Relative poverty: Share of population below 40% of the median in Italy
Italy: Relative poverty: Share of population below 40% of the median was 8.9% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Relative poverty: Share of population below 40% of the median in Italy, 1977–2023
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median in Italy stood at 8.9%.
The figure is up 8.8% on the previous year and down 8.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median in Italy peaked at 11.0% in 1998 and was at its lowest, 4.5%, in 1982.
That places Italy 33rd out of 120 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 38 years of available data.
Relative poverty: Share of population below 40% of the median in Italy, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | 6.5% | — |
| 1978 | 7.0% | +7.7% |
| 1979 | 7.6% | +8.6% |
| 1980 | 5.7% | -25.0% |
| 1981 | 5.3% | -7.0% |
| 1982 | 4.5% | -15.1% |
| 1983 | 5.3% | +17.8% |
| 1984 | 7.0% | +32.1% |
| 1986 | 6.1% | -12.9% |
| 1987 | 8.3% | +36.1% |
| 1989 | 5.6% | -32.5% |
| 1991 | 5.9% | +5.4% |
| 1993 | 10.4% | +76.3% |
| 1995 | 10.1% | -2.9% |
| 1998 | 11.0% | +8.9% |
| 2000 | 10.1% | -8.2% |
| 2002 | 9.5% | -5.9% |
| 2003 | 8.4% | -11.9% |
| 2004 | 8.2% | -2.5% |
| 2005 | 8.5% | +3.9% |
| 2006 | 7.8% | -7.6% |
| 2007 | 7.8% | -0.9% |
| 2008 | 7.9% | +1.7% |
| 2009 | 8.6% | +8.7% |
| 2010 | 9.2% | +7.0% |
| 2011 | 9.2% | +0.4% |
| 2012 | 9.3% | +0.8% |
| 2013 | 9.6% | +3.8% |
| 2014 | 10.0% | +3.4% |
| 2015 | 10.7% | +7.8% |
| 2016 | 10.1% | -5.8% |
| 2017 | 10.7% | +5.7% |
| 2018 | 10.2% | -5.0% |
| 2019 | 9.8% | -3.7% |
| 2020 | 9.5% | -2.7% |
| 2021 | 9.1% | -4.9% |
| 2022 | 8.2% | -9.9% |
| 2023 | 8.9% | +8.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 7.0% | 6.5% | 7.6% | 3 |
| 1980s | 6.0% | 4.5% | 8.3% | 8 |
| 1990s | 9.3% | 5.9% | 11.0% | 4 |
| 2000s | 8.5% | 7.8% | 10.1% | 9 |
| 2010s | 9.9% | 9.2% | 10.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 8.9% | 8.2% | 9.5% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Italy
More poverty & inequality data for Italy
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 8 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 1.2 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 5,059 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 6.51 % change on previous year (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 41.99 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 42.0% (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median in Italy?
- Relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median in Italy was 8.9% in 2023, 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 Italy?
- The highest recorded value was 11.0% in 1998.
- What is the lowest relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median recorded in Italy?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.5% in 1982.
- How does Italy rank for relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median?
- Italy ranks 33rd out of 120 countries with data for 2023.
- Is relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median rising or falling in Italy?
- Over the last ten years it is down 8.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Italy 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.