 900.4 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 3.47 % change on previous year (2024)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 22.79 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 22.8% (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of people living in extreme poverty in Botswana?
- Number of people living in extreme poverty in Botswana was 1.75 million people in 2015, 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 Botswana?
- The highest recorded value was 1.75 million people in 2015.
- What is the lowest number of people living in extreme poverty recorded in Botswana?
- The lowest recorded value was 570,505 people in 1985.
- How does Botswana rank for number of people living in extreme poverty?
- Botswana ranks 112th out of 120 countries with data for 2015.
- Is number of people living in extreme poverty rising or falling in Botswana?
- Over the last ten years it is up 52.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Botswana 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 — 5 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.