Relative poverty: Share of population below 50% of the median in Romania
Romania: Relative poverty: Share of population below 50% of the median was 14.7% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Relative poverty: Share of population below 50% of the median in Romania, 1989–2023
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for relative poverty: share of population below 50% of the median in Romania is 14.7%, measured in 2023.
The figure is down 16.2% on the previous year and down 29.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, relative poverty: share of population below 50% of the median in Romania peaked at 21.3% in 2014 and was at its lowest, 7.6%, in 1989.
Romania ranks 31st of 120 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 23 years of available data.
Relative poverty: Share of population below 50% of the median in Romania, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | 7.6% | — |
| 1992 | 9.3% | +23.0% |
| 1994 | 9.3% | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 11.2% | +20.1% |
| 1997 | 10.2% | -8.9% |
| 2006 | 20.1% | +96.9% |
| 2007 | 18.4% | -8.3% |
| 2008 | 17.0% | -7.6% |
| 2009 | 16.8% | -1.4% |
| 2010 | 17.9% | +6.8% |
| 2011 | 18.2% | +1.5% |
| 2012 | 19.0% | +4.3% |
| 2013 | 20.9% | +10.2% |
| 2014 | 21.3% | +1.9% |
| 2015 | 20.5% | -3.7% |
| 2016 | 18.8% | -8.5% |
| 2017 | 19.2% | +2.5% |
| 2018 | 18.1% | -5.9% |
| 2019 | 18.0% | -0.4% |
| 2020 | 18.0% | -0.0% |
| 2021 | 17.0% | -5.7% |
| 2022 | 17.6% | +3.4% |
| 2023 | 14.7% | -16.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 7.6% | 7.6% | 7.6% | 1 |
| 1990s | 10.0% | 9.3% | 11.2% | 4 |
| 2000s | 18.1% | 16.8% | 20.1% | 4 |
| 2010s | 19.2% | 17.9% | 21.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 16.8% | 14.7% | 18.0% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Romania
More poverty & inequality data for Romania
- 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 1.71 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 4,021 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 10.64 % change on previous year (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 27.54 (2022)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 27.5% (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 50% of the median in Romania?
- Relative poverty: share of population below 50% of the median in Romania was 14.7% 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 50% of the median recorded in Romania?
- The highest recorded value was 21.3% in 2014.
- What is the lowest relative poverty: share of population below 50% of the median recorded in Romania?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.6% in 1989.
- How does Romania rank for relative poverty: share of population below 50% of the median?
- Romania ranks 31st out of 120 countries with data for 2023.
- Is relative poverty: share of population below 50% of the median rising or falling in Romania?
- Over the last ten years it is down 29.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Romania 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 50% 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 50% of the median.