Number of people living in extreme poverty in Ireland
Ireland: Number of people living in extreme poverty was 5.31 million people in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
5.31 million people
Change on year
up 2.0%
World rank
91st
of 120 countries
All-time high
5.31 million people
in 2023
All-time low
3.49 million people
in 1987
Years of data
27
1987–2023
Number of people living in extreme poverty in Ireland, 1987–2023
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
In 2023, number of people living in extreme poverty in Ireland stood at 5.31 million people. That is the highest value across all 27 years on record.
That represents a change of up 2.0% on the previous year and up 15.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of people living in extreme poverty in Ireland peaked at 5.31 million people in 2023 and was at its lowest, 3.49 million people, in 1987.
Ireland ranks 91st of 120 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 27 years of available data.
Number of people living in extreme poverty in Ireland, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1987 | 3.49 million people | — |
| 1994 | 3.58 million people | +2.3% |
| 1995 | 3.59 million people | +0.5% |
| 1996 | 3.63 million people | +1.0% |
| 2000 | 3.80 million people | +4.6% |
| 2002 | 3.92 million people | +3.2% |
| 2003 | 3.99 million people | +1.7% |
| 2004 | 4.07 million people | +2.0% |
| 2005 | 4.16 million people | +2.2% |
| 2006 | 4.25 million people | +2.3% |
| 2007 | 4.39 million people | +3.3% |
| 2008 | 4.48 million people | +2.0% |
| 2009 | 4.51 million people | +0.6% |
| 2010 | 4.53 million people | +0.4% |
| 2011 | 4.55 million people | +0.5% |
| 2012 | 4.57 million people | +0.6% |
| 2013 | 4.59 million people | +0.3% |
| 2014 | 4.64 million people | +1.0% |
| 2015 | 4.68 million people | +1.0% |
| 2016 | 4.75 million people | +1.4% |
| 2017 | 4.81 million people | +1.4% |
| 2018 | 4.89 million people | +1.7% |
| 2019 | 4.97 million people | +1.6% |
| 2020 | 5.03 million people | +1.1% |
| 2021 | 5.10 million people | +1.5% |
| 2022 | 5.20 million people | +1.9% |
| 2023 | 5.31 million people | +2.0% |
Ireland compared with similar countries
- Ireland's 5.31 million people is below the median for high income countries, which is 9.58 million people, 55% of the median. (42 countries reporting)
- Ireland's 5.31 million people is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 8.39 million people, 63% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 3.49 million people | 3.49 million people | 3.49 million people | 1 |
| 1990s | 3.60 million people | 3.58 million people | 3.63 million people | 3 |
| 2000s | 4.17 million people | 3.80 million people | 4.51 million people | 9 |
| 2010s | 4.70 million people | 4.53 million people | 4.97 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.16 million people | 5.03 million people | 5.31 million people | 4 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
More poverty & inequality data for Ireland
- 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 1.6 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 7,325 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 3.71 % change on previous year (2024)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 21.9 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 21.9% (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 Ireland?
- Number of people living in extreme poverty in Ireland was 5.31 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 Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 5.31 million people in 2023.
- What is the lowest number of people living in extreme poverty recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.49 million people in 1987.
- How does Ireland rank for number of people living in extreme poverty?
- Ireland ranks 91st out of 120 countries with data for 2023.
- Is number of people living in extreme poverty rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 15.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Ireland 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 — 27 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.