In 2025, nearly 11.7 percent of the world population in extreme poverty, with the poverty threshold at 2.15 U.S. dollars a day, lived in Nigeria. Moreover, the Democratic Republic of the Congo accounted for around 11.7 percent of the global population in extreme poverty. Other African nations with a large poor population were Tanzania, Mozambique, and Madagascar. Poverty levels remain high despite the forecast decline Poverty is a widespread issue across Africa. Around 429 million people on the continent were living below the extreme poverty line of 2.15 U.S. dollars a day in 2024. Since the continent had approximately 1.4 billion inhabitants, roughly a third of Africa’s population was in extreme poverty that year. Mozambique, Malawi, Central African Republic, and Niger had Africa’s highest extreme poverty rates based on the 2.15 U.S. dollars per day extreme poverty indicator (updated from 1.90 U.S. dollars in September 2022). Although the levels of poverty on the continent are forecast to decrease in the coming years, Africa will remain the poorest region compared to the rest of the world. Prevalence of poverty and malnutrition across Africa Multiple factors are linked to increased poverty. Regions with critical situations of employment, education, health, nutrition, war, and conflict usually have larger poor populations. Consequently, poverty tends to be more prevalent in least-developed and developing countries worldwide. For similar reasons, rural households also face higher poverty levels. In 2024, the extreme poverty rate in Africa stood at around 45 percent among the rural population, compared to seven percent in urban areas. Together with poverty, malnutrition is also widespread in Africa. Limited access to food leads to low health conditions, increasing the poverty risk. At the same time, poverty can determine inadequate nutrition. Almost 38.3 percent of the global undernourished population lived in Africa in 2022.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic impacted East Africa's poverty level. Extreme poverty rate in the region increased from ** percent in 2019 to ** percent in 2021. South Sudan and Brurundi had the highest share of population living on less than **** U.S. dollars per day, ** percent and ** percent, respectively.

Sudan has the highest poverty rate in North Africa. According to projections, around ** percent of Sudan's population lived below the national poverty line in 2022. Poverty levels were also high in Mauritania and Egypt, with the poverty rate reaching almost ** percent. By 2023, poverty in the region was projected to decline slightly.

Poverty and Inequality Indicators for all 54 African Countries

This dataset contains Poverty and Inequality indicators for all 54 African countries, spanning from 1960 to 2024. The data is sourced from the World Bank and has been cleaned and organized for easy use.

  Dataset Structure

The dataset is organized into folders, one for each of the 54 African countries. Within each country's folder, you will find:

A CSV file containing the indicator data for that country. A… See the full description on the dataset page: https://huggingface.co/datasets/electricsheepafrica/Poverty-and-Inequality-Indicators-For-African-Countries.

Historical dataset showing Africa poverty rate by year from N/A to N/A.

The average for 2021 based on 71 countries was 5.3 percent. The highest value was in the Central African Republic: 65.7 percent and the lowest value was in Belgium: 0 percent. The indicator is available from 1963 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

In 2022, the international poverty (based on 2017 purchasing power parity (PPP)) and the lower-income poverty rate (3.65 U.S. dollars in 2017 PPP), was highest in Burundi within the East African region, with 83 percent and 96.6 percent, respectively. However, the upper middle-income poverty rate was highest in Somalia, at 98.8 percent.

license: apache-2.0 tags: - africa - sustainable-development-goals - world-health-organization - development

  Population below international poverty line (%)





  Dataset Description

This dataset provides country-level data for the indicator "1.1.1 Population below international poverty line (%)" across African nations, sourced from the World Health Organization's (WHO) data portal on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The data is presented in a wide format… See the full description on the dataset page: https://huggingface.co/datasets/electricsheepafrica/population-below-international-poverty-line-for-african-countries.

license: apache-2.0 tags: - africa - sustainable-development-goals - world-health-organization - development

  Employed population below international poverty line (%) - Male





  Dataset Description

This dataset provides country-level data for the indicator "1.1.1 Employed population below international poverty line (%) - Male" across African nations, sourced from the World Health Organization's (WHO) data portal on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The data is… See the full description on the dataset page: https://huggingface.co/datasets/electricsheepafrica/employed-population-below-international-poverty-line-male-for-african-countries.

Seven in ten Africans in Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Madagascar, and Zimbabwe are considered extremely officially poor living on less than $1.90 per day. When it comes to measuring monetary poverty, the US$1.90 benchmark is used to assess how well people are doing relative to the basic needs in the world’s poorest countries.

Historical dataset showing Sub-Saharan Africa poverty rate by year from 1990 to 2019.

The average for 2020 based on 2 countries was 47.65 percent. The highest value was in the Gambia: 53.4 percent and the lowest value was in Mali: 41.9 percent. The indicator is available from 2000 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

The dataset was used to carry out the empirical analyses on the paper titled "Corruption and Poverty Dilemma: A Comparative Analysis of Anglophone and Francophone African Countries"

Historical dataset showing Central African Republic poverty rate by year from 1992 to 2021.

Eswatini registered the highest widespread multidimensional poverty in Africa according to surveys from 2011 to 2022. The country received a score of 0.81 on an index ranging between zero and one. Niger, Chad, and the Central African Republic followed, with a score of 0.6, 0.52, and 0.46, respectively.

Central African Republic CF: Poverty Gap at National Poverty Lines: Rural: % data was reported at 35.000 % in 2008. Central African Republic CF: Poverty Gap at National Poverty Lines: Rural: % data is updated yearly, averaging 35.000 % from Dec 2008 (Median) to 2008, with 1 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 35.000 % in 2008 and a record low of 35.000 % in 2008. Central African Republic CF: Poverty Gap at National Poverty Lines: Rural: % data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Central African Republic – Table CF.World Bank.WDI: Social: Poverty and Inequality. Rural poverty gap at national poverty lines is the rural population's mean shortfall from the poverty lines (counting the nonpoor as having zero shortfall) as a percentage of the poverty lines. This measure reflects the depth of poverty as well as its incidence.; ; World Bank, Global Poverty Working Group. Data are compiled from official government sources or are computed by World Bank staff using national (i.e. country–specific) poverty lines.; ; This series only includes estimates that to the best of our knowledge are reasonably comparable over time for a country. Due to differences in estimation methodologies and poverty lines, estimates should not be compared across countries.

The average for 2021 based on 12 countries was 79.94 percent. The highest value was in Niger: 96.3 percent and the lowest value was in Tunisia: 16.2 percent. The indicator is available from 1963 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Central African Republic CF: Gini Coefficient (GINI Index): World Bank Estimate data was reported at 43.000 % in 2021. This records a decrease from the previous number of 56.200 % for 2008. Central African Republic CF: Gini Coefficient (GINI Index): World Bank Estimate data is updated yearly, averaging 56.200 % from Dec 1992 (Median) to 2021, with 3 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 61.300 % in 1992 and a record low of 43.000 % in 2021. Central African Republic CF: Gini Coefficient (GINI Index): World Bank Estimate data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Central African Republic – Table CF.World Bank.WDI: Social: Poverty and Inequality. Gini index measures the extent to which the distribution of income (or, in some cases, consumption expenditure) among individuals or households within an economy deviates from a perfectly equal distribution. A Lorenz curve plots the cumulative percentages of total income received against the cumulative number of recipients, starting with the poorest individual or household. The Gini index measures the area between the Lorenz curve and a hypothetical line of absolute equality, expressed as a percentage of the maximum area under the line. Thus a Gini index of 0 represents perfect equality, while an index of 100 implies perfect inequality.;World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income economies are mostly from the Luxembourg Income Study database. For more information and methodology, please see http://pip.worldbank.org.;;The World Bank’s internationally comparable poverty monitoring database now draws on income or detailed consumption data from more than 2000 household surveys across 169 countries. See the Poverty and Inequality Platform (PIP) for details (www.pip.worldbank.org).

Central African Republic CF: Poverty Headcount Ratio at National Poverty Lines: Urban: % of Urban Population data was reported at 49.600 % in 2008. Central African Republic CF: Poverty Headcount Ratio at National Poverty Lines: Urban: % of Urban Population data is updated yearly, averaging 49.600 % from Dec 2008 (Median) to 2008, with 1 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 49.600 % in 2008 and a record low of 49.600 % in 2008. Central African Republic CF: Poverty Headcount Ratio at National Poverty Lines: Urban: % of Urban Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Central African Republic – Table CF.World Bank.WDI: Social: Poverty and Inequality. Urban poverty headcount ratio is the percentage of the urban population living below the national poverty lines.; ; World Bank, Global Poverty Working Group. Data are compiled from official government sources or are computed by World Bank staff using national (i.e. country–specific) poverty lines.; ; This series only includes estimates that to the best of our knowledge are reasonably comparable over time for a country. Due to differences in estimation methodologies and poverty lines, estimates should not be compared across countries.

South Africa ZA: Income Share Held by Third 20% data was reported at 8.200 % in 2014. This records an increase from the previous number of 8.000 % for 2010. South Africa ZA: Income Share Held by Third 20% data is updated yearly, averaging 8.200 % from Dec 1993 (Median) to 2014, with 7 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 9.900 % in 2000 and a record low of 7.500 % in 2005. South Africa ZA: Income Share Held by Third 20% data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s South Africa – Table ZA.World Bank.WDI: Poverty. Percentage share of income or consumption is the share that accrues to subgroups of population indicated by deciles or quintiles. Percentage shares by quintile may not sum to 100 because of rounding.; ; World Bank, Development Research Group. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income economies are from the Luxembourg Income Study database. For more information and methodology, please see PovcalNet (http://iresearch.worldbank.org/PovcalNet/index.htm).; ; The World Bank’s internationally comparable poverty monitoring database now draws on income or detailed consumption data from more than one thousand six hundred household surveys across 164 countries in six regions and 25 other high income countries (industrialized economies). While income distribution data are published for all countries with data available, poverty data are published for low- and middle-income countries and countries eligible to receive loans from the World Bank (such as Chile) and recently graduated countries (such as Estonia) only. See PovcalNet (http://iresearch.worldbank.org/PovcalNet/WhatIsNew.aspx) for definitions of geographical regions and industrialized countries.