Relative poverty: Share of population below 40% of the median in Brazil
Brazil: Relative poverty: Share of population below 40% of the median was 14.8% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Relative poverty: Share of population below 40% of the median in Brazil, 1981–2024
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median in Brazil stood at 14.8%.
That represents a change of down 2.4% on the previous year and down 4.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median in Brazil peaked at 20.4% in 1988 and was at its lowest, 11.7%, in 2020.
Brazil ranks 4th of 120 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 40 years of available data.
Relative poverty: Share of population below 40% of the median in Brazil, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 17.9% | — |
| 1982 | 18.4% | +2.8% |
| 1983 | 17.9% | -3.1% |
| 1984 | 17.2% | -3.9% |
| 1985 | 18.0% | +4.7% |
| 1986 | 18.1% | +0.5% |
| 1987 | 19.5% | +8.1% |
| 1988 | 20.4% | +4.4% |
| 1989 | 20.3% | -0.5% |
| 1990 | 19.8% | -2.2% |
| 1992 | 19.5% | -1.8% |
| 1993 | 19.1% | -1.9% |
| 1995 | 18.4% | -3.5% |
| 1996 | 20.0% | +8.4% |
| 1997 | 19.6% | -1.9% |
| 1998 | 19.2% | -2.2% |
| 1999 | 19.0% | -0.9% |
| 2001 | 19.6% | +3.1% |
| 2002 | 18.9% | -3.5% |
| 2003 | 19.1% | +1.1% |
| 2004 | 18.1% | -5.1% |
| 2005 | 17.7% | -2.3% |
| 2006 | 17.4% | -1.8% |
| 2007 | 17.8% | +2.2% |
| 2008 | 17.2% | -3.4% |
| 2009 | 17.2% | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 16.8% | -2.4% |
| 2012 | 16.4% | -2.4% |
| 2013 | 16.2% | -1.4% |
| 2014 | 15.5% | -4.0% |
| 2015 | 15.8% | +1.8% |
| 2016 | 16.9% | +6.8% |
| 2017 | 17.1% | +1.3% |
| 2018 | 17.2% | +0.8% |
| 2019 | 17.9% | +4.2% |
| 2020 | 11.7% | -34.7% |
| 2021 | 16.5% | +40.6% |
| 2022 | 15.2% | -7.8% |
| 2023 | 15.1% | -0.2% |
| 2024 | 14.8% | -2.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 18.6% | 17.2% | 20.4% | 9 |
| 1990s | 19.3% | 18.4% | 20.0% | 8 |
| 2000s | 18.1% | 17.2% | 19.6% | 9 |
| 2010s | 16.6% | 15.5% | 17.9% | 9 |
| 2020s | 14.7% | 11.7% | 16.5% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Brazil
More poverty & inequality data for Brazil
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 9 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 1.62 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 5,003 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 -6.26 % change on previous year (2024)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 32.73 (2022)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 32.7% (2022)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median in Brazil?
- Relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median in Brazil was 14.8% in 2024, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median recorded in Brazil?
- The highest recorded value was 20.4% in 1988.
- What is the lowest relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median recorded in Brazil?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.7% in 2020.
- How does Brazil rank for relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median?
- Brazil ranks 4th out of 120 countries with data for 2024.
- Is relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median rising or falling in Brazil?
- Over the last ten years it is down 4.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Brazil 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 Relative poverty: Share of population below 40% of the median. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Percentage of population living in households with an income or consumption below 40% of the median.