In 2024, approximately 10.6 percent of the population was living below the national poverty line in the United States. This reflected a 0.5 percentage point decrease from the previous year. Most recently, poverty levels in the country peaked in 2010 at just over 15 percent. Poverty in the U.S. States The number of people living in poverty in the U.S. as well as poverty rates, vary greatly from state to state. With their large populations, California and Texas led that charts in terms of the size of their impoverished residents. On the other hand, Louisiana had the highest rates of poverty, standing at 20 percent in 2024. The state with the lowest poverty rate was New Hampshire at 5.9 percent. Vulnerable populations The poverty rate in the United States varies widely across different ethnic groups. American Indians and Alaska Natives are the ethnic group with the highest levels of poverty in 2024, with about 19 percent earning an income below the official threshold. In comparison, only about 7.5 percent of the White (non-Hispanic) and Asian populations were living below the poverty line. Children are one of the most poverty endangered population groups in the U.S. between 1990 and 2024. Child poverty peaked in 1993 with 22.7 percent of children living in poverty. Despite fluctuations, in 2024, poverty among minors reached its lowest level in decades, falling to 14.3 percent.

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.

United States Poverty Headcount Ratio at Societal Poverty Lines: % of Population data was reported at 19.200 % in 2022. This records an increase from the previous number of 16.700 % for 2021. United States Poverty Headcount Ratio at Societal Poverty Lines: % of Population data is updated yearly, averaging 19.200 % from Dec 1963 (Median) to 2022, with 60 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 20.500 % in 1993 and a record low of 16.700 % in 2021. United States 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 United States – Table US.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).

Data for Indicator 1.1.1 comes from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) poverty estimates. The U.S. poverty threshold varies based on year and family size. For example, in 2020, a household with two adults and two children would be considered under the poverty line if the household had an annual income less than $26,246. We define people living in extreme poverty line as people from households which earn less than 50% of the U.S. national poverty level for the specific year.

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.

Poverty Area MeasuresThis data product provides poverty area measures for counties across 50 States and Washington DC. The measures include indicators of high poverty areas, extreme poverty areas, persistent poverty areas, and enduring poverty areas for Decennial Census years 1960–2000 and for American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year periods spanning both 2007–11 and 2015–19.HighlightsThis data product uniquely provides poverty area measures at the census-tract level for decennial years 1970 through 2000 and 5-year periods spanning 2007–11 and 2015–19.The poverty area measure—enduring poverty—is introduced, which captures the entrenchment of high poverty in counties for Decennial Census years 1960–2000 and for ACS 5-year periods spanning 2007–11 and 2015–19. The same is available for census tracts beginning in 1970.High and extreme poverty area measures are provided for various data years, offering end-users the flexibility to adjust persistent poverty area measures to meet their unique needs.All measures are geographically standardized to allow for direct comparison over time and for census tracts within county analysis.Diverse geocoding is provided, which can be used for mapping/GIS applications, to link to supplemental data (e.g., USDA, Economic Research Service’s Atlas of Rural and Small-Town America), and to explore various spatial categories (e.g., regions and metro/nonmetro status). DefinitionsHigh poverty: areas with a poverty rate of 20.0 percent or more in a single time period.Extreme poverty: areas with a poverty rate of 40.0 percent or more in a single time period.Persistent poverty: areas with a poverty rate of 20.0 percent or more for 4 consecutive time periods, about 10 years apart, spanning approximately 30 years (baseline time period plus 3 evaluation time periods).Enduring poverty: areas with a poverty rate of 20.0 percent or more for at least 5 consecutive time periods, about 10 years apart, spanning approximately 40 years or more (baseline time period plus four or more evaluation time periods).Additional information about the measures can be found in the downloadable Excel file, which includes the documentation, data, and codebook for the poverty area measures (county and tract).The next update to this data product—planned for early 2023—is expected to include the addition of poverty area measures for the 5-year period 2017–21.Data SetLast UpdatedNext UpdatePoverty area measures (in CSV format)11/10/2022Poverty area measures11/10/2022Poverty Area MeasuresOverviewBackground and UsesERS's Legacy of Poverty Area MeasurementDocumentationDescriptions and MapsLast updated: Thursday, November 10, 2022For more information, contact: Tracey Farrigan and Austin SandersRecommended CitationU.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. Poverty Area Measures, November 2022.

In 2025, around ***** million people in Africa were living in extreme poverty, with the poverty threshold at **** U.S. dollars a day. The number of poor people on the continent dropped slightly compared to the previous year. Poverty in Africa is expected to decline slightly in the coming years, even in the face of a growing population. The number of inhabitants living below the extreme poverty line would decrease to around *** million by 2030.

Graph and download economic data for Percent of Population Below the Poverty Level (5-year estimate) in St. Louis city, MO (S1701ACS029510) from 2012 to 2023 about St. Louis City, MO; St. Louis; MO; poverty; percent; 5-year; population; and USA.

Extreme poverty is defined as living below the International Poverty Line, which is $1.90 per day in 2011 prices and $2.15 per day in 2017 prices.

The International Poverty Line is set by the World Bank to be representative of national definitions of poverty adopted in the world’s poorest countries. In addition to this very low poverty line the World Bank also sets two higher global poverty lines for measuring poverty: one that reflects the definitions of poverty adopted in lower-middle income countries, and one that reflects the definitions adopted in upper-middle income countries. Within the updated methodology, these lines are set at $3.65 and $6.85 in 2017 international-$, replacing the previous $3.20 and $5.50 lines expressed in 2011 international-$.

International dollars (int.-$) are a hypothetical currency that is used for this. It is the result of adjusting both for inflation within countries over time and for differences in the cost of living between countries. The goal of international-$ is to provide a unit whose purchasing power is held fixed over time and across countries, such that one int.-$ can buy the same quantity and quality of goods and services no matter where or when it is spent. The price level in the US is used as the benchmark – or ‘numeraire’ – so that one 2017 int.-$ is defined as the value of goods and services that one US dollar would buy in the US in 2017.

Data Source: From $1.90 to $2.15 a day: the updated International Poverty Line Thumbnail Image: Towfiqu barbhuiya's Unspash

To assist communities in identifying racially/ethnically-concentrated areas of poverty (R/ECAPs), HUD has developed a census tract-based definition of R/ECAPs. The definition involves a racial/ethnic concentration threshold and a poverty test. The racial/ethnic concentration threshold is straightforward: R/ECAPs must have a non-white population of 50 percent or more. Regarding the poverty threshold, Wilson (1980) defines neighborhoods of extreme poverty as census tracts with 40 percent or more of individuals living at or below the poverty line. Because overall poverty levels are substantially lower in many parts of the country, HUD supplements this with an alternate criterion. Thus, a neighborhood can be a R/ECAP if it has a poverty rate that exceeds 40% or is three or more times the average tract poverty rate for the metropolitan/micropolitan area, whichever threshold is lower. Census tracts with this extreme poverty that satisfy the racial/ethnic concentration threshold are deemed R/ECAPs. This translates into the following equation: Where i represents census tracts, () is the metropolitan/micropolitan (CBSA) mean tract poverty rate, is the ith tract poverty rate, () is the non-Hispanic white population in tract i, and Pop is the population in tract i.While this definition of R/ECAP works well for tracts in CBSAs, place outside of these geographies are unlikely to have racial or ethnic concentrations as high as 50 percent. In these areas, the racial/ethnic concentration threshold is set at 20 percent.

Data Source: American Community Survey (ACS), 2009-2013; Decennial Census (2010); Brown Longitudinal Tract Database (LTDB) based on decennial census data, 1990, 2000 & 2010.

Related AFFH-T Local Government, PHA Tables/Maps: Table 4, 7; Maps 1-17. Related AFFH-T State Tables/Maps: Table 4, 7; Maps 1-15, 18.

References:Wilson, William J. (1980). The Declining Significance of Race: Blacks and Changing American Institutions. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

To learn more about R/ECAPs visit:https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/affh ; https://www.hud.gov/sites/dfiles/FHEO/documents/AFFH-T-Data-Documentation-AFFHT0006-July-2020.pdf, for questions about the spatial attribution of this dataset, please reach out to us at GISHelpdesk@hud.gov. Date of Coverage: 11/2017

In 2024, there were a total of around seven billion families living below the poverty line in the United States. Poverty is the state of one who lacks a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing, and shelter.

As of 2025, an estimated population of over ***** million in Nigeria lived in extreme poverty, with the poverty threshold at **** U.S. dollars a day. This stood as an increase from the headcount of about ***** million recorded for the previous year.

This dataset was developed by the Research & Analytics Group at the Atlanta Regional Commission using data from the U.S. Census Bureau.For a deep dive into the data model including every specific metric, see the Infrastructure Manifest. The manifest details ARC-defined naming conventions, field names/descriptions and topics, summary levels; source tables; notes and so forth for all metrics.Naming conventions:Prefixes: None Countp Percentr Ratem Mediana Mean (average)t Aggregate (total)ch Change in absolute terms (value in t2 - value in t1)pch Percent change ((value in t2 - value in t1) / value in t1)chp Change in percent (percent in t2 - percent in t1)s Significance flag for change: 1 = statistically significant with a 90% CI, 0 = not statistically significant, blank = cannot be computed Suffixes: _e19 Estimate from 2014-19 ACS_m19 Margin of Error from 2014-19 ACS_00_v19 Decennial 2000, re-estimated to 2019 geography_00_19 Change, 2000-19_e10_v19 2006-10 ACS, re-estimated to 2019 geography_m10_v19 Margin of Error from 2006-10 ACS, re-estimated to 2019 geography_e10_19 Change, 2010-19The user should note that American Community Survey data represent estimates derived from a surveyed sample of the population, which creates some level of uncertainty, as opposed to an exact measure of the entire population (the full census count is only conducted once every 10 years and does not cover as many detailed characteristics of the population). Therefore, any measure reported by ACS should not be taken as an exact number – this is why a corresponding margin of error (MOE) is also given for ACS measures. The size of the MOE relative to its corresponding estimate value provides an indication of confidence in the accuracy of each estimate. Each MOE is expressed in the same units as its corresponding measure; for example, if the estimate value is expressed as a number, then its MOE will also be a number; if the estimate value is expressed as a percent, then its MOE will also be a percent. The user should also note that for relatively small geographic areas, such as census tracts shown here, ACS only releases combined 5-year estimates, meaning these estimates represent rolling averages of survey results that were collected over a 5-year span (in this case 2015-2019). Therefore, these data do not represent any one specific point in time or even one specific year. For geographic areas with larger populations, 3-year and 1-year estimates are also available. For further explanation of ACS estimates and margin of error, visit Census ACS website.Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Atlanta Regional CommissionDate: 2015-2019Data License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC by 4.0)Link to the manifest: https://www.arcgis.com/sharing/rest/content/items/3d489c725bb24f52a987b302147c46ee/data

In 2023, nearly ** percent of the world population in extreme poverty lived in Nigeria, considering the poverty threshold at **** U.S. dollars a day. Within the studied timeframe, the share mainly rose. Overall, the number of people living in extreme poverty in Africa was estimated to reach *** million in 2025.

Decomposition of welfare changes (Equivalent Variation, $US Million).

As of 2024, around **** million people in South Africa are living in extreme poverty, with the poverty threshold at **** U.S. dollars daily. This means that ******* more people were pushed into poverty compared to 2023. Moreover, the headcount was forecast to increase in the coming years. By 2030, over **** million South Africans will live on a maximum of **** U.S. dollars per day. Who is considered poor domestically? Poverty is measured using several matrices. For example, local authorities tend to rely on the national poverty line, assessed based on consumer price indices (CPI) of a basket of goods of food and non-food components. In 2023, the domestic poverty line in South Africa stood at ***** South African rand per month (around ***** U.S. dollars per month). According to a survey, social inequality and poverty worried a significant share of the South African respondents. As of September 2024, some ** percent of the respondents reported that they were worried about the state of poverty and unequal income distribution in the country.   Eastern Cape residents received more grants South Africa’s labor market has struggled to absorb the country’s population. In 2023, almost a third of the economically active population was unemployed. Local authorities employ relief assistance and social grants in an attempt to reduce poverty and assist poor individuals. In 2023, almost ** percent of South African households received state support, with the majority share benefiting in the Eastern Cape.

As of 2022, over **** million people in Angola lived in extreme poverty, with the poverty threshold at **** U.S. dollars daily. The number of poor people in the country has been following an upward trend. In 2016, there were around ** million Angolans in extreme poverty. By 2026, it would increase to **** million.

As of 2024, some 6.9 million people in Ghana lived in extreme poverty, with the poverty threshold at 2.15 U.S. dollars per day. This stood as an increase from the previous year when roughly 6.8 million people lived in the said state of poverty. In 2026, around 6.7 million Ghanaians are expected to live on a maximum of 2.15 U.S. dollars daily.

Poverty in the country is segregated

Indeed, poverty figures do not considerably vary when considering men and women apart. In 2024, around 3.5 million men lived in extreme poverty in Ghana, while the count reached roughly 3.3 million for women. On the other hand, in distinguishing the state of extreme poverty among rural and urban dwellers, the difference is striking, even when based on the previously set poverty line of 1.90 U.S. dollars per day. Overall, 1.1 percent of the world's population in extreme poverty lived in Ghana as of 2024.

Ghana's Private Wealth Position in Africa

Ghana is one of the African countries with the highest private wealth concentration, ranking 6th after Kenya as of 2021. That year, the country's total private wealth amounted to 59 billion U.S. dollars, corresponding to around 1,900 U.S. dollars per capita. Between 2011 and 2021, the total wealth held by individuals in Ghana increased, representing a higher growth in comparison to other African countries save five. Overall, the nation ranks 9th in Africa in terms of countries with high net-worth individuals.

In 2025, *** percent of Kenya’s population live below **** U.S. dollars per day. This meant that over 8.9 million Kenyans were in extreme poverty, most of whom were in rural areas. Over *** million Kenyans in rural communities lived on less than **** U.S. dollars daily, an amount *** times higher than that recorded in urban regions. Nevertheless, the poverty incidence has declined compared to 2020. That year, businesses closed, unemployment increased, and food prices soared due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Consequently, the country witnessed higher levels of impoverishment, although improvements were already visible in 2021. Overall, the poverty rate in Kenya is expected to decline to ** percent by 2025. Poverty triggers food insecurity Reducing poverty in Kenya puts the country on the way to enhancing food security. As of November 2021, *** million Kenyans lacked sufficient food for consumption. That corresponded to **** percent of the country's population. Also, in 2021, over one-quarter of Kenyan children under five years suffered from chronic malnutrition, a growth failure resulting from a lack of adequate nutrients over a long period. Another *** percent of the children were affected by acute malnutrition, which concerns a rapid deterioration in the nutritional status over a short period. A country where prosperity and poverty walk side by side The poverty incidence in Kenya contrasts with the country's economic development. In 2021, Kenya ranked among the ten highest GDPs in Africa, at almost *** billion U.S. dollars. Moreover, its gross national income per capita has increased to ***** U.S. dollars over the last 10 years, a growth of above**** percent. Generally, while poverty decreased in the country during the same period, Kenya still seems to be far from reaching the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to eliminate extreme poverty by 2030.

In 2022, approximately 4.7 percent of the Mexican population were living on less than 3.20 U.S. dollars per day, a considerable decrease in comparison to the previous year. Furthermore, unemployment rate in this Latin American country during this period was at 3.2 percent. Poverty is considerably higher in the South In 2022, the three states with the highest poverty rate in the Aztec country were Chiapas, Guerrero, and Oaxaca, all in the southern region. In contrast, the top eight federal entities with the lowest were all in the North. The clear division is further accentuated by the Northern Border Free Zone, which encompasses 43 municipalities in the Mexico-U.S. border with higher minimum wages and lower taxes. Poverty in states such as Chiapas reaches over 67 percent, which means two out of three residents are under the poverty line and almost one out of three under extreme poverty conditions.
A country troubled by inequality Poverty and inequality are no news in Mexico. In the most recent data, around 80 percent of the total wealth of the country was concentrated in the top 10 percent of the population. Moreover, the bottom 50 percent had a negative share, meaning that half of the Mexican population had more debts than assets. But inequality does not only encompass wealth distribution, but Mexico also has a problem regarding gender inequality. The government has failed to achieve many of its goals to reduce the gap between genders.