Kosovo was estimated to have the highest poverty rate among the presented Western Balkan countries, at over 34 percent of the population in 2017. Serbia was reported to have the lowest rate in the region, at 7.5 percent of residents living on less than 6.85 U.S. dollars per person in revised 2017 purchasing power parity (PPP) terms in 2021. In total, the poverty rate across the region, excluding Bosnia and Herzegovina, was forecast at approximately 13 percent in 2025.

In 2022, the poverty headcount ratio in Western Balkans was estimated at 15.9 percent. In other words, this share of the population in the region lived on less than 6.85 U.S. dollars per day in revised 2017 purchasing power parity (PPP) terms. The war in Ukraine and subsequent energy and food price growth negatively affected poverty rates in the region. The country with the highest poverty rate in the region in 2017 was Kosovo.