Poverty: Share of population living on less than $8.30 a day in United Kingdom
United Kingdom: Poverty: Share of population living on less than $8.30 a day was 0.9% in 2021. ▼ Falling
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $8.30 a day in United Kingdom, 1968–2021
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for poverty: share of population living on less than $8.30 a day in United Kingdom is 0.9%, measured in 2021.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 28.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, poverty: share of population living on less than $8.30 a day in United Kingdom peaked at 2.4% in 1972 and was at its lowest, 0.6%, in 1987.
That places United Kingdom 104th out of 120 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 54 years of available data.
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $8.30 a day in United Kingdom, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | 1.1% | — |
| 1969 | 1.7% | +54.5% |
| 1970 | 1.5% | -11.8% |
| 1971 | 1.9% | +26.7% |
| 1972 | 2.4% | +26.3% |
| 1973 | 1.0% | -58.3% |
| 1974 | 1.4% | +40.0% |
| 1975 | 1.4% | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 1.2% | -14.3% |
| 1977 | 1.4% | +16.7% |
| 1978 | 0.9% | -35.7% |
| 1979 | 0.9% | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 1.1% | +22.2% |
| 1981 | 1.2% | +9.1% |
| 1982 | 0.7% | -41.7% |
| 1983 | 0.8% | +14.3% |
| 1984 | 0.9% | +12.5% |
| 1985 | 0.8% | -11.1% |
| 1986 | 1.1% | +37.5% |
| 1987 | 0.6% | -45.5% |
| 1988 | 0.6% | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 0.8% | +33.3% |
| 1990 | 0.9% | +12.5% |
| 1991 | 0.9% | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 1.0% | +11.1% |
| 1993 | 1.0% | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 1.1% | +10.0% |
| 1995 | 1.0% | -9.1% |
| 1996 | 0.7% | -30.0% |
| 1997 | 0.8% | +14.3% |
| 1998 | 0.8% | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 0.8% | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 0.7% | -12.5% |
| 2001 | 0.8% | +14.3% |
| 2002 | 0.9% | +12.5% |
| 2003 | 0.8% | -11.1% |
| 2004 | 0.6% | -25.0% |
| 2005 | 0.7% | +16.7% |
| 2006 | 0.7% | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 0.7% | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 0.8% | +14.3% |
| 2009 | 0.7% | -12.5% |
| 2010 | 0.8% | +14.3% |
| 2011 | 0.7% | -12.5% |
| 2012 | 0.7% | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 0.6% | -14.3% |
| 2014 | 0.6% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 0.7% | +16.7% |
| 2016 | 0.8% | +14.3% |
| 2017 | 0.8% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 0.8% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 0.9% | +12.5% |
| 2020 | 0.9% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 0.9% | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.4% | 1.1% | 1.7% | 2 |
| 1970s | 1.4% | 0.9% | 2.4% | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.9% | 0.6% | 1.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.9% | 0.7% | 1.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.7% | 0.6% | 0.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.7% | 0.6% | 0.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.9% | 0.9% | 0.9% | 2 |
Countries ranked near United Kingdom
More poverty & inequality data for United Kingdom
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 6 surveys (2025)
- Fertility rate vs. share living in extreme poverty 1.56 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 7,138 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 -7.54 % change on previous year (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 34.91 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 34.9% (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, annual growth rate -0.6407 % change on previous year (2023)
- Gender Inequality Index 0.083 (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is poverty: share of population living on less than $8.30 a day in United Kingdom?
- Poverty: share of population living on less than $8.30 a day in United Kingdom was 0.9% in 2021, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest poverty: share of population living on less than $8.30 a day recorded in United Kingdom?
- The highest recorded value was 2.4% in 1972.
- What is the lowest poverty: share of population living on less than $8.30 a day recorded in United Kingdom?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.6% in 1987.
- How does United Kingdom rank for poverty: share of population living on less than $8.30 a day?
- United Kingdom ranks 104th out of 120 countries with data for 2021.
- Is poverty: share of population living on less than $8.30 a day rising or falling in United Kingdom?
- Over the last ten years it is up 28.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this United Kingdom 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 Poverty: Share of population living on less than $8.30 a day. 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 $8.30 per day.