Poverty: Share of population living on less than $40 a day in Canada
Canada: Poverty: Share of population living on less than $40 a day was 18.9% in 2022. ▼ Falling
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $40 a day in Canada, 1971–2022
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Canada recorded 18.9% for poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day in 2022.
That represents a change of up 10.5% on the previous year and down 28.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day in Canada peaked at 68.7% in 1971 and was at its lowest, 15.5%, in 2020.
Canada ranks 112th of 120 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 46 years of available data.
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $40 a day in Canada, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 68.7% | — |
| 1973 | 61.0% | -11.2% |
| 1975 | 53.7% | -12.0% |
| 1977 | 49.3% | -8.2% |
| 1979 | 46.7% | -5.3% |
| 1981 | 43.9% | -6.0% |
| 1982 | 44.7% | +1.8% |
| 1984 | 44.7% | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 42.6% | -4.7% |
| 1986 | 41.6% | -2.3% |
| 1987 | 40.5% | -2.6% |
| 1988 | 38.3% | -5.4% |
| 1989 | 37.3% | -2.6% |
| 1990 | 37.2% | -0.3% |
| 1991 | 40.2% | +8.1% |
| 1992 | 39.2% | -2.5% |
| 1993 | 41.3% | +5.4% |
| 1994 | 39.6% | -4.1% |
| 1995 | 39.8% | +0.5% |
| 1996 | 44.2% | +11.1% |
| 1997 | 43.5% | -1.6% |
| 1998 | 40.9% | -6.0% |
| 1999 | 38.9% | -4.9% |
| 2000 | 37.6% | -3.3% |
| 2001 | 35.4% | -5.9% |
| 2002 | 34.8% | -1.7% |
| 2003 | 35.0% | +0.6% |
| 2004 | 33.7% | -3.7% |
| 2005 | 32.0% | -5.0% |
| 2006 | 31.3% | -2.2% |
| 2007 | 28.8% | -8.0% |
| 2008 | 27.7% | -3.8% |
| 2009 | 27.7% | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 26.9% | -2.9% |
| 2011 | 25.6% | -4.8% |
| 2012 | 26.5% | +3.5% |
| 2013 | 25.4% | -4.2% |
| 2014 | 24.8% | -2.4% |
| 2015 | 24.6% | -0.8% |
| 2016 | 24.0% | -2.4% |
| 2017 | 23.7% | -1.3% |
| 2018 | 22.0% | -7.2% |
| 2019 | 21.0% | -4.5% |
| 2020 | 15.5% | -26.2% |
| 2021 | 17.1% | +10.3% |
| 2022 | 18.9% | +10.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 55.9% | 46.7% | 68.7% | 5 |
| 1980s | 41.7% | 37.3% | 44.7% | 8 |
| 1990s | 40.5% | 37.2% | 44.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 32.4% | 27.7% | 37.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 24.4% | 21.0% | 26.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 17.2% | 15.5% | 18.9% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Canada
More poverty & inequality data for Canada
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 7 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fertility rate vs. share living in extreme poverty 1.35 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 3,695 kg per hectare (2023)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, annual growth rate -9.41 % change on previous year (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 34.78 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 34.8% (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day in Canada?
- Poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day in Canada was 18.9% in 2022, 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 Canada?
- The highest recorded value was 68.7% in 1971.
- What is the lowest poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day recorded in Canada?
- The lowest recorded value was 15.5% in 2020.
- How does Canada rank for poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day?
- Canada ranks 112th out of 120 countries with data for 2022.
- Is poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day rising or falling in Canada?
- Over the last ten years it is down 28.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Canada 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.
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About this data
Percentage of population living in households with an income or consumption below $40 per day.