Poverty: Share of population living on less than $30 a day … 2011 in United Kingdom
United Kingdom: Poverty: Share of population living on less than $30 a day … 2011 was 27.5% in 2021. ▼ Falling
Latest (2021)
27.5%
Change on year
down 2.7%
World rank
98th
of 119 countries
All-time high
89.5%
in 1968
All-time low
27.5%
in 2021
Years of data
54
1968–2021
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $30 a day (2011 prices) in United Kingdom, 1968–2021
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
United Kingdom recorded 27.5% for poverty: share of population living on less than $30 a day (2011 prices) in 2021. That is the lowest value across all 54 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.7% on the previous year and down 18.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, poverty: share of population living on less than $30 a day (2011 prices) in United Kingdom peaked at 89.5% in 1968 and was at its lowest, 27.5%, in 2021.
United Kingdom ranks 98th of 119 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 $30 a day … 2011 in United Kingdom, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | 89.5% | — |
| 1969 | 88.7% | -0.8% |
| 1970 | 87.5% | -1.4% |
| 1971 | 87.0% | -0.6% |
| 1972 | 85.0% | -2.3% |
| 1973 | 81.5% | -4.1% |
| 1974 | 82.0% | +0.6% |
| 1975 | 83.5% | +1.8% |
| 1976 | 84.5% | +1.2% |
| 1977 | 86.0% | +1.8% |
| 1978 | 82.0% | -4.7% |
| 1979 | 80.2% | -2.1% |
| 1980 | 79.7% | -0.6% |
| 1981 | 79.7% | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 75.0% | -6.0% |
| 1983 | 77.0% | +2.7% |
| 1984 | 75.5% | -2.0% |
| 1985 | 72.5% | -4.0% |
| 1986 | 69.2% | -4.5% |
| 1987 | 66.2% | -4.3% |
| 1988 | 62.2% | -6.0% |
| 1989 | 59.7% | -4.0% |
| 1990 | 57.7% | -3.3% |
| 1991 | 56.7% | -1.7% |
| 1992 | 59.2% | +4.4% |
| 1993 | 59.5% | +0.4% |
| 1994 | 54.7% | -8.0% |
| 1995 | 54.2% | -0.9% |
| 1996 | 51.5% | -5.1% |
| 1997 | 49.2% | -4.4% |
| 1998 | 47.0% | -4.6% |
| 1999 | 45.5% | -3.2% |
| 2000 | 41.7% | -8.2% |
| 2001 | 39.0% | -6.6% |
| 2002 | 38.2% | -1.9% |
| 2003 | 37.2% | -2.6% |
| 2004 | 35.0% | -6.0% |
| 2005 | 34.2% | -2.1% |
| 2006 | 33.5% | -2.2% |
| 2007 | 32.5% | -3.0% |
| 2008 | 32.2% | -0.7% |
| 2009 | 32.5% | +0.8% |
| 2010 | 32.5% | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 33.7% | +3.8% |
| 2012 | 33.2% | -1.5% |
| 2013 | 33.2% | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 31.5% | -5.3% |
| 2015 | 30.7% | -2.4% |
| 2016 | 30.0% | -2.4% |
| 2017 | 29.7% | -0.8% |
| 2018 | 30.0% | +0.9% |
| 2019 | 28.0% | -6.7% |
| 2020 | 28.2% | +0.9% |
| 2021 | 27.5% | -2.7% |
United Kingdom compared with similar countries
- United Kingdom's 27.5% is above the median for high income countries, which is 27.5%, 1.0× the median. (41 countries reporting)
- United Kingdom's 27.5% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 56.8%, 48% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 89.1% | 88.7% | 89.5% | 2 |
| 1970s | 83.9% | 80.2% | 87.5% | 10 |
| 1980s | 71.7% | 59.7% | 79.7% | 10 |
| 1990s | 53.5% | 45.5% | 59.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 35.6% | 32.2% | 41.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 31.3% | 28.0% | 33.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 27.9% | 27.5% | 28.2% | 2 |
Countries ranked near United Kingdom
More poverty & inequality data for United Kingdom
- 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is poverty: share of population living on less than $30 a day (2011 prices) in United Kingdom?
- Poverty: share of population living on less than $30 a day (2011 prices) in United Kingdom was 27.5% in 2021, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest poverty: share of population living on less than $30 a day (2011 prices) recorded in United Kingdom?
- The highest recorded value was 89.5% in 1968.
- What is the lowest poverty: share of population living on less than $30 a day (2011 prices) recorded in United Kingdom?
- The lowest recorded value was 27.5% in 2021.
- How does United Kingdom rank for poverty: share of population living on less than $30 a day (2011 prices)?
- United Kingdom ranks 98th out of 119 countries with data for 2021.
- Is poverty: share of population living on less than $30 a day (2011 prices) rising or falling in United Kingdom?
- Over the last ten years it is down 18.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this United Kingdom data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Poverty: Share of population living on less than $30 a day (2011 prices). 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 $30 per day.