Number of people living in extreme poverty in Spain
Spain: Number of people living in extreme poverty was 47.96 million people in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
47.96 million people
Change on year
up 1.2%
World rank
26th
of 120 countries
All-time high
47.96 million people
in 2023
All-time low
37.19 million people
in 1980
Years of data
32
1980–2023
Number of people living in extreme poverty in Spain, 1980–2023
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
Spain recorded 47.96 million people for number of people living in extreme poverty in 2023. That is the highest value across all 32 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.2% on the previous year and up 4.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of people living in extreme poverty in Spain peaked at 47.96 million people in 2023 and was at its lowest, 37.19 million people, in 1980.
Spain ranks 26th of 120 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 32 years of available data.
Number of people living in extreme poverty in Spain, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 37.19 million people | — |
| 1985 | 38.28 million people | +2.9% |
| 1990 | 38.63 million people | +0.9% |
| 1993 | 38.81 million people | +0.5% |
| 1994 | 39.03 million people | +0.6% |
| 1995 | 39.09 million people | +0.1% |
| 1996 | 39.25 million people | +0.4% |
| 1997 | 39.66 million people | +1.0% |
| 1998 | 39.78 million people | +0.3% |
| 1999 | 40.10 million people | +0.8% |
| 2000 | 40.20 million people | +0.2% |
| 2003 | 41.80 million people | +4.0% |
| 2004 | 42.49 million people | +1.6% |
| 2005 | 43.28 million people | +1.9% |
| 2006 | 44.00 million people | +1.7% |
| 2007 | 44.97 million people | +2.2% |
| 2008 | 45.70 million people | +1.6% |
| 2009 | 45.96 million people | +0.6% |
| 2010 | 46.23 million people | +0.6% |
| 2011 | 46.14 million people | -0.2% |
| 2012 | 46.30 million people | +0.3% |
| 2013 | 45.99 million people | -0.7% |
| 2014 | 46.02 million people | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 45.93 million people | -0.2% |
| 2016 | 45.85 million people | -0.2% |
| 2017 | 46.18 million people | +0.7% |
| 2018 | 46.32 million people | +0.3% |
| 2019 | 46.70 million people | +0.8% |
| 2020 | 46.84 million people | +0.3% |
| 2021 | 47.13 million people | +0.6% |
| 2022 | 47.41 million people | +0.6% |
| 2023 | 47.96 million people | +1.2% |
Spain compared with similar countries
- Spain's 47.96 million people is above the median for high income countries, which is 9.58 million people, 5.0× the median. (42 countries reporting)
- Spain's 47.96 million people is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 8.39 million people, 5.7× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 37.73 million people | 37.19 million people | 38.28 million people | 2 |
| 1990s | 39.30 million people | 38.63 million people | 40.10 million people | 8 |
| 2000s | 43.55 million people | 40.20 million people | 45.96 million people | 8 |
| 2010s | 46.17 million people | 45.85 million people | 46.70 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 47.34 million people | 46.84 million people | 47.96 million people | 4 |
Countries ranked near Spain
More poverty & inequality data for Spain
- 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 1.21 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 3,786 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 72.8 % change on previous year (2024)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 36.42 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 36.4% (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 Spain?
- Number of people living in extreme poverty in Spain was 47.96 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 Spain?
- The highest recorded value was 47.96 million people in 2023.
- What is the lowest number of people living in extreme poverty recorded in Spain?
- The lowest recorded value was 37.19 million people in 1980.
- How does Spain rank for number of people living in extreme poverty?
- Spain ranks 26th out of 120 countries with data for 2023.
- Is number of people living in extreme poverty rising or falling in Spain?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Spain 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.