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.

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.

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

Extreme poverty in Africa is prevalent in rural areas. In 2024, ** percent of the continent's rural population was living with less than **** U.S. dollars a day. On the other hand, extreme poverty concerns only ***** percent of the urban population.

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

In 2019, the number of people living in extreme poverty in Africa was projected at *** million. Compared to the rest of the world, the amount was considerably higher. Although the levels of poverty on the African continent were expected to decrease in the following years, the gap between Africa and the rest of the world would become increasingly wider. By 2030, extremely poor people on the continent would reach *** million, compared to ** million in the other regions of the world.

Poverty in a Rising Africa, the first of two upcoming reports on poverty in Africa, documents the data challenges facing the region and reviews the status of Africa’s poverty and inequality, both monetary and nonmonetary, taking these data challenges into account.

The purpose of this dataset is to provide village-level wealth estimates for places where up-to-date information about geographic wealth distribution is needed. This dataset contains information on buildings, roads, points of interest (POIs), night-time luminosity, population density, and estimated wealth index for 1-mi² inhabited places identified by the underlying datasets. The wealth level is an estimated value of the International Wealth Index which is a comparable asset based wealth index covering the complete developing world.

South Africa ZA: Poverty Headcount Ratio at National Poverty Lines: % of Population data was reported at 55.500 % in 2014. This records an increase from the previous number of 53.200 % for 2010. South Africa ZA: Poverty Headcount Ratio at National Poverty Lines: % of Population data is updated yearly, averaging 58.800 % from Dec 2005 (Median) to 2014, with 4 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 66.600 % in 2005 and a record low of 53.200 % in 2010. South Africa ZA: Poverty Headcount Ratio at National Poverty Lines: % of Population 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. National poverty headcount ratio is the percentage of the population living below the national poverty lines. National estimates are based on population-weighted subgroup estimates from household surveys.; ; 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 West Africa Coastal Vulnerability Mapping: Gridded Subset of Sub-national Poverty and Extreme Poverty Prevalence represents the HarvestChoice Subnational Poverty and Extreme Poverty Prevalence data set as a one kilometer raster, and includes values within 200 kilometers of the coast. Poverty levels affect the "defenselessness" of populations in the low elevation coastal zone. These data were developed by the Harvest Choice project funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Harvest Choice measured 2005 poverty levels using 2005 purchasing power parity data for two thresholds: $1.25/day and $2/day international poverty lines. The $2/day threshold was selected for this mapping exercise.

In 2025, ** percent of the population in South Sudan and Burundi lived in extreme poverty (with less than **** U.S. dollars a day), the highest scores recorded in the East African region. Mauritius registered the lowest share, with *** percent of the population living in destitute conditions.

DATASET: Alpha version 2008 estimates of proportion of people per grid square living in poverty, as defined by the Multidimensional Poverty Index (http://www.ophi.org.uk/policy/multidimensional-poverty-index/), and associated uncertainty metrics. REGION: Africa SPATIAL RESOLUTION: 0.00833333 decimal degrees (approx 1km at the equator) PROJECTION: Geographic, WGS84 UNITS: Proportion of residents living in MPI-defined poverty (poverty dataset); 95% credible interval (uncertainty dataset) MAPPING APPROACH: Bayesian model-based geostatistics in combination with high resolution gridded spatial covariates applied to GPS-located household survey data on poverty from the DHS and/or LSMS programs. FORMAT: Geotiff (zipped using 7-zip (open access tool): www.7-zip.org) FILENAMES: Examples - ken08povmpi.tif = Kenya (ken) MPI poverty map for 2008. ken08povmpi-uncert.tif = uncertainty dataset showing 95% credible intervals. DATE OF PRODUCTION: January 2013 CITATION: Tatem AJ, Gething PW, Bhatt S, Weiss D and Pezzulo C (2013) Pilot high resolution poverty maps, University of Southampton/Oxford.

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.

From reference [2].

Abstract

The Project for Statistics on Living standards and Development was a countrywide World Bank sponsored Living Standards Measurement Survey. It covered approximately 9000 households, drawn from a representative sample of South African households. The fieldwork was undertaken during the nine months leading up to the country's first democratic elections at the end of April 1994. The purpose of the survey was to collect data on the conditions under which South Africans live in order to provide policymakers with the data necessary for development planning. This data would aid the implementation of goals such as those outlined in the Government of National Unity's Reconstruction and Development Programme.

Geographic coverage

The survey had national coverage

Analysis unit

Households and individuals

Universe

The survey covered all household members. Individuals in hospitals, old age homes, hotels and hostels of educational institutions were not included in the sample. Migrant labour hostels were included. In addition to those that turned up in the selected ESDs, a sample of three hostels was chosen from a national list provided by the Human Sciences Research Council and within each of these hostels a representative sample was drawn for the households in ESDs.

Kind of data

Sample survey data

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

The main instrument used in the survey was a comprehensive household questionnaire. This questionnaire covered a wide range of topics but was not intended to provide exhaustive coverage of any single subject. In other words, it was an integrated questionnaire aimed at capturing different aspects of living standards. The topics covered included demographics, household services, household expenditure, educational status and expenditure, remittances and marital maintenance, land access and use, employment and income, health status and expenditure and anthropometry (children under the age of six were weighed and their heights measured). This questionnaire was available to households in two languages, namely English and Afrikaans. In addition, interviewers had in their possession a translation in the dominant African language/s of the region.

In addition to the detailed household questionnaire, a community questionnaire was administered in each cluster of the sample. The purpose of this questionnaire was to elicit information on the facilities available to the community in each cluster. Questions related primarily to the provision of education, health and recreational facilities. Furthermore there was a detailed section for the prices of a range of commodities from two retail sources in or near the cluster: a formal source such as a supermarket and a less formal one such as the "corner cafe" or a "spaza". The purpose of this latter section was to obtain a measure of regional price variation both by region and by retail source. These prices were obtained by the interviewer. For the questions relating to the provision of facilities, respondents were "prominent" members of the community such as school principals, priests and chiefs.

A literacy assessment module (LAM) was administered to two respondents in each household, (a household member 13-18 years old and a one between 18 and 50) to assess literacy levels.

Data appraisal

The data collected in clusters 217 and 218 are highly unreliable and have therefore been removed from the dataset currently available on the portal. Researchers who have downloaded the data in the past should download version 2.0 of the dataset to ensure they have the corrected data. Version 2.0 of the dataset excludes two clusters from both the 1993 and 1998 samples. During follow-up field research for the KwaZulu-Natal Income Dynamics Study (KIDS) in May 2001 it was discovered that all 39 household interviews in clusters 217 and 218 had been fabricated in both 1993 and 1998. These households have been dropped in the updated release of the data. In addition, cluster 206 is now coded as urban as this was incorrectly coded as rural in the first release of the data. Note: Weights calculated by the World Bank and provided with the original data are NOT updated to reflect these changes.

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).

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.

Financial overview and grant giving statistics of Africa Disease and Poverty Eradication Project

In 2012, Madagascar ranked first by number of people living on less than 2.15 U.S. dollars a day among the 51 countries presented in the ranking. Madagascar's number of people amounted to ***** percent, while the Congo (Congo Kinshasa) (2020) and Mozambique (2019), the second and third countries, had records amounting to ***** percent and ***** percent, respectively.

The West Africa Coastal Vulnerability Mapping: Gridded Subset of Sub-national Poverty and Extreme Poverty Prevalence represents the HarvestChoice Subnational Poverty and Extreme Poverty Prevalence data set as a one kilometer raster, and includes values within 200 kilometers of the coast. Poverty levels affect the "defenselessness" of populations in the low elevation coastal zone. These data were developed by the Harvest Choice project funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Harvest Choice measured 2005 poverty levels using 2005 purchasing power parity data for two thresholds: $1.25/day and $2/day international poverty lines. The $2/day threshold was selected for this mapping exercise.