Total shortfall from extreme poverty in United States
United States: Total shortfall from extreme poverty was 3.06 billion international-$ in 2021 prices in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
3.06 billion international-$ in 2021 prices
Change on year
down 12.3%
World rank
16th
of 120 countries
All-time high
3.80 billion international-$ in 2021 prices
in 2022
All-time low
830.25 million international-$ in 2021 prices
in 1989
Years of data
62
1963–2024
Total shortfall from extreme poverty in United States, 1963–2024
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in international-$ in 2021 prices.
Analysis
United States recorded 3.06 billion international-$ in 2021 prices for total shortfall from extreme poverty in 2024.
That represents a change of down 12.3% on the previous year and down 13.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, total shortfall from extreme poverty in United States peaked at 3.80 billion international-$ in 2021 prices in 2022 and was at its lowest, 830.25 million international-$ in 2021 prices, in 1989.
That places United States 16th out of 120 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 62 years of available data.
Total shortfall from extreme poverty in United States, year by year
| Year | international-$ in 2021 prices | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1963 | 1.98 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | — |
| 1964 | 2.10 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | +5.9% |
| 1965 | 1.75 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | -16.6% |
| 1966 | 1.55 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | -11.4% |
| 1967 | 1.42 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | -8.2% |
| 1968 | 1.32 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | -7.4% |
| 1969 | 987.82 million international-$ in 2021 prices | -25.0% |
| 1970 | 1.63 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | +65.2% |
| 1971 | 1.36 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | -16.6% |
| 1972 | 1.32 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | -2.7% |
| 1973 | 1.32 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | -0.6% |
| 1974 | 1.30 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | -1.2% |
| 1975 | 1.08 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | -17.1% |
| 1976 | 1.11 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | +2.9% |
| 1977 | 917.32 million international-$ in 2021 prices | -17.4% |
| 1978 | 1.00 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | +9.4% |
| 1979 | 1.14 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | +13.7% |
| 1980 | 887.93 million international-$ in 2021 prices | -22.2% |
| 1981 | 964.60 million international-$ in 2021 prices | +8.6% |
| 1982 | 1.27 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | +31.4% |
| 1983 | 1.17 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | -7.6% |
| 1984 | 1.04 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | -11.3% |
| 1985 | 1.06 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | +1.6% |
| 1986 | 1.13 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | +7.1% |
| 1987 | 963.10 million international-$ in 2021 prices | -14.8% |
| 1988 | 832.58 million international-$ in 2021 prices | -13.6% |
| 1989 | 830.25 million international-$ in 2021 prices | -0.3% |
| 1990 | 885.74 million international-$ in 2021 prices | +6.7% |
| 1991 | 990.30 million international-$ in 2021 prices | +11.8% |
| 1992 | 1.07 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | +8.1% |
| 1993 | 1.20 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | +12.0% |
| 1994 | 1.33 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | +10.9% |
| 1995 | 1.33 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | +0.4% |
| 1996 | 1.46 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | +9.5% |
| 1997 | 1.62 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | +11.0% |
| 1998 | 1.85 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | +13.9% |
| 1999 | 1.64 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | -11.5% |
| 2000 | 1.73 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | +5.5% |
| 2001 | 2.14 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | +23.9% |
| 2002 | 2.05 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | -4.4% |
| 2003 | 2.47 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | +20.7% |
| 2004 | 2.60 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | +5.4% |
| 2005 | 2.58 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | -0.9% |
| 2006 | 2.65 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | +2.7% |
| 2007 | 2.60 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | -1.7% |
| 2008 | 2.85 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | +9.5% |
| 2009 | 2.47 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | -13.3% |
| 2010 | 2.91 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | +17.8% |
| 2011 | 2.78 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | -4.7% |
| 2012 | 2.90 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | +4.4% |
| 2013 | 2.82 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | -2.6% |
| 2014 | 3.51 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | +24.5% |
| 2015 | 3.23 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | -8.2% |
| 2016 | 3.18 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | -1.4% |
| 2017 | 3.54 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | +11.5% |
| 2018 | 3.06 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | -13.7% |
| 2019 | 2.80 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | -8.4% |
| 2020 | 1.03 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | -63.2% |
| 2021 | 983.15 million international-$ in 2021 prices | -4.5% |
| 2022 | 3.80 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | +286.3% |
| 2023 | 3.49 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | -8.2% |
| 2024 | 3.06 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | -12.3% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 3.06 billion international-$ in 2021 prices is above the median for high income countries, which is 21.17 million international-$ in 2021 prices, 144.4× the median. (42 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Total shortfall from extreme poverty in United States 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | +286.3% | 983.15 million international-$ in 2021 prices | 3.80 billion international-$ in 2021 prices |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.59 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | 987.82 million international-$ in 2021 prices | 2.10 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | 7 |
| 1970s | 1.22 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | 917.32 million international-$ in 2021 prices | 1.63 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.01 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | 830.25 million international-$ in 2021 prices | 1.27 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.34 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | 885.74 million international-$ in 2021 prices | 1.85 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.41 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | 1.73 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | 2.85 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.07 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | 2.78 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | 3.54 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.47 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | 983.15 million international-$ in 2021 prices | 3.80 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | 5 |
Countries ranked near United States
- 13 Niger 5.08 billion international-$ in 2021 prices compare
- 14 Burundi 4.50 billion international-$ in 2021 prices compare
- 15 South Africa 3.52 billion international-$ in 2021 prices compare
- 17 Burkina Faso 3.06 billion international-$ in 2021 prices compare
- 18 Philippines 2.84 billion international-$ in 2021 prices compare
- 19 Cameroon 2.45 billion international-$ in 2021 prices compare
More poverty & inequality data for United States
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 9 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 1.62 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 8,414 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 % change on previous year (2024)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 24.85 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 24.8% (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is total shortfall from extreme poverty in United States?
- Total shortfall from extreme poverty in United States was 3.06 billion international-$ in 2021 prices in 2024, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest total shortfall from extreme poverty recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 3.80 billion international-$ in 2021 prices in 2022.
- What is the lowest total shortfall from extreme poverty recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 830.25 million international-$ in 2021 prices in 1989.
- How does United States rank for total shortfall from extreme poverty?
- United States ranks 16th out of 120 countries with data for 2024.
- Is total shortfall from extreme poverty rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is down 13.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States 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 Total shortfall from extreme poverty. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
This is the amount of money that would be theoretically needed to lift the income or consumption of all people in poverty up to $3 per day. However, this is not a measure of the actual cost of eliminating poverty, since it does not take into account the costs involved in making the necessary transfers nor any changes in behavior they would bring about.