The share and number of people living in extreme poverty in Italy
Italy: The share and number of people living in extreme poverty was 0.9% in 2023. ◆ Volatile
The share and number of people living in extreme poverty in Italy, 1977–2023
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for the share and number of people living in extreme poverty in Italy is 0.9%, measured in 2023.
The figure is up 35.4% on the previous year and down 42.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, the share and number of people living in extreme poverty in Italy peaked at 2.1% in 2015 and was at its lowest, 0.1%, in 1981.
That places Italy 66th out of 120 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
The share and number of people living in extreme poverty in Italy, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | 0.3% | — |
| 1978 | 0.5% | +66.7% |
| 1979 | 0.5% | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 0.2% | -60.0% |
| 1981 | 0.1% | -50.0% |
| 1982 | 0.1% | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 0.2% | +100.0% |
| 1984 | 0.2% | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 0.4% | +100.0% |
| 1987 | 1.1% | +175.0% |
| 1989 | 0.1% | -90.9% |
| 1991 | 0.3% | +200.0% |
| 1993 | 1.5% | +400.0% |
| 1995 | 0.7% | -53.3% |
| 1998 | 1.7% | +142.9% |
| 2000 | 1.3% | -23.5% |
| 2002 | 1.7% | +30.8% |
| 2003 | 0.9% | -48.1% |
| 2004 | 0.8% | -10.3% |
| 2005 | 0.8% | +0.7% |
| 2006 | 0.8% | -4.0% |
| 2007 | 0.8% | +3.1% |
| 2008 | 0.9% | +8.2% |
| 2009 | 1.1% | +26.6% |
| 2010 | 1.4% | +30.7% |
| 2011 | 1.3% | -10.3% |
| 2012 | 1.4% | +11.6% |
| 2013 | 1.6% | +14.3% |
| 2014 | 1.4% | -10.2% |
| 2015 | 2.1% | +41.5% |
| 2016 | 1.8% | -13.3% |
| 2017 | 1.5% | -13.3% |
| 2018 | 1.7% | +10.4% |
| 2019 | 1.0% | -39.2% |
| 2020 | 0.9% | -15.3% |
| 2021 | 0.9% | -1.0% |
| 2022 | 0.7% | -21.1% |
| 2023 | 0.9% | +35.4% |
Italy compared with similar countries
- Italy's 0.9% is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.4%, 2.3× the median. (42 countries reporting)
- Italy's 0.9% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 0.3%, 2.7× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where The share and number of people living in extreme poverty in Italy 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | +400.0% | 0.3% | 1.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.5% | 3 |
| 1980s | 0.3% | 0.1% | 1.1% | 8 |
| 1990s | 1.1% | 0.3% | 1.7% | 4 |
| 2000s | 1.0% | 0.8% | 1.7% | 9 |
| 2010s | 1.5% | 1.0% | 2.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.8% | 0.7% | 0.9% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Italy
More poverty & inequality data for Italy
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 8 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 1.2 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 5,059 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 6.51 % change on previous year (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 41.99 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 42.0% (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is the share and number of people living in extreme poverty in Italy?
- The share and number of people living in extreme poverty in Italy was 0.9% in 2023, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest the share and number of people living in extreme poverty recorded in Italy?
- The highest recorded value was 2.1% in 2015.
- What is the lowest the share and number of people living in extreme poverty recorded in Italy?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1% in 1981.
- How does Italy rank for the share and number of people living in extreme poverty?
- Italy ranks 66th out of 120 countries with data for 2023.
- Is the share and number of people living in extreme poverty rising or falling in Italy?
- Over the last ten years it is down 42.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Italy 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 The share and number of people living in extreme poverty. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Percentage of population living in households with an income or consumption below $3 per day.