Number of people living in extreme poverty in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: Number of people living in extreme poverty was 47.19 million people in 2021. ▬ Flat
Number of people living in extreme poverty in Ethiopia, 1995–2021
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
Ethiopia recorded 47.19 million people for number of people living in extreme poverty in 2021. That is the highest value across all 6 years on record.
That represents a change of up 37.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of people living in extreme poverty in Ethiopia peaked at 47.19 million people in 2021 and was at its lowest, 31.92 million people, in 2004.
Ethiopia ranks 4th of 120 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 43.20 million people | 42.65 million people | 43.75 million people | 2 |
| 2000s | 31.92 million people | 31.92 million people | 31.92 million people | 1 |
| 2010s | 34.55 million people | 34.36 million people | 34.75 million people | 2 |
| 2020s | 47.19 million people | 47.19 million people | 47.19 million people | 1 |
Countries ranked near Ethiopia
More poverty & inequality data for Ethiopia
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 1 surveys (2025)
- Fertility rate vs. share living in extreme poverty 3.99 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 2,632 kg per hectare (2024)
- Gender Inequality Index 0.497 (2023)
- Share of government consumption in GDP vs. share of population living in extreme poverty 10.2% (2023)
- Lifespan inequality: Gini coefficient in women 0.1515 (2023)
- Lifespan inequality: Gini coefficient by sex 0.1515 (2023)
- Lifespan inequality: Gini coefficient in men 0.1954 (2023)
- Income inequality: Atkinson index 0.3645 (2023)
- Poverty headcount ratio at $3.00 a day (2021 PPP) 38.6% (2021)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of people living in extreme poverty in Ethiopia?
- Number of people living in extreme poverty in Ethiopia was 47.19 million people in 2021, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest number of people living in extreme poverty recorded in Ethiopia?
- The highest recorded value was 47.19 million people in 2021.
- What is the lowest number of people living in extreme poverty recorded in Ethiopia?
- The lowest recorded value was 31.92 million people in 2004.
- How does Ethiopia rank for number of people living in extreme poverty?
- Ethiopia ranks 4th out of 120 countries with data for 2021.
- Is number of people living in extreme poverty rising or falling in Ethiopia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 37.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Ethiopia 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 Number of people living in extreme poverty. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 6 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of people living in households with an income or consumption below $3 per day.