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.

The average for 2020 based on 54 countries was 19.31 percent. The highest value was in the Gambia: 53.4 percent and the lowest value was in China: 0 percent. The indicator is available from 2000 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

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.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic impacted East Africa's poverty level. Extreme poverty rate in the region increased from ** percent in 2019 to ** percent in 2021. South Sudan and Brurundi had the highest share of population living on less than **** U.S. dollars per day, ** percent and ** percent, respectively.

The average for 2020 based on 10 countries was 30.53 percent. The highest value was in Mexico: 43.9 percent and the lowest value was in Chile: 10.8 percent. The indicator is available from 2000 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Graph and download economic data for Estimated Percent of People of All Ages in Poverty for United States (PPAAUS00000A156NCEN) from 1989 to 2023 about child, poverty, percent, and USA.

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.

Over the past 30 years, there has been an almost constant reduction in the poverty rate worldwide. Whereas nearly ** percent of the world's population lived on less than 2.15 U.S. dollars in terms of 2017 Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) in 1990, this had fallen to *** percent in 2022. This is even though the world's population was growing over the same period. However, there was a small increase in the poverty rate during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, when thousands of people became unemployed overnight. Moreover, the rising cost of living in the aftermath of the pandemic and spurred by the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 meant that many people were struggling to make ends meet. Poverty is a regional problem Poverty can be measured in relative and absolute terms. Absolute poverty concerns basic human needs such as food, clothing, shelter, and clean drinking water, whereas relative poverty looks at whether people in different countries can afford a certain living standard. Most countries that have a high percentage of their population living in absolute poverty, meaning that they are poor compared to international standards, are regionally concentrated. African countries are most represented among the countries in which poverty prevails the most. In terms of numbers, Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia have the most people living in poverty worldwide. Inequality on the rise How wealth, or the lack thereof, is distributed within the global population and even within countries is very unequal. In 2022, the richest one percent of the world owned almost half of the global wealth, while the poorest 50 percent owned less than two percent in the same year. Within regions, Latin America had the most unequal distribution of wealth, but this phenomenon is present in all world regions.

Historical dataset showing Japan poverty rate by year from 2008 to 2020.

This data compiles projected poverty rates for 2020 and 2021 from seven data vintages released between April 2020 to October 2022. The underlying poverty data is used in this blog.

The following variables are reported: region--regional classifications used in Poverty and Inequality Platform; nowcasts--the date of data release; FGT0_lic--Poverty headcount rate using the poverty lines for low-income countries; FGT0_lmic--Poverty headcount rate using the poverty lines for lower-middle-income countries; FGT0_umic--Poverty headcount rate using the poverty lines for upper-middle-income countries; FGT0_lic_change--change in the poverty rate from the previous year using the LIC poverty line; FGT0_lmic_change--change in the poverty rate from the previous year using the LMIC poverty line; FGT0_umic_change--change in the poverty rate from the previous year using the UMIC poverty line. Poverty rates are calculated using the 2011 PPPs for all data vintages besides the October 2022 vintage when 2017 PPPs were used. The poverty lines for LICs are either $1.90 a day in 2011 PPPs or $2.15 a day in 2017 PPPs. The poverty lines for LMICs are either $3.20 a day in 2011 PPPs or $3.65 a day in 2017 PPPs. The poverty lines for LICs are either $5.50 a day in 2011 PPPs or $6.85 a day in 2017 PPPs.

Poverty rate at $3.2 a day of Austria dropped by 14.29% from 0.70 % in 2022 to 0.60 % in 2023. Since the 28.57% jump in 2020, poverty rate at $3.2 a day plummeted by 33.33% in 2023. Population below $3.1 a day is the percentage of the population living on less than $3.1 a day at 2005 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.

Albania Poverty Headcount Ratio at National Poverty Lines: % of Population data was reported at 22.000 % in 2020. This records an increase from the previous number of 21.800 % for 2019. Albania Poverty Headcount Ratio at National Poverty Lines: % of Population data is updated yearly, averaging 23.000 % from Dec 2002 (Median) to 2020, with 7 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 25.400 % in 2002 and a record low of 18.500 % in 2005. Albania 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 Albania – Table AL.World Bank.WDI: Social: Poverty and Inequality. National poverty headcount ratio is the percentage of the population living below the national poverty line(s). National estimates are based on population-weighted subgroup estimates from household surveys. For economies for which the data are from EU-SILC, the reported year is the income reference year, which is the year before the survey year.;World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. 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.

Brazil Poverty Headcount Ratio at Societal Poverty Lines: % of Population data was reported at 27.200 % in 2022. This records a decrease from the previous number of 28.900 % for 2021. Brazil Poverty Headcount Ratio at Societal Poverty Lines: % of Population data is updated yearly, averaging 34.450 % from Dec 1981 (Median) to 2022, with 38 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 42.400 % in 1983 and a record low of 23.500 % in 2020. Brazil 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 Brazil – Table BR.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).

Thailand Poverty Headcount Ratio at Societal Poverty Lines: % of Population data was reported at 17.100 % in 2021. This records a decrease from the previous number of 18.000 % for 2020. Thailand Poverty Headcount Ratio at Societal Poverty Lines: % of Population data is updated yearly, averaging 24.000 % from Dec 1981 (Median) to 2021, with 27 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 38.900 % in 1981 and a record low of 16.900 % in 2019. Thailand 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 Thailand – Table TH.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).

Russia Poverty Headcount Ratio at Societal Poverty Lines: % of Population data was reported at 15.900 % in 2021. This records an increase from the previous number of 14.500 % for 2020. Russia Poverty Headcount Ratio at Societal Poverty Lines: % of Population data is updated yearly, averaging 17.350 % from Dec 2014 (Median) to 2021, with 8 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 18.800 % in 2015 and a record low of 14.500 % in 2020. Russia 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 Russian Federation – Table RU.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).

The Multidimensional Poverty Measure (MPM) seeks to understand poverty beyond just a monetary dimension by including access to education and basic infrastructure along with the monetary headcount ratio at the $1.90 poverty line. The World Bank’s measure takes inspiration and guidance from other prominent multidimensional measures, particularly the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) developed by UNDP and Oxford University but differs from them in one important aspect: it includes Monetary poverty (measured as having a daily consumption less than $1.90 in 2011 PPP) as one of the dimensions. While monetary poverty is strongly correlated with deprivations in other domains, this correlation is far from perfect. The Poverty and Shared Prosperity 2020 (World Bank, 2020) report shows that over a third of those experiencing multidimensional poverty are not captured by the monetary headcount ratio, in line with the findings of the previous edition of the report (World Bank, 2018). A country’s MPM is at least as high as or higher than the monetary poverty, reflecting the additional role of nonmonetary dimensions in increasing multidimensional poverty and their importance to general well-being.

Kazakhstan Poverty Headcount Ratio at Societal Poverty Lines: % of Population data was reported at 8.300 % in 2021. This records a decrease from the previous number of 9.500 % for 2020. Kazakhstan Poverty Headcount Ratio at Societal Poverty Lines: % of Population data is updated yearly, averaging 13.800 % from Dec 1996 (Median) to 2021, with 22 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 33.400 % in 2001 and a record low of 8.300 % in 2021. Kazakhstan 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 Kazakhstan – Table KZ.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).

Historical dataset showing Germany poverty rate by year from 1991 to 2020.

Multidimensional Poverty Headcount Ratio: World Bank: % of total population data was reported at 0.500 % in 2022. This records a decrease from the previous number of 1.800 % for 2020. Multidimensional Poverty Headcount Ratio: World Bank: % of total population data is updated yearly, averaging 0.550 % from Dec 2011 (Median) to 2022, with 6 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.800 % in 2020 and a record low of 0.400 % in 2017. Multidimensional Poverty Headcount Ratio: World Bank: % of total population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Chile – Table CL.World Bank.WDI: Social: Poverty and Inequality. The multidimensional poverty headcount ratio (World Bank) is the percentage of a population living in poverty according to the World Bank's Multidimensional Poverty Measure. The Multidimensional Poverty Measure includes three dimensions – monetary poverty, education, and basic infrastructure services – to capture a more complete picture of poverty.;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).

Multidimensional Poverty Headcount Ratio: World Bank: % of total population data was reported at 3.300 % in 2021. This records a decrease from the previous number of 4.200 % for 2020. Multidimensional Poverty Headcount Ratio: World Bank: % of total population data is updated yearly, averaging 3.750 % from Dec 2008 (Median) to 2021, with 14 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 5.600 % in 2014 and a record low of 3.000 % in 2012. Multidimensional Poverty Headcount Ratio: World Bank: % of total population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Spain – Table ES.World Bank.WDI: Social: Poverty and Inequality. The multidimensional poverty headcount ratio (World Bank) is the percentage of a population living in poverty according to the World Bank's Multidimensional Poverty Measure. The Multidimensional Poverty Measure includes three dimensions – monetary poverty, education, and basic infrastructure services – to capture a more complete picture of poverty.;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).