Poverty: Share of population living on less than $30 a day in Australia
Australia: Poverty: Share of population living on less than $30 a day was 11.5% in 2020. ▼ Falling
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $30 a day in Australia, 1981–2020
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2020, poverty: share of population living on less than $30 a day in Australia stood at 11.5%. That is the lowest value across all 13 years on record.
The figure is down 9.4% on the previous year and down 21.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, poverty: share of population living on less than $30 a day in Australia peaked at 41.9% in 1995 and was at its lowest, 11.5%, in 2020.
That places Australia 107th out of 120 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 13 years of available data.
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $30 a day in Australia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 38.1% | — |
| 1985 | 37.7% | -1.0% |
| 1989 | 36.5% | -3.2% |
| 1995 | 41.9% | +14.8% |
| 2001 | 33.4% | -20.3% |
| 2003 | 30.9% | -7.5% |
| 2004 | 25.1% | -18.8% |
| 2008 | 15.9% | -36.7% |
| 2010 | 14.7% | -7.5% |
| 2014 | 11.7% | -20.4% |
| 2016 | 12.7% | +8.5% |
| 2018 | 12.7% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 11.5% | -9.4% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 11.5% is below the median for high income countries, which is 19.3%, 60% of the median. (42 countries reporting)
- Australia's 11.5% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 89.0%, 13% of the median. (11 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 37.4% | 36.5% | 38.1% | 3 |
| 1990s | 41.9% | 41.9% | 41.9% | 1 |
| 2000s | 26.3% | 15.9% | 33.4% | 4 |
| 2010s | 12.9% | 11.7% | 14.7% | 4 |
| 2020s | 11.5% | 11.5% | 11.5% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More poverty & inequality data for Australia
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 3 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fertility rate vs. share living in extreme poverty 1.64 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 2,690 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 -0.0446 % change on previous year (2024)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 30.36 (2022)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 30.4% (2022)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is poverty: share of population living on less than $30 a day in Australia?
- Poverty: share of population living on less than $30 a day in Australia was 11.5% in 2020, 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 $30 a day recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 41.9% in 1995.
- What is the lowest poverty: share of population living on less than $30 a day recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.5% in 2020.
- How does Australia rank for poverty: share of population living on less than $30 a day?
- Australia ranks 107th out of 120 countries with data for 2020.
- Is poverty: share of population living on less than $30 a day rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 21.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Australia 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 $30 a day. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 13 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.