Share of population living below national poverty lines by country
National poverty headcount ratio is the percentage of the population living below the national poverty lines. National estimates are based on population-weighted subgroup estimates from household surveys.
What the numbers show
Share of population living below national poverty lines is currently reported for 70 countries. The highest value is 65.0% in Mozambique; the lowest is 0.0% in China.
The median across all reporting countries is 17.5%, and the mean is 19.9%.
Over the past decade 19 countries rose and 47 fell. The largest increase was in Albania (up 37.8%), and the largest decrease in China (down 100.0%).
Share of population living below national poverty lines: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mozambique | 65.0% | 2022 | up 34.3% | flat |
| 2 | Malawi | 50.7% | 2019 | unchanged | falling |
| 3 | Guinea-Bissau | 50.5% | 2021 | up 3.7% | falling |
| 4 | Lesotho | 49.7% | 2017 | down 12.2% | flat |
| 5 | Kenya | 39.8% | 2022 | up 10.2% | falling |
| 6 | Argentina | 38.1% | 2024 | up 25.7% | rising |
| 7 | South Africa | 37.9% | 2022 | down 17.2% | falling |
| 8 | Bolivia | 37.7% | 2024 | down 12.3% | falling |
| 9 | Venezuela | 33.1% | 2015 | down 21.9% | falling |
| 9 | Ethiopia | 33.1% | 2021 | up 11.8% | falling |
| 11 | Colombia | 31.8% | 2024 | down 14.1% | falling |
| 12 | Moldova | 31.6% | 2023 | — | rising |
| 13 | Mexico | 29.6% | 2024 | down 31.5% | falling |
| 14 | Peru | 27.6% | 2024 | up 21.6% | falling |
| 15 | Tanzania | 26.4% | 2018 | down 23.3% | falling |
| 16 | Nicaragua | 24.9% | 2016 | down 48.4% | falling |
| 17 | Ghana | 23.4% | 2016 | down 26.6% | falling |
| 18 | Ukraine | 23.2% | 2020 | down 55.3% | falling |
| 19 | Latvia | 22.5% | 2022 | up 16.0% | flat |
| 19 | Estonia | 22.5% | 2022 | up 21.0% | rising |
| 21 | Pakistan | 21.9% | 2018 | down 50.3% | falling |
| 21 | North Macedonia | 21.9% | 2023 | down 0.9% | rising |
| 23 | Panama | 21.7% | 2023 | down 15.9% | falling |
| 23 | Bulgaria | 21.7% | 2023 | down 5.2% | falling |
| 23 | Armenia | 21.7% | 2024 | down 27.7% | falling |
| 26 | Ecuador | 21.4% | 2025 | down 8.2% | falling |
| 27 | Lithuania | 20.9% | 2021 | up 12.4% | rising |
| 28 | Spain | 20.2% | 2022 | down 1.0% | rising |
| 29 | Italy | 20.1% | 2021 | up 3.1% | rising |
| 30 | Montenegro | 20.0% | 2023 | down 17.0% | rising |
| 31 | Albania | 19.7% | 2022 | up 37.8% | rising |
| 31 | Serbia | 19.7% | 2023 | down 21.2% | rising |
| 33 | Romania | 19.0% | 2023 | down 24.3% | falling |
| 34 | Greece | 18.8% | 2021 | down 18.6% | falling |
| 35 | Cambodia | 17.7% | 2012 | down 64.7% | falling |
| 36 | Dominican Republic | 17.3% | 2025 | down 50.3% | falling |
| 37 | Costa Rica | 17.1% | 2025 | down 27.5% | flat |
| 38 | Malta | 16.7% | 2021 | up 10.6% | rising |
| 39 | Tunisia | 16.6% | 2021 | down 19.0% | falling |
| 40 | Portugal | 16.4% | 2021 | down 8.4% | falling |
| 41 | Sweden | 16.1% | 2022 | up 0.6% | rising |
| 41 | Uganda | 16.1% | 2023 | down 18.3% | falling |
| 41 | Botswana | 16.1% | 2015 | down 47.4% | falling |
| 44 | Switzerland | 15.8% | 2021 | down 0.6% | flat |
| 45 | Austria | 14.8% | 2021 | up 2.8% | rising |
| 46 | Netherlands | 14.5% | 2021 | up 14.2% | rising |
| 47 | Sri Lanka | 14.3% | 2019 | down 49.6% | falling |
| 48 | Cyprus | 13.9% | 2021 | down 5.4% | falling |
| 49 | Slovakia | 13.7% | 2021 | up 3.8% | rising |
| 50 | Poland | 13.3% | 2024 | — | rising |
| 51 | Turkey | 13.0% | 2024 | down 11.6% | falling |
| 52 | Slovenia | 12.7% | 2022 | down 12.4% | flat |
| 53 | Belgium | 12.3% | 2022 | — | falling |
| 54 | Finland | 12.2% | 2022 | up 3.4% | falling |
| 55 | Hungary | 12.1% | 2021 | down 15.4% | falling |
| 56 | Czechia | 10.2% | 2021 | up 6.2% | flat |
| 57 | Georgia | 9.4% | 2024 | down 60.0% | falling |
| 58 | Indonesia | 9.0% | 2024 | down 20.4% | falling |
| 59 | Iceland | 8.8% | 2017 | down 12.9% | falling |
| 60 | Jamaica | 8.2% | 2023 | down 66.7% | falling |
| 61 | Russia | 7.2% | 2024 | down 36.3% | falling |
| 62 | Chile | 6.5% | 2022 | down 70.0% | falling |
| 63 | Azerbaijan | 6.0% | 2012 | down 87.9% | volatile |
| 64 | Uzbekistan | 5.8% | 2025 | down 58.9% | falling |
| 65 | Thailand | 5.4% | 2022 | down 57.1% | volatile |
| 66 | Kazakhstan | 5.0% | 2024 | up 16.3% | rising |
| 67 | Vietnam | 4.2% | 2022 | down 75.6% | volatile |
| 68 | Morocco | 3.9% | 2022 | down 18.8% | volatile |
| 69 | Belarus | 3.5% | 2024 | down 27.1% | volatile |
| 70 | China | 0.0% | 2020 | down 100.0% | volatile |
About this data
National poverty headcount ratio is the percentage of the population living below the national poverty lines. National estimates are based on population-weighted subgroup estimates from household surveys.