Number of people living in extreme poverty in Denmark
Denmark: Number of people living in extreme poverty was 5.93 million people in 2023. ▲ Rising
Number of people living in extreme poverty in Denmark, 1987–2023
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
The most recent figure for number of people living in extreme poverty in Denmark is 5.93 million people, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
The figure is up 0.6% on the previous year and up 5.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of people living in extreme poverty in Denmark peaked at 5.93 million people in 2023 and was at its lowest, 5.10 million people, in 1987.
Denmark ranks 84th of 120 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Number of people living in extreme poverty in Denmark, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1987 | 5.10 million people | — |
| 1992 | 5.14 million people | +0.9% |
| 1995 | 5.23 million people | +1.7% |
| 2000 | 5.33 million people | +2.0% |
| 2003 | 5.37 million people | +0.7% |
| 2004 | 5.39 million people | +0.3% |
| 2005 | 5.40 million people | +0.3% |
| 2006 | 5.43 million people | +0.4% |
| 2007 | 5.46 million people | +0.6% |
| 2008 | 5.48 million people | +0.4% |
| 2009 | 5.49 million people | +0.3% |
| 2010 | 5.54 million people | +1.0% |
| 2011 | 5.57 million people | +0.5% |
| 2012 | 5.59 million people | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 5.60 million people | +0.1% |
| 2014 | 5.63 million people | +0.6% |
| 2015 | 5.67 million people | +0.8% |
| 2016 | 5.71 million people | +0.7% |
| 2017 | 5.76 million people | +0.8% |
| 2018 | 5.78 million people | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 5.80 million people | +0.3% |
| 2020 | 5.82 million people | +0.4% |
| 2021 | 5.85 million people | +0.4% |
| 2022 | 5.89 million people | +0.7% |
| 2023 | 5.93 million people | +0.6% |
Denmark compared with similar countries
- Denmark's 5.93 million people is below the median for high income countries, which is 9.58 million people, 62% of the median. (42 countries reporting)
- Denmark's 5.93 million people is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 8.39 million people, 71% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 5.10 million people | 5.10 million people | 5.10 million people | 1 |
| 1990s | 5.18 million people | 5.14 million people | 5.23 million people | 2 |
| 2000s | 5.42 million people | 5.33 million people | 5.49 million people | 8 |
| 2010s | 5.67 million people | 5.54 million people | 5.80 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.87 million people | 5.82 million people | 5.93 million people | 4 |
Countries ranked near Denmark
More poverty & inequality data for Denmark
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 8 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 1.51 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 6,096 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 7.49 % change on previous year (2024)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 43.39 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 43.4% (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 Denmark?
- Number of people living in extreme poverty in Denmark was 5.93 million people in 2023, 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 Denmark?
- The highest recorded value was 5.93 million people in 2023.
- What is the lowest number of people living in extreme poverty recorded in Denmark?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.10 million people in 1987.
- How does Denmark rank for number of people living in extreme poverty?
- Denmark ranks 84th out of 120 countries with data for 2023.
- Is number of people living in extreme poverty rising or falling in Denmark?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Denmark 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 — 25 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.