Statizoid

Poverty headcount ratio at societal poverty line (% of population) by country

The poverty headcount ratio at societal poverty line is the percentage of a population living in poverty according to the World Bank's Societal Poverty Line. The Societal Poverty Line is expressed in purchasing power adjusted 2021 U.S. dollars and defined as max($3.00, $1.30 + 0.5*Median). This means that when the...

Countries reporting
123
Highest
81.4%
Mozambique
Lowest
7.0%
Slovenia
Median
20.5%
Years covered
63
1963–2025
Data points
2,860

What the numbers show

Poverty headcount ratio at societal poverty line (% of population) is currently reported for 123 countries. The highest value is 81.4% in Mozambique; the lowest is 7.0% in Slovenia.

The median across all reporting countries is 20.5%, and the mean is 24.0%.

The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 12.

Over the past decade 29 countries rose and 90 fell. The largest increase was in Montenegro (up 34.8%), and the largest decrease in Azerbaijan (down 74.4%).

Poverty headcount ratio at societal poverty line: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Mozambique 81.4% 2022 up 9.4% falling
2 Malawi 75.4% 2019 up 3.4% rising
3 Burundi 74.2% 2020 down 2.1% falling
4 Zambia 71.7% 2022 up 0.4% rising
5 Madagascar 69.2% 2021 up 6.0% falling
6 Niger 60.5% 2021 down 12.1% falling
7 Uganda 59.8% 2019 down 5.8% falling
8 Tanzania 51.3% 2018 down 17.1% falling
9 Kenya 45.5% 2022 up 11.0% rising
10 Burkina Faso 42.1% 2021 down 37.4% falling
11 Nigeria 41.8% 2022 up 3.7% falling
12 Ghana 41.2% 2016 down 32.3% falling
13 Guinea-Bissau 40.4% 2021 down 46.6% falling
14 Rwanda 39.9% 2023 down 38.8% falling
15 Ethiopia 39.7% 2021 up 3.1% falling
16 Mali 39.4% 2021 down 37.8% falling
17 Togo 38.9% 2021 down 40.6% falling
18 Cameroon 36.9% 2021 down 3.4% falling
19 Botswana 36.0% 2015 down 11.3% falling
20 Benin 35.0% 2021 down 48.8% falling
21 South Africa 33.8% 2022 down 12.7% falling
22 Gambia 33.6% 2020 down 15.6% falling
23 Pakistan 32.8% 2024 up 4.5% falling
24 Cote d'Ivoire 32.5% 2021 down 30.9% rising
25 Honduras 32.3% 2024 down 8.0% falling
26 Senegal 31.5% 2021 down 40.9% falling
27 Colombia 30.0% 2024 down 4.8% falling
28 Syria 29.9% 2022 up 25.1% rising
29 Nicaragua 29.2% 2014 down 11.8% falling
30 Guatemala 29.0% 2023 down 1.0% falling
31 Venezuela 28.6% 2006 down 11.5% rising
32 Guinea 28.3% 2018 down 35.7% falling
32 Kosovo 28.3% 2022 up 33.5% rising
32 Kosovo (UNSCR 1244) 28.3% 2022 up 33.5% rising
35 Mauritania 27.6% 2019 down 18.8% falling
36 Panama 27.0% 2024 down 3.6% falling
37 Ecuador 26.3% 2025 up 1.2% falling
38 Brazil 26.2% 2024 down 5.4% falling
39 Tajikistan 26.0% 2024 down 11.3% falling
40 Peru 25.4% 2024 down 9.3% falling
41 Laos 25.3% 2024 down 22.4% falling
41 Philippines 25.3% 2023 down 28.1% falling
43 Argentina 24.1% 2024 up 0.4% flat
44 Jamaica 23.7% 2021 — falling
45 Costa Rica 23.6% 2025 down 0.8% falling
45 El Salvador 23.6% 2023 down 14.5% falling
47 Israel 23.5% 2022 down 5.2% rising
48 North Macedonia 23.3% 2019 down 21.8% flat
49 Bangladesh 23.1% 2022 down 30.6% falling
49 Morocco 23.1% 2013 down 28.9% falling
49 Palestine 23.1% 2023 up 28.3% rising
52 Sri Lanka 22.8% 2019 down 11.3% falling
53 Paraguay 22.7% 2024 down 14.0% falling
54 Georgia 22.6% 2024 down 22.9% falling
55 Bolivia 22.5% 2024 down 14.8% falling
56 Indonesia 22.2% 2025 down 33.7% falling
57 Belize 22.1% 2018 — falling
57 Mexico 22.1% 2024 down 19.3% falling
59 Iran 21.8% 2023 up 5.3% falling
60 India 21.3% 2022 down 36.2% falling
61 Montenegro 20.9% 2021 up 34.8% rising
62 Uruguay 20.5% 2024 down 2.8% falling
63 Dominican Republic 20.3% 2024 down 21.0% falling
64 Nepal 20.2% 2022 down 40.1% falling
64 United States 20.2% 2024 up 8.0% rising
66 Malaysia 19.9% 2021 down 16.0% falling
67 Vietnam 19.7% 2022 down 16.5% falling
68 Turkey 19.6% 2023 down 10.5% falling
69 China 19.4% 2022 down 37.8% volatile
69 Kyrgyzstan 19.4% 2024 down 18.5% falling
71 Tunisia 17.9% 2021 down 22.5% falling
72 Serbia 17.8% 2023 down 33.6% rising
73 Mongolia 17.7% 2022 down 16.1% falling
74 Chile 17.6% 2024 down 12.9% falling
75 Romania 17.5% 2023 down 36.4% flat
76 Uzbekistan 17.2% 2025 — volatile
77 Bulgaria 17.0% 2023 down 13.7% rising
78 Spain 16.6% 2023 down 17.0% rising
79 Armenia 16.5% 2024 down 25.7% falling
80 Albania 16.4% 2020 down 5.2% falling
81 Egypt 16.3% 2021 down 8.4% falling
82 Italy 16.2% 2023 down 1.2% rising
83 Thailand 16.0% 2024 down 17.1% falling
84 Greece 15.9% 2023 down 22.1% flat
85 Bosnia and Herzegovina 15.7% 2021 down 15.1% rising
86 Japan 15.4% 2020 up 6.2% flat
87 Hungary 15.1% 2017 up 7.9% rising
87 Lithuania 15.1% 2023 down 12.2% falling
89 Luxembourg 15.0% 2023 up 7.9% rising
90 Jordan 14.6% 2010 down 27.4% falling
91 Bhutan 14.2% 2022 down 41.8% falling
91 South Korea 14.2% 2021 down 2.1% flat
93 Latvia 14.0% 2023 down 17.6% falling
94 Croatia 13.9% 2023 down 24.9% rising
95 Russia 13.7% 2023 down 20.8% falling
96 Germany 13.3% 2022 up 22.0% rising
96 United Kingdom 13.3% 2021 unchanged rising
98 France 13.2% 2023 up 15.8% falling
99 Portugal 13.1% 2023 down 24.7% falling
100 Switzerland 12.8% 2022 up 20.8% rising
101 Australia 12.6% 2020 up 5.9% flat
102 Malta 12.4% 2023 up 7.8% falling
102 Sweden 12.4% 2023 up 7.8% rising
104 Austria 12.2% 2023 up 16.2% rising
104 Canada 12.2% 2022 down 21.8% falling
104 Slovakia 12.2% 2023 down 10.3% rising
107 Moldova 11.4% 2023 down 21.9% volatile
108 Poland 10.6% 2023 down 35.8% falling
109 Estonia 10.3% 2023 down 27.0% falling
109 Ukraine 10.3% 2020 down 15.6% falling
111 Belgium 9.5% 2023 down 19.5% rising
112 Netherlands 8.8% 2021 down 4.3% rising
113 Cyprus 8.7% 2023 down 13.9% rising
113 Finland 8.7% 2023 up 11.5% rising
115 Ireland 8.6% 2023 down 40.3% falling
116 Norway 8.5% 2023 up 4.9% rising
117 Belarus 8.4% 2020 down 43.6% falling
118 Czechia 8.3% 2023 down 8.8% flat
118 Kazakhstan 8.3% 2021 down 35.7% falling
120 Azerbaijan 8.1% 2005 down 74.4% volatile
121 Denmark 7.4% 2023 down 7.5% rising
121 Iceland 7.4% 2019 down 6.3% rising
123 Slovenia 7.0% 2023 down 30.7% falling

Regions and income groups

Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.

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Poverty headcount ratio at societal poverty line by country. Statizoid, drawing on World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income econ. Retrieved 01 September 2026, from https://poverty.statizoid.com/stat/poverty-headcount-ratio-at-societal-poverty-line-percent-of-population/

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About this data

Indicator
Poverty headcount ratio at societal poverty line (% of population)
Unit
% of population
Source
World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income econ
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
137 places, 2,860 data points, 1963–2025
Last refreshed

The poverty headcount ratio at societal poverty line is the percentage of a population living in poverty according to the World Bank's Societal Poverty Line. The Societal Poverty Line is expressed in purchasing power adjusted 2021 U.S. dollars and defined as max($3.00, $1.30 + 0.5*Median). This means that when the national median is sufficiently low, the Societal Poverty line is equivalent to the extreme poverty line, $3.00. For countries with a sufficiently high national median, the Societal Poverty Line grows as countries’ median income grows.