Number of people living in extreme poverty in Panama
Panama: Number of people living in extreme poverty was 4.37 million people in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
4.37 million people
Change on year
up 1.9%
World rank
95th
of 120 countries
All-time high
4.37 million people
in 2024
All-time low
1.61 million people
in 1979
Years of data
30
1979–2024
Number of people living in extreme poverty in Panama, 1979–2024
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 Panama is 4.37 million people, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 30 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.9% on the previous year and up 20.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of people living in extreme poverty in Panama peaked at 4.37 million people in 2024 and was at its lowest, 1.61 million people, in 1979.
Panama ranks 95th of 120 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 30 years of available data.
Number of people living in extreme poverty in Panama, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 1.61 million people | — |
| 1989 | 1.69 million people | +4.7% |
| 1991 | 1.83 million people | +8.3% |
| 1995 | 2.15 million people | +17.6% |
| 1997 | 2.27 million people | +5.7% |
| 1998 | 2.32 million people | +2.2% |
| 1999 | 2.43 million people | +4.6% |
| 2000 | 2.52 million people | +3.7% |
| 2001 | 2.43 million people | -3.4% |
| 2002 | 2.59 million people | +6.5% |
| 2003 | 2.65 million people | +2.4% |
| 2004 | 2.75 million people | +3.5% |
| 2005 | 2.83 million people | +3.1% |
| 2006 | 2.84 million people | +0.5% |
| 2007 | 2.99 million people | +5.2% |
| 2008 | 3.19 million people | +6.5% |
| 2009 | 3.33 million people | +4.5% |
| 2010 | 3.35 million people | +0.7% |
| 2011 | 3.47 million people | +3.5% |
| 2012 | 3.48 million people | +0.3% |
| 2013 | 3.60 million people | +3.4% |
| 2014 | 3.64 million people | +1.2% |
| 2015 | 3.77 million people | +3.5% |
| 2016 | 3.84 million people | +1.7% |
| 2017 | 3.92 million people | +2.3% |
| 2018 | 4.01 million people | +2.3% |
| 2019 | 4.11 million people | +2.5% |
| 2021 | 4.20 million people | +2.2% |
| 2023 | 4.29 million people | +2.2% |
| 2024 | 4.37 million people | +1.9% |
Panama compared with similar countries
- Panama's 4.37 million people is below the median for high income countries, which is 9.58 million people, 46% of the median. (42 countries reporting)
- Panama's 4.37 million people is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 11.75 million people, 37% of the median. (18 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1.61 million people | 1.61 million people | 1.61 million people | 1 |
| 1980s | 1.69 million people | 1.69 million people | 1.69 million people | 1 |
| 1990s | 2.20 million people | 1.83 million people | 2.43 million people | 5 |
| 2000s | 2.81 million people | 2.43 million people | 3.33 million people | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.72 million people | 3.35 million people | 4.11 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.29 million people | 4.20 million people | 4.37 million people | 3 |
Countries ranked near Panama
More poverty & inequality data for Panama
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 7 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 2.12 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 4,226 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 -5.59 % change on previous year (2024)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 12.5 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 12.5% (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 Panama?
- Number of people living in extreme poverty in Panama was 4.37 million people in 2024, 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 Panama?
- The highest recorded value was 4.37 million people in 2024.
- What is the lowest number of people living in extreme poverty recorded in Panama?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.61 million people in 1979.
- How does Panama rank for number of people living in extreme poverty?
- Panama ranks 95th out of 120 countries with data for 2024.
- Is number of people living in extreme poverty rising or falling in Panama?
- Over the last ten years it is up 20.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Panama 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 — 30 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.