Poverty: Share of population living on less than $40 a day in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: Poverty: Share of population living on less than $40 a day was 29.8% in 2021. ▼ Falling
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $40 a day in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 1968–2021
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland recorded 29.8% for poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day in 2021. That is the lowest value across all 54 years on record.
The figure is down 4.5% on the previous year and down 17.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland peaked at 90.7% in 1968 and was at its lowest, 29.8%, in 2021.
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ranks 103rd of 120 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 54 years of available data.
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $40 a day in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | 90.7% | — |
| 1969 | 90.2% | -0.6% |
| 1970 | 88.7% | -1.7% |
| 1971 | 88.4% | -0.3% |
| 1972 | 86.6% | -2.0% |
| 1973 | 83.2% | -3.9% |
| 1974 | 83.7% | +0.6% |
| 1975 | 85.4% | +2.0% |
| 1976 | 86.3% | +1.1% |
| 1977 | 87.4% | +1.3% |
| 1978 | 83.9% | -4.0% |
| 1979 | 82.4% | -1.8% |
| 1980 | 81.4% | -1.2% |
| 1981 | 81.7% | +0.4% |
| 1982 | 76.8% | -6.0% |
| 1983 | 78.9% | +2.7% |
| 1984 | 77.3% | -2.0% |
| 1985 | 74.5% | -3.6% |
| 1986 | 71.6% | -3.9% |
| 1987 | 68.6% | -4.2% |
| 1988 | 64.8% | -5.5% |
| 1989 | 62.2% | -4.0% |
| 1990 | 60.0% | -3.5% |
| 1991 | 59.1% | -1.5% |
| 1992 | 61.3% | +3.7% |
| 1993 | 61.4% | +0.2% |
| 1994 | 57.0% | -7.2% |
| 1995 | 56.7% | -0.5% |
| 1996 | 53.7% | -5.3% |
| 1997 | 51.8% | -3.5% |
| 1998 | 49.4% | -4.6% |
| 1999 | 48.0% | -2.8% |
| 2000 | 44.2% | -7.9% |
| 2001 | 41.6% | -5.9% |
| 2002 | 40.8% | -1.9% |
| 2003 | 39.6% | -2.9% |
| 2004 | 37.5% | -5.3% |
| 2005 | 36.5% | -2.7% |
| 2006 | 35.8% | -1.9% |
| 2007 | 34.7% | -3.1% |
| 2008 | 34.5% | -0.6% |
| 2009 | 34.6% | +0.3% |
| 2010 | 34.8% | +0.6% |
| 2011 | 36.0% | +3.4% |
| 2012 | 36.0% | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 35.8% | -0.6% |
| 2014 | 33.7% | -5.9% |
| 2015 | 33.2% | -1.5% |
| 2016 | 32.0% | -3.6% |
| 2017 | 31.8% | -0.6% |
| 2018 | 32.1% | +0.9% |
| 2019 | 30.2% | -5.9% |
| 2020 | 31.2% | +3.3% |
| 2021 | 29.8% | -4.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 90.5% | 90.2% | 90.7% | 2 |
| 1970s | 85.6% | 82.4% | 88.7% | 10 |
| 1980s | 73.8% | 62.2% | 81.7% | 10 |
| 1990s | 55.8% | 48.0% | 61.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 38.0% | 34.5% | 44.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 33.6% | 30.2% | 36.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 30.5% | 29.8% | 31.2% | 2 |
Countries ranked near United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
More poverty & inequality data for United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 6 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 1.56 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 7,138 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 -7.54 % change on previous year (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 34.91 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 34.9% (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
All data for United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland →
Frequently asked questions
- What is poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
- Poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was 29.8% 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 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 90.7% in 1968.
- What is the lowest poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day recorded in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 29.8% in 2021.
- How does United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland rank for poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day?
- United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ranks 103rd out of 120 countries with data for 2021.
- Is poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day rising or falling in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 17.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern 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 — 54 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.