Number of people living in extreme poverty in Netherlands
Netherlands: Number of people living in extreme poverty was 17.52 million people in 2021. ▲ Rising
Number of people living in extreme poverty in Netherlands, 1983–2021
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
In 2021, number of people living in extreme poverty in Netherlands stood at 17.52 million people. That is the highest value across all 23 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.5% on the previous year and up 5.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of people living in extreme poverty in Netherlands peaked at 17.52 million people in 2021 and was at its lowest, 14.27 million people, in 1983.
That places Netherlands 50th out of 120 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 23 years of available data.
Number of people living in extreme poverty in Netherlands, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1983 | 14.27 million people | — |
| 1987 | 14.61 million people | +2.4% |
| 1990 | 14.79 million people | +1.2% |
| 1993 | 15.08 million people | +2.0% |
| 1999 | 15.76 million people | +4.6% |
| 2004 | 16.23 million people | +2.9% |
| 2005 | 16.30 million people | +0.4% |
| 2006 | 16.34 million people | +0.3% |
| 2007 | 16.38 million people | +0.2% |
| 2008 | 16.42 million people | +0.2% |
| 2009 | 16.49 million people | +0.5% |
| 2010 | 16.61 million people | +0.7% |
| 2011 | 16.67 million people | +0.4% |
| 2012 | 16.74 million people | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 16.79 million people | +0.3% |
| 2014 | 16.84 million people | +0.3% |
| 2015 | 16.93 million people | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 17.02 million people | +0.5% |
| 2017 | 17.10 million people | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 17.21 million people | +0.7% |
| 2019 | 17.33 million people | +0.7% |
| 2020 | 17.43 million people | +0.6% |
| 2021 | 17.52 million people | +0.5% |
Netherlands compared with similar countries
- Netherlands's 17.52 million people is above the median for high income countries, which is 9.58 million people, 1.8× the median. (42 countries reporting)
- Netherlands's 17.52 million people is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 8.39 million people, 2.1× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 14.44 million people | 14.27 million people | 14.61 million people | 2 |
| 1990s | 15.21 million people | 14.79 million people | 15.76 million people | 3 |
| 2000s | 16.36 million people | 16.23 million people | 16.49 million people | 6 |
| 2010s | 16.92 million people | 16.61 million people | 17.33 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 17.48 million people | 17.43 million people | 17.52 million people | 2 |
Countries ranked near Netherlands
More poverty & inequality data for Netherlands
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 6 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 1.43 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 6,806 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 -15.77 % change on previous year (2024)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 38.53 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 38.5% (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 Netherlands?
- Number of people living in extreme poverty in Netherlands was 17.52 million people in 2021, 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 Netherlands?
- The highest recorded value was 17.52 million people in 2021.
- What is the lowest number of people living in extreme poverty recorded in Netherlands?
- The lowest recorded value was 14.27 million people in 1983.
- How does Netherlands rank for number of people living in extreme poverty?
- Netherlands ranks 50th out of 120 countries with data for 2021.
- Is number of people living in extreme poverty rising or falling in Netherlands?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Netherlands 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 — 23 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.