Poverty: Share of population living on less than $40 a day in Australia
Australia: Poverty: Share of population living on less than $40 a day was 22.8% in 2020. ▼ Falling
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $40 a day in Australia, 1981–2020
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day in Australia is 22.8%, measured in 2020. That is the lowest value across all 13 years on record.
The figure is down 12.0% on the previous year and down 27.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day in Australia peaked at 61.0% in 1995 and was at its lowest, 22.8%, in 2020.
That places Australia 108th out of 120 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 13 years of available data.
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $40 a day in Australia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 58.9% | — |
| 1985 | 57.7% | -2.0% |
| 1989 | 55.4% | -4.0% |
| 1995 | 61.0% | +10.1% |
| 2001 | 52.4% | -14.1% |
| 2003 | 50.7% | -3.2% |
| 2004 | 45.0% | -11.2% |
| 2008 | 32.2% | -28.4% |
| 2010 | 31.4% | -2.5% |
| 2014 | 25.1% | -20.1% |
| 2016 | 26.5% | +5.6% |
| 2018 | 25.9% | -2.3% |
| 2020 | 22.8% | -12.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 57.3% | 55.4% | 58.9% | 3 |
| 1990s | 61.0% | 61.0% | 61.0% | 1 |
| 2000s | 45.1% | 32.2% | 52.4% | 4 |
| 2010s | 27.2% | 25.1% | 31.4% | 4 |
| 2020s | 22.8% | 22.8% | 22.8% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More poverty & inequality data for Australia
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 3 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fertility rate vs. share living in extreme poverty 1.64 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 2,690 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 -0.0446 % change on previous year (2024)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 30.36 (2022)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 30.4% (2022)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day in Australia?
- Poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day in Australia was 22.8% in 2020, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 61.0% in 1995.
- What is the lowest poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 22.8% in 2020.
- How does Australia rank for poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day?
- Australia ranks 108th out of 120 countries with data for 2020.
- Is poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 27.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Australia 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: Share of population living on less than $40 a day. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 13 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Percentage of population living in households with an income or consumption below $40 per day.