Share in poverty relative to different poverty thresholds in Australia

Australia: Share in poverty relative to different poverty thresholds was 0.9 in 2020. ▼ Falling

Latest (2020)
0.9
Change on year
up 50.0%
World rank
68th
of 120 countries
All-time high
1.1
in 1981
All-time low
0.5
in 2008
Years of data
13
1981–2020

Share in poverty relative to different poverty thresholds in Australia, 1981–2020

00.250.50.7511981200020201981: 1.11985: 1.11989: 0.81995: 12001: 0.92003: 1.12004: 0.72008: 0.52010: 0.52014: 0.62016: 0.52018: 0.62020: 0.9

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

The most recent figure for share in poverty relative to different poverty thresholds in Australia is 0.9, measured in 2020.

That represents a change of up 50.0% on the previous year and up 80.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share in poverty relative to different poverty thresholds in Australia peaked at 1.1 in 1981 and was at its lowest, 0.5, in 2008.

Australia ranks 68th of 120 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 13 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 1 0.8 1.1 3
1990s 1 1 1 1
2000s 0.8 0.5 1.1 4
2010s 0.55 0.5 0.6 4
2020s 0.9 0.9 0.9 1

Countries ranked near Australia

  1. 65 Bulgaria 1.01 compare
  2. 66 Italy 0.9272 compare
  3. 67 Hungary 0.918 compare
  4. 69 Sweden 0.8379 compare
  5. 70 Spain 0.8134 compare
  6. 71 Armenia 0.7843 compare

See the full ranking of 120 places →

More poverty & inequality data for Australia

All data for Australia →

Frequently asked questions

What is share in poverty relative to different poverty thresholds in Australia?
Share in poverty relative to different poverty thresholds in Australia was 0.9 in 2020, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest share in poverty relative to different poverty thresholds recorded in Australia?
The highest recorded value was 1.1 in 1981.
What is the lowest share in poverty relative to different poverty thresholds recorded in Australia?
The lowest recorded value was 0.5 in 2008.
How does Australia rank for share in poverty relative to different poverty thresholds?
Australia ranks 68th out of 120 countries with data for 2020.
Is share in poverty relative to different poverty thresholds rising or falling in Australia?
Over the last ten years it is up 80.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Australia data come from?
The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Share in poverty relative to different poverty thresholds. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 13 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Share in poverty relative to different poverty thresholds
Source
Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
120 places, 2,148 data points, 1963–2025
Last refreshed