Poverty: Share of population living on less than $40 a day in Switzerland
Switzerland: Poverty: Share of population living on less than $40 a day was 15.2% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $40 a day in Switzerland, 1982–2023
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 Switzerland stood at 15.2%.
That represents a change of down 0.5% on the previous year and down 3.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day in Switzerland peaked at 21.0% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 13.9%, in 2012.
Switzerland ranks 115th of 120 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 23 years of available data.
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $40 a day in Switzerland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1982 | 20.7% | — |
| 1992 | 20.3% | -1.9% |
| 2000 | 21.0% | +3.4% |
| 2002 | 18.8% | -10.5% |
| 2004 | 19.4% | +3.2% |
| 2006 | 20.4% | +5.3% |
| 2007 | 18.8% | -8.0% |
| 2008 | 18.3% | -2.8% |
| 2009 | 17.1% | -6.4% |
| 2010 | 16.4% | -4.1% |
| 2011 | 15.3% | -6.4% |
| 2012 | 13.9% | -9.1% |
| 2013 | 15.7% | +12.8% |
| 2014 | 14.6% | -7.0% |
| 2015 | 15.0% | +2.7% |
| 2016 | 14.8% | -1.3% |
| 2017 | 14.6% | -1.7% |
| 2018 | 15.9% | +8.9% |
| 2019 | 15.6% | -1.5% |
| 2020 | 14.5% | -7.2% |
| 2021 | 14.6% | +0.3% |
| 2022 | 15.3% | +5.0% |
| 2023 | 15.2% | -0.5% |
Switzerland compared with similar countries
- Switzerland's 15.2% is below the median for high income countries, which is 33.8%, 45% of the median. (42 countries reporting)
- Switzerland's 15.2% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 63.2%, 24% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 20.7% | 20.7% | 20.7% | 1 |
| 1990s | 20.3% | 20.3% | 20.3% | 1 |
| 2000s | 19.1% | 17.1% | 21.0% | 7 |
| 2010s | 15.2% | 13.9% | 16.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 14.9% | 14.5% | 15.3% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Switzerland
More poverty & inequality data for Switzerland
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 8 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fertility rate vs. share living in extreme poverty 1.43 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 5,706 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 -6.17 % change on previous year (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 26.79 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 26.8% (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 Switzerland?
- Poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day in Switzerland was 15.2% 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 Switzerland?
- The highest recorded value was 21.0% in 2000.
- What is the lowest poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day recorded in Switzerland?
- The lowest recorded value was 13.9% in 2012.
- How does Switzerland rank for poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day?
- Switzerland ranks 115th out of 120 countries with data for 2023.
- Is poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day rising or falling in Switzerland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Switzerland 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 — 23 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.