All the 20 countries with the highest poverty rates in the world are located in Africa. The Democratic Republic of Congo and Mozambique were the two countries with the highest share of people living on less than 2.15 U.S. dollars a day when adjusting for 2017 Purchasing Power Parities (PPP), both at over 70 percent.

Out of all OECD countries, Cost Rica had the highest poverty rate as of 2022, at over 20 percent. The country with the second highest poverty rate was the United States, with 18 percent. On the other end of the scale, Czechia had the lowest poverty rate at 6.4 percent, followed by Denmark.

The significance of the OECD

The OECD, or the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, was founded in 1948 and is made up of 38 member countries. It seeks to improve the economic and social well-being of countries and their populations. The OECD looks at issues that impact people’s everyday lives and proposes policies that can help to improve the quality of life.

Poverty in the United States

In 2022, there were nearly 38 million people living below the poverty line in the U.S.. About one fourth of the Native American population lived in poverty in 2022, the most out of any ethnicity. In addition, the rate was higher among young women than young men. It is clear that poverty in the United States is a complex, multi-faceted issue that affects millions of people and is even more complex to solve.

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.

Among the OECD countries, Costa Rica had the highest share of children living in poverty, reaching 28.5 percent in 2022. Türkiye followed with a share of 22 percent of children living in poverty, while 20.5 percent of children in Spain, Chile, and the United States did the same. On the other hand, only three percent of children in Finland were living in poverty.

Norway poverty rate for 2019 was 0.50%, a 0% increase from 2018.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>Norway poverty rate for 2018 was <strong>0.50%</strong>, a <strong>0.1% decline</strong> from 2017.</li>
<li>Norway poverty rate for 2017 was <strong>0.60%</strong>, a <strong>0.1% decline</strong> from 2016.</li>
<li>Norway poverty rate for 2016 was <strong>0.70%</strong>, a <strong>0.3% increase</strong> from 2015.</li>
</ul>Poverty headcount ratio at $5.50 a day is the percentage of the population living on less than $5.50 a day at 2011 international prices. As a result of revisions in PPP exchange rates, poverty rates for individual countries cannot be compared with poverty rates reported in earlier editions.

The average for 2021 based on 71 countries was 25.11 percent. The highest value was in Niger: 96.3 percent and the lowest value was in Cyprus: 0.1 percent. The indicator is available from 1963 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

The average for 2020 based on 3 countries was 7.13 percent. The highest value was in Indonesia: 9.8 percent and the lowest value was in Vietnam: 4.8 percent. The indicator is available from 2000 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Iran poverty rate for 2023 was 36.10%, a 2.9% decline from 2022.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>Iran poverty rate for 2022 was <strong>39.00%</strong>, a <strong>3.8% decline</strong> from 2021.</li>
<li>Iran poverty rate for 2021 was <strong>42.80%</strong>, a <strong>5.6% decline</strong> from 2020.</li>
<li>Iran poverty rate for 2020 was <strong>48.40%</strong>, a <strong>1% increase</strong> from 2019.</li>
</ul>Poverty headcount ratio at $5.50 a day is the percentage of the population living on less than $5.50 a day at 2011 international prices. As a result of revisions in PPP exchange rates, poverty rates for individual countries cannot be compared with poverty rates reported in earlier editions.

Latin America & Caribbean poverty rate for 2022 was 25.20%, a 3.2% decline from 2021.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>Latin America & Caribbean poverty rate for 2021 was <strong>28.40%</strong>, a <strong>0.8% increase</strong> from 2020.</li>
<li>Latin America & Caribbean poverty rate for 2020 was <strong>27.60%</strong>, a <strong>0.4% increase</strong> from 2019.</li>
<li>Latin America & Caribbean poverty rate for 2019 was <strong>27.20%</strong>, a <strong>0.7% decline</strong> from 2018.</li>
</ul>Poverty headcount ratio at $5.50 a day is the percentage of the population living on less than $5.50 a day at 2011 international prices. As a result of revisions in PPP exchange rates, poverty rates for individual countries cannot be compared with poverty rates reported in earlier editions.

Abstract

In an environment where the Bank must demonstrate its impact and value, it is critical that the institution collects and tracks empirical data on how its work is perceived by clients, partners and other stakeholders in our client countries.

In FY 2013, the Country Opinion Survey Program was scaled up in order to: - Annually assess perceptions of the World Bank among key stakeholders in a representative sample of client countries; - Track these opinions over time, representative of: regions, stakeholders, country lending levels, country income/size levels, etc. - Inform strategy and decision making: apply findings to challenges to ensure real time response at several levels: corporate, regional, country - Obtain systematic feedback from stakeholders regarding: - The general environment in their country; - Value of the World Bank in their country; - World Bank's presence (work, relationships, etc.); - World Bank's future role in their country. - Create a feedback loop that allows data to be shared with stakeholders.

Geographic coverage

The data from the 41 country surveys were combined in this review. Although individual countries are not specified, each country was designated as part of a particular region: Africa (AFR), East Asia (EAP), Europe/Central Asia (ECA), Latin America (LAC), Middle East/North Africa (MNA), and South Asia (SAR).

Analysis unit

Client Country

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

In FY 2013 (July 2012 to July 1, 2013), 26,014 stakeholders of the World Bank in 41 different countries were invited to provide their opinions on the Bank's assistance to the country by participating in a country survey. Participants in these surveys were drawn from among senior government officials (from the office of the Prime Minister, President, Minister, Parliamentarian; i.e., elected officials), staff of ministries (employees of ministries, ministerial departments, or implementation agencies, and government officials; i.e., non-elected government officials, and those attached to agencies implementing Bank-supported projects), consultants/contractors working on World Bank-supported projects/programs; project management units (PMUs) overseeing implementation of a project; local government officials or staff, bilateral and multilateral agency staff, private sector organizations, private foundations; the financial sector/private banks; non-government organizations (NGOs, including CBOs), the media, independent government institutions (e.g., regulatory agencies, central banks), trade unions, faith-based groups, members of academia or research institutes, and members of the judiciary.

Mode of data collection

Mail Questionnaire [mail]

Research instrument

The Questionnaire consists of the following sections:

A. General Issues facing a country: Respondents were asked to indicate whether the country is headed in the right direction, what they thought were the top three most important development priorities, and which areas would contribute most to reducing poverty and generating economic growth in the country.

B. Overall Attitudes toward the World Bank: Respondents were asked to rate their familiarity with the World Bank, the Bank's effectiveness in the country, the extent to which the Bank meets the country's needs for knowledge services and financial instruments, and the extent to which the Bank should seek or does seek to influence the global development agenda. Respondents were also asked to rate their agreement with various statements regarding the Bank's work and the extent to which the Bank is an effective development partner. Furthermore, respondents were asked to indicate the sectoral areas on which it would be most productive for the Bank to focus its resources, the Bank's greatest values and greatest weaknesses in its work, the most and least effective instruments in helping to reduce poverty in the country, with which groups the Bank should collaborate more, and to what reasons respondents attributed failed or slow reform efforts.

C. World Bank Effectiveness and Results: Respondents were asked to rate the extent to which the Bank's work helps achieve sustainable development results in the country, and the Bank's level of effectiveness across thirty-five development areas, such as economic growth, public sector governance, basic infrastructure, social protection, and others.

D. The World Bank's Knowledge: Respondents were asked to indicate the areas on which the Bank should focus its research efforts, and to rate the effectiveness and quality of the Bank's knowledge/research, including how significant of a contribution it makes to development results, its technical quality, and the Bank's effectiveness at providing linkage to non-Bank expertise.

E. Working with the World Bank: Respondents were asked to rate their level of agreement with a series of statements regarding working with the Bank, such as the World Bank's "Safeguard Policy" requirements being reasonable, the Bank imposing reasonable conditions on its lending, disbursing funds promptly, and increasing the country's institutional capacity.

F. The Future Role of the World Bank in the country: Respondents were asked to rate how significant a role the Bank should play in the country's development in the near future, and to indicate what the Bank should do to make itself of greater value in the country.

G. Communication and Information Sharing: Respondents were asked to indicate where they get information about economic and social development issues, how they prefer to receive information from the Bank, their access to the Internet, and their usage and evaluation of the Bank's websites. Respondents were asked about their awareness of the Bank's Access to Information policy, past information requests from the Bank, and their level of agreement that they use more data from the World Bank as a result of the Bank's Open Data policy. Respondents were also asked to indicate their level of agreement that they know how to find information from the Bank and that the Bank is responsive to information requests.

H. Background Information: Respondents were asked to indicate their current position, specialization, whether they professionally collaborate with the World Bank, their exposure to the Bank in the country, and their geographic location.

Response rate

A total of 9,279 stakeholders (36% response rate) participated and are part of this review.

Considering the latest available data, Mozambique had the highest share of the population living in extreme poverty among the selected African countries, corresponding to around 74.4 percent in 2019. Malawi, Central African Republic, Niger, and Tanzania followed with approximately 70.1, 65.7, 50.6, and 44.9 percent between 2018 and 2021, respectively. The extreme poverty line was set at 2.15 U.S. dollars a day, taking into consideration Purchasing Power Parities (PPP).

European Union - At Risk of Poverty rate: Population was 15.50% in December of 2024, according to the EUROSTAT. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for European Union - At Risk of Poverty rate: Population - last updated from the EUROSTAT on June of 2025. Historically, European Union - At Risk of Poverty rate: Population reached a record high of 16.70% in December of 2016 and a record low of 15.30% in December of 2010.

Turkey poverty rate for 2021 was 7.60%, a 2.2% decline from 2020.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>Turkey poverty rate for 2020 was <strong>9.80%</strong>, a <strong>0.3% decline</strong> from 2019.</li>
<li>Turkey poverty rate for 2019 was <strong>10.10%</strong>, a <strong>0.5% increase</strong> from 2018.</li>
<li>Turkey poverty rate for 2018 was <strong>9.60%</strong>, a <strong>0.7% decline</strong> from 2017.</li>
</ul>Poverty headcount ratio at $5.50 a day is the percentage of the population living on less than $5.50 a day at 2011 international prices. As a result of revisions in PPP exchange rates, poverty rates for individual countries cannot be compared with poverty rates reported in earlier editions.

Canada Poverty Headcount Ratio at Societal Poverty Lines: % of Population data was reported at 12.500 % in 2019. This records a decrease from the previous number of 13.500 % for 2018. Canada Poverty Headcount Ratio at Societal Poverty Lines: % of Population data is updated yearly, averaging 14.700 % from Dec 1971 (Median) to 2019, with 43 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 19.000 % in 1971 and a record low of 12.500 % in 2019. Canada Poverty Headcount Ratio at Societal Poverty Lines: % of Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Canada – Table CA.World Bank.WDI: Social: Poverty and Inequality. The poverty headcount ratio at societal poverty line is the percentage of a population living in poverty according to the World Bank's Societal Poverty Line. The Societal Poverty Line is expressed in purchasing power adjusted 2017 U.S. dollars and defined as max($2.15, $1.15 + 0.5*Median). This means that when the national median is sufficiently low, the Societal Poverty line is equivalent to the extreme poverty line, $2.15. For countries with a sufficiently high national median, the Societal Poverty Line grows as countries’ median income grows.;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).

Denmark poverty rate for 2021 was 0.30%, a 0.1% decline from 2020.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>Denmark poverty rate for 2020 was <strong>0.40%</strong>, a <strong>0% increase</strong> from 2019.</li>
<li>Denmark poverty rate for 2019 was <strong>0.40%</strong>, a <strong>0.1% increase</strong> from 2018.</li>
<li>Denmark poverty rate for 2018 was <strong>0.30%</strong>, a <strong>0% increase</strong> from 2017.</li>
</ul>Poverty headcount ratio at $5.50 a day is the percentage of the population living on less than $5.50 a day at 2011 international prices. As a result of revisions in PPP exchange rates, poverty rates for individual countries cannot be compared with poverty rates reported in earlier editions.

IR: Poverty Gap at $1.90 a Day: 2011 PPP: % data was reported at 0.000 % in 2014. This stayed constant from the previous number of 0.000 % for 2013. IR: Poverty Gap at $1.90 a Day: 2011 PPP: % data is updated yearly, averaging 0.300 % from Dec 1986 (Median) to 2014, with 9 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.800 % in 1986 and a record low of 0.000 % in 2014. IR: Poverty Gap at $1.90 a Day: 2011 PPP: % data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Iran – Table IR.World Bank: Poverty. Poverty gap at $1.90 a day (2011 PPP) is the mean shortfall in income or consumption from the poverty line $1.90 a day (counting the nonpoor as having zero shortfall), expressed as a percentage of the poverty line. This measure reflects the depth of poverty as well as its incidence. As a result of revisions in PPP exchange rates, poverty rates for individual countries cannot be compared with poverty rates reported in earlier editions.; ; 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. The aggregated numbers for low- and middle-income countries correspond to the totals of 6 regions in PovcalNet, which include 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). See PovcalNet (http://iresearch.worldbank.org/PovcalNet/WhatIsNew.aspx) for definitions of geographical regions and industrialized countries.

VN: Income Share Held by Highest 10% data was reported at 27.100 % in 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 26.800 % for 2014. VN: Income Share Held by Highest 10% data is updated yearly, averaging 28.300 % from Dec 1992 (Median) to 2016, with 10 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 30.900 % in 2010 and a record low of 26.800 % in 2014. VN: Income Share Held by Highest 10% data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Vietnam – Table VN.World Bank.WDI: Poverty. Percentage share of income or consumption is the share that accrues to subgroups of population indicated by deciles or quintiles.; ; 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.

AM: Income Share Held by Highest 10% data was reported at 23.000 % in 2022. This records a decrease from the previous number of 23.600 % for 2021. AM: Income Share Held by Highest 10% data is updated yearly, averaging 25.200 % from Dec 1999 (Median) to 2022, with 23 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 31.700 % in 2004 and a record low of 21.500 % in 2020. AM: Income Share Held by Highest 10% data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Armenia – Table AM.World Bank.WDI: Social: Poverty and Inequality. Percentage share of income or consumption is the share that accrues to subgroups of population indicated by deciles or quintiles.;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).

United States US: Poverty Headcount Ratio at $1.90 a Day: 2011 PPP: % of Population data was reported at 1.200 % in 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 1.000 % for 2013. United States US: Poverty Headcount Ratio at $1.90 a Day: 2011 PPP: % of Population data is updated yearly, averaging 0.700 % from Dec 1979 (Median) to 2016, with 11 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.200 % in 2016 and a record low of 0.500 % in 1991. United States US: Poverty Headcount Ratio at $1.90 a Day: 2011 PPP: % of Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.World Bank.WDI: Poverty. Poverty headcount ratio at $1.90 a day is the percentage of the population living on less than $1.90 a day at 2011 international prices. As a result of revisions in PPP exchange rates, poverty rates for individual countries cannot be compared with poverty rates reported in earlier editions.; ; 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. The aggregated numbers for low- and middle-income countries correspond to the totals of 6 regions in PovcalNet, which include 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). See PovcalNet (http://iresearch.worldbank.org/PovcalNet/WhatIsNew.aspx) for definitions of geographical regions and industrialized countries.

Jamaica poverty rate for 2021 was 13.90%, a 4.8% increase from 2018.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>Jamaica poverty rate for 2018 was <strong>9.10%</strong>, a <strong>20% decline</strong> from 2004.</li>
<li>Jamaica poverty rate for 2004 was <strong>29.10%</strong>, a <strong>4.2% decline</strong> from 2002.</li>
<li>Jamaica poverty rate for 2002 was <strong>33.30%</strong>, a <strong>2.9% increase</strong> from 1999.</li>
</ul>Poverty headcount ratio at $5.50 a day is the percentage of the population living on less than $5.50 a day at 2011 international prices. As a result of revisions in PPP exchange rates, poverty rates for individual countries cannot be compared with poverty rates reported in earlier editions.