Poverty gap index at $3 a day in Uganda
Uganda: Poverty gap index at $3 a day was 23.3% in 2019. ▼ Falling
Poverty gap index at $3 a day in Uganda, 1989–2019
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2019, poverty gap index at $3 a day in Uganda stood at 23.3%.
That represents a change of down 1.6% on the previous year and down 9.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, poverty gap index at $3 a day in Uganda peaked at 40.9% in 1999 and was at its lowest, 20.6%, in 2012.
Uganda ranks 6th of 120 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 10 years of available data.
Poverty gap index at $3 a day in Uganda, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | 36.5% | — |
| 1992 | 38.7% | +5.9% |
| 1996 | 37.4% | -3.4% |
| 1999 | 40.9% | +9.4% |
| 2002 | 39.1% | -4.4% |
| 2005 | 33.2% | -15.2% |
| 2009 | 25.6% | -22.7% |
| 2012 | 20.6% | -19.7% |
| 2016 | 23.7% | +14.9% |
| 2019 | 23.3% | -1.6% |
Uganda compared with similar countries
- Uganda's 23.3% is above the median for low income countries, which is 12.5%, 1.9× the median. (13 countries reporting)
- Uganda's 23.3% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 11.1%, 2.1× the median. (26 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 36.5% | 36.5% | 36.5% | 1 |
| 1990s | 39.0% | 37.4% | 40.9% | 3 |
| 2000s | 32.6% | 25.6% | 39.1% | 3 |
| 2010s | 22.5% | 20.6% | 23.7% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Uganda
More poverty & inequality data for Uganda
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 2 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fertility rate vs. share living in extreme poverty 4.28 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 1,920 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 -1.96 % change on previous year (2024)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 12.46 (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 poverty gap index at $3 a day in Uganda?
- Poverty gap index at $3 a day in Uganda was 23.3% in 2019, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest poverty gap index at $3 a day recorded in Uganda?
- The highest recorded value was 40.9% in 1999.
- What is the lowest poverty gap index at $3 a day recorded in Uganda?
- The lowest recorded value was 20.6% in 2012.
- How does Uganda rank for poverty gap index at $3 a day?
- Uganda ranks 6th out of 120 countries with data for 2019.
- Is poverty gap index at $3 a day rising or falling in Uganda?
- Over the last ten years it is down 9.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Uganda 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 Poverty gap index at $3 a day. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 10 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The poverty gap index is a poverty measure that reflects both the prevalence and the depth of poverty. It is calculated as the share of population in poverty multiplied by the average shortfall from the poverty line (expressed as a % of the poverty line).