The share and number of people living in extreme poverty in Uganda
Uganda: The share and number of people living in extreme poverty was 59.8% in 2019. ▼ Falling
The share and number of people living in extreme poverty in Uganda, 1989–2019
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2019, the share and number of people living in extreme poverty in Uganda stood at 59.8%.
That represents a change of down 0.5% on the previous year and down 5.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, the share and number of people living in extreme poverty in Uganda peaked at 80.6% in 1999 and was at its lowest, 56.2%, in 2012.
Uganda ranks 7th of 120 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 10 years of available data.
The share and number of people living in extreme poverty in Uganda, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | 72.8% | — |
| 1992 | 79.9% | +9.8% |
| 1996 | 78.5% | -1.7% |
| 1999 | 80.6% | +2.6% |
| 2002 | 78.6% | -2.5% |
| 2005 | 72.4% | -7.9% |
| 2009 | 63.5% | -12.2% |
| 2012 | 56.2% | -11.6% |
| 2016 | 60.1% | +7.0% |
| 2019 | 59.8% | -0.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 72.8% | 72.8% | 72.8% | 1 |
| 1990s | 79.7% | 78.5% | 80.6% | 3 |
| 2000s | 71.5% | 63.5% | 78.6% | 3 |
| 2010s | 58.7% | 56.2% | 60.1% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Uganda
- 4 Zambia 71.7% compare
- 5 Madagascar 69.2% compare
- 6 Niger 60.5% compare
- 8 Tanzania, United Republic of 51.3% compare
- 9 Kenya 45.5% compare
- 10 Burkina Faso 42.1% compare
More poverty & inequality data for Uganda
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 2 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 4.28 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 1,920 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 -1.96 % change on previous year (2024)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 12.46 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 12.5% (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 Uganda?
- The share and number of people living in extreme poverty in Uganda was 59.8% in 2019, 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 Uganda?
- The highest recorded value was 80.6% in 1999.
- What is the lowest the share and number of people living in extreme poverty recorded in Uganda?
- The lowest recorded value was 56.2% in 2012.
- How does Uganda rank for the share and number of people living in extreme poverty?
- Uganda ranks 7th out of 120 countries with data for 2019.
- Is the share and number of people living in extreme poverty rising or falling in Uganda?
- Over the last ten years it is down 5.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Uganda 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 10 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 $3 per day.