Poverty: Share of population living on less than $40 a day in Ireland
Ireland: Poverty: Share of population living on less than $40 a day was 30.5% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $40 a day in Ireland, 1987–2023
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day in Ireland stood at 30.5%.
The figure is down 3.5% on the previous year and down 47.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day in Ireland peaked at 92.7% in 1987 and was at its lowest, 29.9%, in 2021.
That places Ireland 100th out of 120 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 27 years of available data.
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $40 a day in Ireland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1987 | 92.7% | — |
| 1994 | 81.1% | -12.5% |
| 1995 | 79.0% | -2.6% |
| 1996 | 77.6% | -1.8% |
| 2000 | 65.1% | -16.1% |
| 2002 | 55.9% | -14.1% |
| 2003 | 55.5% | -0.8% |
| 2004 | 53.7% | -3.3% |
| 2005 | 51.9% | -3.3% |
| 2006 | 46.0% | -11.4% |
| 2007 | 45.6% | -0.8% |
| 2008 | 49.8% | +9.1% |
| 2009 | 52.5% | +5.6% |
| 2010 | 54.3% | +3.3% |
| 2011 | 57.2% | +5.4% |
| 2012 | 56.8% | -0.7% |
| 2013 | 57.6% | +1.4% |
| 2014 | 53.5% | -7.1% |
| 2015 | 49.7% | -7.1% |
| 2016 | 47.1% | -5.2% |
| 2017 | 40.6% | -14.0% |
| 2018 | 38.6% | -5.0% |
| 2019 | 35.8% | -7.1% |
| 2020 | 31.3% | -12.7% |
| 2021 | 29.9% | -4.3% |
| 2022 | 31.6% | +5.7% |
| 2023 | 30.5% | -3.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 92.7% | 92.7% | 92.7% | 1 |
| 1990s | 79.2% | 77.6% | 81.1% | 3 |
| 2000s | 52.9% | 45.6% | 65.1% | 9 |
| 2010s | 49.1% | 35.8% | 57.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 30.8% | 29.9% | 31.6% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
- 97 Spain 38.6% compare
- 98 Taiwan, China 38.6% compare
- 99 Italy 37.1% compare
- 101 Republic of Korea 30.5% compare
- 102 Slovenia 30.1% compare
- 103 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 29.8% compare
More poverty & inequality data for Ireland
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 8 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fertility rate vs. share living in extreme poverty 1.6 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 7,325 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 3.71 % change on previous year (2024)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 21.9 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 21.9% (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 Ireland?
- Poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day in Ireland was 30.5% in 2023, 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 Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 92.7% in 1987.
- What is the lowest poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 29.9% in 2021.
- How does Ireland rank for poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day?
- Ireland ranks 100th out of 120 countries with data for 2023.
- Is poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 47.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Ireland 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 — 27 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.