Number of people living in extreme poverty in Ecuador
Ecuador: Number of people living in extreme poverty was 17.66 million people in 2025. ▲ Rising
Number of people living in extreme poverty in Ecuador, 1994–2025
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 Ecuador is 17.66 million people, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 26 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 5.1% on the previous year and up 14.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of people living in extreme poverty in Ecuador peaked at 17.66 million people in 2025 and was at its lowest, 8.37 million people, in 2000.
That places Ecuador 49th out of 120 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
Number of people living in extreme poverty in Ecuador, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 8.92 million people | — |
| 1999 | 9.11 million people | +2.1% |
| 2000 | 8.37 million people | -8.2% |
| 2003 | 10.85 million people | +29.7% |
| 2004 | 10.96 million people | +1.0% |
| 2005 | 11.72 million people | +6.9% |
| 2006 | 12.56 million people | +7.2% |
| 2007 | 12.76 million people | +1.6% |
| 2008 | 13.15 million people | +3.0% |
| 2009 | 13.44 million people | +2.2% |
| 2010 | 13.90 million people | +3.4% |
| 2011 | 14.34 million people | +3.1% |
| 2012 | 14.63 million people | +2.1% |
| 2013 | 15.10 million people | +3.2% |
| 2014 | 15.40 million people | +2.0% |
| 2015 | 15.49 million people | +0.6% |
| 2016 | 15.68 million people | +1.3% |
| 2017 | 16.04 million people | +2.3% |
| 2018 | 16.25 million people | +1.3% |
| 2019 | 16.53 million people | +1.8% |
| 2020 | 16.07 million people | -2.8% |
| 2021 | 16.75 million people | +4.3% |
| 2022 | 17.03 million people | +1.7% |
| 2023 | 17.14 million people | +0.6% |
| 2024 | 16.81 million people | -1.9% |
| 2025 | 17.66 million people | +5.1% |
Ecuador compared with similar countries
- Ecuador's 17.66 million people is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 16.37 million people, 1.1× the median. (35 countries reporting)
- Ecuador's 17.66 million people is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 11.75 million people, 1.5× the median. (18 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Number of people living in extreme poverty in Ecuador changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | +29.7% | 8.37 million people | 10.85 million people |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 9.02 million people | 8.92 million people | 9.11 million people | 2 |
| 2000s | 11.73 million people | 8.37 million people | 13.44 million people | 8 |
| 2010s | 15.34 million people | 13.90 million people | 16.53 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 16.91 million people | 16.07 million people | 17.66 million people | 6 |
Countries ranked near Ecuador
More poverty & inequality data for Ecuador
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 10 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 1.82 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 4,007 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 -0.4522 % change on previous year (2024)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 15.13 (2022)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 15.1% (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 Ecuador?
- Number of people living in extreme poverty in Ecuador was 17.66 million people in 2025, 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 Ecuador?
- The highest recorded value was 17.66 million people in 2025.
- What is the lowest number of people living in extreme poverty recorded in Ecuador?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.37 million people in 2000.
- How does Ecuador rank for number of people living in extreme poverty?
- Ecuador ranks 49th out of 120 countries with data for 2025.
- Is number of people living in extreme poverty rising or falling in Ecuador?
- Over the last ten years it is up 14.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Ecuador 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
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About this data
Number of people living in households with an income or consumption above $3 per day.