In 2023, approximately 11.7 percent of the Peruvian population was living on less than 3.20 U.S. dollars per day. This share has been continuously decreasing since 2010 when it totaled until 2019. Still, social inequality remains a challenge in Peru and in the whole Latin American region.

Poverty rate at national poverty line of Peru leapt by 6.18% from 25.9 % in 2021 to 27.5 % in 2022. Since the 1.46% downward trend in 2019, poverty rate at national poverty line rocketed by 36.14% in 2022. National poverty rate is the percentage of the population living below the national poverty line. National estimates are based on population-weighted subgroup estimates from household surveys.

Historical dataset showing Peru poverty rate by year from 1985 to 2023.

Actual value and historical data chart for Peru Poverty Headcount Ratio At National Poverty Line Percent Of Population

The share of the population with at least one poverty condition or unmet need in the Peruvian capital of Lima reached its lowest during 2017 with *** percent. In 2023, the share of residents of the metropolitan area was over **** percent.

Peru Poverty Headcount Ratio at Societal Poverty Lines: % of Population data was reported at 25.000 % in 2022. This records an increase from the previous number of 24.800 % for 2021. Peru Poverty Headcount Ratio at Societal Poverty Lines: % of Population data is updated yearly, averaging 30.350 % from Dec 1997 (Median) to 2022, with 26 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 37.300 % in 2001 and a record low of 24.800 % in 2021. Peru 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 Peru – Table PE.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).

Peru: Poverty, percent of population: The latest value from 2022 is 27.5 percent, an increase from 25.9 percent in 2021. In comparison, the world average is 21.55 percent, based on data from 34 countries. Historically, the average for Peru from 2004 to 2022 is 31.37 percent. The minimum value, 20.2 percent, was reached in 2019 while the maximum of 58.7 percent was recorded in 2004.

Rural poverty rate of Peru declined by 4.17% from 48.0 % in 2013 to 46.0 % in 2014. Since the 1.08% reduction in 2005, rural poverty rate plummeted by 44.24% in 2014. Rural poverty rate is the percentage of the rural population living below the national rural poverty line.

In 2022, the poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines in Peru stood at 27.5 percent. Between 2004 and 2022, the figure dropped by 31.2 percentage points, though the decline followed an uneven course rather than a steady trajectory.

Peru was one of the countries most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of health and economic impacts and the erosion of the socialgains achieved in the previous decade. By July 2022, Peru had registered more than 6,000 deaths per million population because of COVID-19,placing the country among the countries with the highest COVID-related mortality rates per capita. The economy contracted by 11 percent in 2020, its biggest fall in 30 years and the largest in Latin America during that year. As a result, the national poverty rate increased to 30.1 percent, a level not seen since 2010, and extreme poverty reached 5.1percent in 2020, comparable with the rate in 2013. By the end of 2021, the economy had recovered, but poverty and extreme poverty remained at the levels of 2012 and 2015, respectively. The magnitude of the welfare loss during the crisis revealed the fragility of the social gains that had been achieved during the previous two decades.

Poverty ratio at $3.2 a day of Peru dropped by 10.71% from 8.4 % in 2018 to 7.5 % in 2019. Since the 11.73% slump in 2009, poverty ratio at $3.2 a day plummeted by 56.65% in 2019. Poverty headcount ratio at $3.20 a day is the percentage of the population living on less than $3.20 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.

PE: Poverty Gap at $1.90 a Day: 2011 PPP: % data was reported at 0.900 % in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 1.000 % for 2015. PE: Poverty Gap at $1.90 a Day: 2011 PPP: % data is updated yearly, averaging 3.750 % from Dec 1997 (Median) to 2016, with 20 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 7.200 % in 1999 and a record low of 0.900 % in 2016. PE: 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 Peru – Table PE.World Bank.WDI: 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.

During the depicted period in Peru, the proportion of individuals living in poverty experienced fluctuations, initially displaying an organic downward trend. However, the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the country's situation, causing the poverty rate to reach its highest level.

20.6 (%) in 2019. 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.

Peru had, in 2023, more than 20 percent of the indigenous population living in poverty, thus representing an increase of 2.1 percentage points compared to the previous year. Furthermore, over a fourth of afro-descendants in Peru lived under the poverty line as well.

Peru Population in Extreme Poverty: Urban data was reported at 3.211 % in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 2.617 % for 2022. Peru Population in Extreme Poverty: Urban data is updated yearly, averaging 1.173 % from Jun 2011 (Median) to 2023, with 13 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 3.211 % in 2023 and a record low of 0.796 % in 2018. Peru Population in Extreme Poverty: Urban data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Institute of Statistics and Informatics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Peru – Table PE.G016: Population in Poverty.

This is the Poverty Map for Peru. The administrative level is district, level 1.

7.1 (%) in 2019. Poverty gap at $5.50 a day (2011 PPP) is the mean shortfall in income or consumption from the poverty line $5.50 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.

Peru PE: Poverty Headcount Ratio at $1.90 a Day: 2011 PPP: % of Population data was reported at 3.500 % in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 3.600 % for 2015. Peru PE: Poverty Headcount Ratio at $1.90 a Day: 2011 PPP: % of Population data is updated yearly, averaging 11.500 % from Dec 1997 (Median) to 2016, with 20 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 17.900 % in 1997 and a record low of 3.500 % in 2016. Peru PE: 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 Peru – Table PE.World Bank: 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.

By 2024, the poverty share in Peru exhibited a higher prevalence in the rural areas, with a rate of ****%, as opposed to the urban areas, which reported a lower rate of ****%.