Proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income in Panama
Panama: Proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income was 23.2% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income in Panama, 1979–2024
Source: World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income econ. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income in Panama is 23.2%, measured in 2024.
The figure is up 5.5% on the previous year and up 0.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income in Panama peaked at 30.2% in 1989 and was at its lowest, 21.4%, in 2021.
That places Panama 2nd out of 123 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 30 years of available data.
Proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income in Panama, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 23.7% | — |
| 1989 | 30.2% | +27.4% |
| 1991 | 28.7% | -5.0% |
| 1995 | 28.3% | -1.4% |
| 1997 | 26.8% | -5.3% |
| 1998 | 26.8% | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 26.0% | -3.0% |
| 2000 | 26.5% | +1.9% |
| 2001 | 27.6% | +4.2% |
| 2002 | 26.5% | -4.0% |
| 2003 | 25.6% | -3.4% |
| 2004 | 25.9% | +1.2% |
| 2005 | 25.2% | -2.7% |
| 2006 | 25.5% | +1.2% |
| 2007 | 25.0% | -2.0% |
| 2008 | 23.3% | -6.8% |
| 2009 | 23.2% | -0.4% |
| 2010 | 23.2% | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 22.8% | -1.7% |
| 2012 | 23.0% | +0.9% |
| 2013 | 23.9% | +3.9% |
| 2014 | 23.1% | -3.3% |
| 2015 | 22.6% | -2.2% |
| 2016 | 22.9% | +1.3% |
| 2017 | 23.5% | +2.6% |
| 2018 | 22.3% | -5.1% |
| 2019 | 22.8% | +2.2% |
| 2021 | 21.4% | -6.1% |
| 2023 | 22.0% | +2.8% |
| 2024 | 23.2% | +5.5% |
Panama compared with similar countries
- Panama's 23.2% is above the median for high income countries, which is 11.6%, 2.0× the median. (42 countries reporting)
- Panama's 23.2% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 18.0%, 1.3× the median. (20 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income in Panama changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | +27.4% | 23.7% | 30.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 23.7% | 23.7% | 23.7% | 1 |
| 1980s | 30.2% | 30.2% | 30.2% | 1 |
| 1990s | 27.3% | 26.0% | 28.7% | 5 |
| 2000s | 25.4% | 23.2% | 27.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 23.0% | 22.3% | 23.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 22.2% | 21.4% | 23.2% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Panama
More poverty & inequality data for Panama
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 7 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 2.12 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 4,226 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 -5.59 % change on previous year (2024)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 12.5 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 12.5% (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income in Panama?
- Proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income in Panama was 23.2% in 2024, according to World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income econ.
- What is the highest proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income recorded in Panama?
- The highest recorded value was 30.2% in 1989.
- What is the lowest proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income recorded in Panama?
- The lowest recorded value was 21.4% in 2021.
- How does Panama rank for proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income?
- Panama ranks 2nd out of 123 countries with data for 2024.
- Is proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income rising or falling in Panama?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Panama data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income econ, published as part of Proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
The percentage of people in the population who live in households whose per capita income or consumption is below half of the median income or consumption per capita. The median is measured at 2021 Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) using the Poverty and Inequality Platform (http://www.pip.worldbank.org). For some countries, medians are not reported due to grouped and/or confidential data. The reference year is the year in which the underlying household survey data was collected. In cases for which the data collection period bridged two calendar years, the first year in which data were collected is reported.