Share of the population in poverty vs. Electoral Democracy Index in United States
United States: Share of the population in poverty vs. Electoral Democracy Index was 2.2% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Share of the population in poverty vs. Electoral Democracy Index in United States, 1963–2024
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of the population in poverty vs. electoral democracy index in United States is 2.2%, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of down 8.3% on the previous year and down 18.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population in poverty vs. electoral democracy index in United States peaked at 6.9% in 1963 and was at its lowest, 1.4%, in 2021.
That places United States 96th out of 120 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 62 years of available data.
Share of the population in poverty vs. Electoral Democracy Index in United States, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1963 | 6.9% | — |
| 1964 | 6.5% | -5.8% |
| 1965 | 5.7% | -12.3% |
| 1966 | 5.9% | +3.5% |
| 1967 | 5.0% | -15.3% |
| 1968 | 4.4% | -12.0% |
| 1969 | 3.8% | -13.6% |
| 1970 | 4.3% | +13.2% |
| 1971 | 4.1% | -4.7% |
| 1972 | 3.9% | -4.9% |
| 1973 | 3.7% | -5.1% |
| 1974 | 3.7% | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 3.7% | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 3.3% | -10.8% |
| 1977 | 3.2% | -3.0% |
| 1978 | 3.3% | +3.1% |
| 1979 | 2.4% | -27.3% |
| 1980 | 2.4% | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 2.7% | +12.5% |
| 1982 | 3.2% | +18.5% |
| 1983 | 3.4% | +6.2% |
| 1984 | 3.0% | -11.8% |
| 1985 | 2.9% | -3.3% |
| 1986 | 3.1% | +6.9% |
| 1987 | 2.6% | -16.1% |
| 1988 | 2.5% | -3.8% |
| 1989 | 2.3% | -8.0% |
| 1990 | 2.3% | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 2.4% | +4.3% |
| 1992 | 2.7% | +12.5% |
| 1993 | 2.8% | +3.7% |
| 1994 | 2.6% | -7.1% |
| 1995 | 2.4% | -7.7% |
| 1996 | 2.2% | -8.3% |
| 1997 | 2.4% | +9.1% |
| 1998 | 2.3% | -4.2% |
| 1999 | 2.1% | -8.7% |
| 2000 | 2.1% | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 2.3% | +9.5% |
| 2002 | 2.4% | +4.3% |
| 2003 | 2.6% | +8.3% |
| 2004 | 2.6% | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 2.6% | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 2.5% | -3.8% |
| 2007 | 2.5% | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 2.7% | +8.0% |
| 2009 | 2.4% | -11.1% |
| 2010 | 2.8% | +16.7% |
| 2011 | 2.7% | -3.6% |
| 2012 | 2.6% | -3.7% |
| 2013 | 2.6% | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 2.7% | +3.8% |
| 2015 | 2.6% | -3.7% |
| 2016 | 2.5% | -3.8% |
| 2017 | 2.6% | +4.0% |
| 2018 | 2.3% | -11.5% |
| 2019 | 2.1% | -8.7% |
| 2020 | 1.7% | -19.0% |
| 2021 | 1.4% | -17.6% |
| 2022 | 2.5% | +78.6% |
| 2023 | 2.4% | -4.0% |
| 2024 | 2.2% | -8.3% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 2.2% is above the median for high income countries, which is 1.8%, 1.2× the median. (42 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of the population in poverty vs. Electoral Democracy Index in United States 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | +78.6% | 1.4% | 2.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 5.5% | 3.8% | 6.9% | 7 |
| 1970s | 3.6% | 2.4% | 4.3% | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.8% | 2.3% | 3.4% | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.4% | 2.1% | 2.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.5% | 2.1% | 2.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.5% | 2.1% | 2.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.0% | 1.4% | 2.5% | 5 |
Countries ranked near United States
More poverty & inequality data for United States
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 9 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 1.62 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 8,414 kg per hectare (2024)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, annual growth rate 1 % change on previous year (2024)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 24.85 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 24.8% (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the population in poverty vs. electoral democracy index in United States?
- Share of the population in poverty vs. electoral democracy index in United States was 2.2% in 2024, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of the population in poverty vs. electoral democracy index recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 6.9% in 1963.
- What is the lowest share of the population in poverty vs. electoral democracy index recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.4% in 2021.
- How does United States rank for share of the population in poverty vs. electoral democracy index?
- United States ranks 96th out of 120 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of the population in poverty vs. electoral democracy index rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is down 18.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this United States 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 Share of the population in poverty vs. Electoral Democracy Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 62 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 $10 per day.