Poverty: Share of population living on less than $40 a day in Taiwan
Taiwan: Poverty: Share of population living on less than $40 a day was 38.6% in 2021. ▼ Falling
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $40 a day in Taiwan, 1981–2021
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 Taiwan is 38.6%, measured in 2021.
That represents a change of up 2.1% on the previous year and down 27.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day in Taiwan peaked at 95.3% in 1981 and was at its lowest, 37.8%, in 2020.
That places Taiwan 98th out of 120 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 16 years of available data.
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $40 a day in Taiwan, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 95.3% | — |
| 1986 | 89.5% | -6.1% |
| 1991 | 62.4% | -30.3% |
| 1995 | 50.7% | -18.7% |
| 1997 | 47.1% | -7.1% |
| 2000 | 43.2% | -8.3% |
| 2005 | 44.3% | +2.5% |
| 2007 | 48.4% | +9.3% |
| 2010 | 53.5% | +10.5% |
| 2013 | 52.4% | -2.1% |
| 2016 | 46.8% | -10.7% |
| 2017 | 44.6% | -4.7% |
| 2018 | 44.2% | -0.9% |
| 2019 | 41.7% | -5.7% |
| 2020 | 37.8% | -9.4% |
| 2021 | 38.6% | +2.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 92.4% | 89.5% | 95.3% | 2 |
| 1990s | 53.4% | 47.1% | 62.4% | 3 |
| 2000s | 45.3% | 43.2% | 48.4% | 3 |
| 2010s | 47.2% | 41.7% | 53.5% | 6 |
| 2020s | 38.2% | 37.8% | 38.6% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Taiwan
More poverty & inequality data for Taiwan
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 6 surveys (2025)
- Fertility rate vs. share living in extreme poverty 0.87 live births per woman (2023)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Share of government consumption in GDP vs. share of population living in extreme poverty 17.4% (2023)
- Lifespan inequality: Gini coefficient in women 0.0807 (2023)
- Lifespan inequality: Gini coefficient by sex 0.0807 (2023)
- Lifespan inequality: Gini coefficient in men 0.1054 (2023)
- Three metrics of inequality 60.86 (2017)
- Gini coefficient (before tax) 0.6086 (2017)
- Total shortfall from extreme poverty 3.36 million international-$ in 2021 prices (2021)
Frequently asked questions
- What is poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day in Taiwan?
- Poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day in Taiwan was 38.6% in 2021, 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 Taiwan?
- The highest recorded value was 95.3% in 1981.
- What is the lowest poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day recorded in Taiwan?
- The lowest recorded value was 37.8% in 2020.
- How does Taiwan rank for poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day?
- Taiwan ranks 98th out of 120 countries with data for 2021.
- Is poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day rising or falling in Taiwan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 27.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Taiwan 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.