Relative poverty: Share of population below 50% of the median in Russia
Russia: Relative poverty: Share of population below 50% of the median was 9.8% in 2020. ▼ Falling
Relative poverty: Share of population below 50% of the median in Russia, 1993–2020
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2020, relative poverty: share of population below 50% of the median in Russia stood at 9.8%. That is the lowest value across all 26 years on record.
The figure is down 10.3% on the previous year and down 25.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, relative poverty: share of population below 50% of the median in Russia peaked at 20.8% in 1996 and was at its lowest, 9.8%, in 2020.
That places Russia 77th out of 120 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 26 years of available data.
Relative poverty: Share of population below 50% of the median in Russia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 20.6% | — |
| 1996 | 20.8% | +0.9% |
| 1997 | 15.1% | -27.3% |
| 1998 | 15.5% | +2.8% |
| 1999 | 15.6% | +0.3% |
| 2000 | 15.1% | -3.2% |
| 2001 | 14.0% | -7.1% |
| 2002 | 13.4% | -3.8% |
| 2003 | 15.0% | +11.4% |
| 2004 | 15.4% | +3.0% |
| 2005 | 15.2% | -1.4% |
| 2006 | 15.5% | +1.8% |
| 2007 | 15.1% | -2.4% |
| 2008 | 14.0% | -7.1% |
| 2009 | 13.3% | -5.2% |
| 2010 | 13.2% | -0.6% |
| 2011 | 12.9% | -2.6% |
| 2012 | 12.7% | -1.6% |
| 2013 | 12.5% | -1.3% |
| 2014 | 12.0% | -4.0% |
| 2015 | 11.5% | -4.0% |
| 2016 | 11.8% | +2.5% |
| 2017 | 11.4% | -4.0% |
| 2018 | 10.8% | -5.0% |
| 2019 | 11.0% | +1.8% |
| 2020 | 9.8% | -10.3% |
Russia compared with similar countries
- Russia's 9.8% is below the median for high income countries, which is 11.5%, 85% of the median. (42 countries reporting)
- Russia's 9.8% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 10.9%, 90% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Relative poverty: Share of population below 50% of the median in Russia 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | -27.3% | 20.8% | 15.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 17.5% | 15.1% | 20.8% | 5 |
| 2000s | 14.6% | 13.3% | 15.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 12.0% | 10.8% | 13.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 9.8% | 9.8% | 9.8% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Russia
More poverty & inequality data for Russia
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 5 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 1.45 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 3,167 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 -7.65 % change on previous year (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 30.47 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 30.5% (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 50% of the median in Russia?
- Relative poverty: share of population below 50% of the median in Russia was 9.8% in 2020, 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 Russia?
- The highest recorded value was 20.8% in 1996.
- What is the lowest relative poverty: share of population below 50% of the median recorded in Russia?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.8% in 2020.
- How does Russia rank for relative poverty: share of population below 50% of the median?
- Russia ranks 77th out of 120 countries with data for 2020.
- Is relative poverty: share of population below 50% of the median rising or falling in Russia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 25.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Russia 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
CSV · JSON — 26 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 50% of the median.