Share of population in extreme poverty in Australia
Australia: Share of population in extreme poverty 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 of population in extreme poverty in Australia, 1981–2020
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of population in extreme poverty in Australia is 0.9, measured in 2020.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 50.0% on the previous year and up 80.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population in extreme poverty 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.
Share of population in extreme poverty in Australia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 1.1 | — |
| 1985 | 1.1 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 0.8 | -27.3% |
| 1995 | 1 | +25.0% |
| 2001 | 0.9 | -10.0% |
| 2003 | 1.1 | +22.2% |
| 2004 | 0.7 | -36.4% |
| 2008 | 0.5 | -28.6% |
| 2010 | 0.5 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 0.6 | +20.0% |
| 2016 | 0.5 | -16.7% |
| 2018 | 0.6 | +20.0% |
| 2020 | 0.9 | +50.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | 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
More poverty & inequality data for Australia
- Data deprivation poverty surveys per decade 3 (2025)
- Fertility rate vs the share living in extreme poverty 1.64 (2023)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty 2,690 (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 -0.0446 % change on previous year (2024)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 30.36 (2022)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality 30.36 (2022)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2022)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, annual growth rate -1.54 % change on previous year (2022)
- Gender inequality index from the human development report 0.056 (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population in extreme poverty in Australia?
- Share of population in extreme poverty in Australia was 0.9 in 2020, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of population in extreme poverty recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 1.1 in 1981.
- What is the lowest share of population in extreme poverty recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.5 in 2008.
- How does Australia rank for share of population in extreme poverty?
- Australia ranks 68th out of 120 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of population in extreme poverty 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 of population in extreme poverty. 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).