Since 2000, the share of people living in extreme poverty in rural China has been constantly decreasing. In February 2021, the Chinese government announced that - based on the current definition of poverty - all residents in China have been relieved from extreme poverty.

Poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines (% of population) in China was reported at 0 % in 2020, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. China - Poverty headcount ratio at national poverty line (% of population) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on September of 2025.

Since 2000, the share of people living in extreme poverty in rural China has been constantly decreasing. In *************, the Chinese government announced that - based on the current definition of poverty - all residents in China have been relieved from extreme poverty. In the past, extreme poverty had been more common in western and central parts of China, and in these regions the number of poor households is still considerably higher today.

Historical dataset showing China poverty rate by year from 1981 to 2021.

Poverty Headcount Ratio at Societal Poverty Lines: % of Population data was reported at 19.000 % in 2021. This records a decrease from the previous number of 20.900 % for 2020. Poverty Headcount Ratio at Societal Poverty Lines: % of Population data is updated yearly, averaging 31.700 % from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2021, with 19 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 72.000 % in 1990 and a record low of 19.000 % in 2021. 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 China – Table CN.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).

This statistic illustrates the number of rural residents in China living below the poverty line in selected years from 2000 to 2020. Since 2000, poverty in rural China has been constantly decreasing. In February 2021, the Chinese government announced that - based on the current definition of poverty - all residents in China have been relieved from extreme poverty.

Poverty rate at $3.2 a day of China sank by 82.35% from 1.70 % in 2020 to 0.30 % in 2021. Since the 14.90% slump in 2011, poverty rate at $3.2 a day plummeted by 98.99% in 2021. 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.

China's progress in poverty reduction over the last 25 years is enviable. One cannot fail to be impressed by what this vast nation of 1.3 billion people has achieved in so little time. In terms of a wide range of indicators, the progress has been remarkable. Poverty in terms of income and consumption has been dramatically reduced. Progress has also been substantial in terms of human development indicators. Most of the millennium development goals have either already been achieved or the country is well on the way to achieving them. As a result of this progress, the country is now at a very different stage of development than it was at the dawn of the economic reforms at the beginning of the 1980s. China's poverty reduction performance has been even more striking. Between 1981 and 2004, the fraction of the population consuming below this poverty line fell from 65 percent to 10 percent, and the absolute number of poor fell from 652 million to 135 million, a decline of over half a billion people. The most rapid declines in poverty, in both the poverty rate and the number of poor, occurred during the 6th, 8th, and 10th plans. During the 7th plan period the number of poor actually rose, while in the 9th plan period, the poverty rate declined only marginally. But the pace of poverty reduction resumed between 2001 and 2004 and there are indications that during the first couple of years of the 11th plan poverty has continued to decline rapidly. The most recent official estimate of rural poverty in China for 2007 puts the number of poor at 14.79 million, or less than 2 percent of the rural population. While there is no official urban poverty line, estimates by others have found poverty levels in urban areas to be negligible using an urban poverty line that is comparable to the official poverty line for rural areas. These estimates thus suggest that only about 1 percent of China's population is currently in extreme poverty. Notwithstanding this tremendous success, the central thesis of this report is that the task of poverty reduction in many ways continues and in some respects has become more demanding.

China Population: Rural Poverty data was reported at 16.600 Person mn in 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of 30.460 Person mn for 2017. China Population: Rural Poverty data is updated yearly, averaging 144.025 Person mn from Dec 1978 (Median) to 2018, with 16 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 770.390 Person mn in 1978 and a record low of 16.600 Person mn in 2018. China Population: Rural Poverty data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GA: Population. The current rural poverty standard is annual income RMB2300 (2010's constant price) per person each year. 现行农村贫困标准为每人每年收入2300元(2010年不变价)。

Poverty ratio at $1.9 a day of China plummeted by 28.57% from 0.7 % in 2015 to 0.5 % in 2016. Since the 3.36% fall in 1999, poverty ratio at $1.9 a day sank by 98.76% in 2016. 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.

Poverty gap at $1.9 a day of China plummeted by 50.00% from 0.2 % in 2015 to 0.1 % in 2016. Since the 1.55% rise in 1999, poverty gap at $1.9 a day sank by 99.24% in 2016. 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.

China: Poverty, percent of population: The latest value from 2020 is 0 percent, a decline from 0.6 percent in 2019. In comparison, the world average is 19.31 percent, based on data from 54 countries. Historically, the average for China from 2000 to 2020 is 11.65 percent. The minimum value, 0 percent, was reached in 2020 while the maximum of 49.8 percent was recorded in 2000.

China Poverty Headcount Ratio at $2.15 a Day: 2017 PPP: % of Population data was reported at 0.000 % in 2021. This stayed constant from the previous number of 0.000 % for 2020. China Poverty Headcount Ratio at $2.15 a Day: 2017 PPP: % of Population data is updated yearly, averaging 8.300 % from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2021, with 19 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 72.000 % in 1990 and a record low of 0.000 % in 2021. China Poverty Headcount Ratio at $2.15 a Day: 2017 PPP: % of Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s China – Table CN.World Bank.WDI: Social: Poverty and Inequality. Poverty headcount ratio at $2.15 a day is the percentage of the population living on less than $2.15 a day at 2017 purchasing power adjusted 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, 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).

China Proportion of Population Pushed Below the 60% Median Consumption Poverty Line By Out-of-Pocket Health Expenditure: % data was reported at 4.680 % in 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 3.560 % for 2013. China Proportion of Population Pushed Below the 60% Median Consumption Poverty Line By Out-of-Pocket Health Expenditure: % data is updated yearly, averaging 3.560 % from Dec 1995 (Median) to 2018, with 5 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 4.680 % in 2018 and a record low of 1.110 % in 1995. China Proportion of Population Pushed Below the 60% Median Consumption Poverty Line By Out-of-Pocket Health Expenditure: % data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s China – Table CN.World Bank.WDI: Social: Poverty and Inequality. This indicator shows the fraction of a country’s population experiencing out-of-pocket health impoverishing expenditures, defined as expenditures without which the household they live in would have been above the 60% median consumption but because of the expenditures is below the poverty line. Out-of-pocket health expenditure is defined as any spending incurred by a household when any member uses a health good or service to receive any type of care (preventive, curative, rehabilitative, long-term or palliative care); provided by any type of provider; for any type of disease, illness or health condition; in any type of setting (outpatient, inpatient, at home).;Global Health Observatory. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2023. (https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/themes/topics/financial-protection);Weighted average;This indicator is related to Sustainable Development Goal 3.8.2 [https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/metadata/].

Poverty gap at $3.2 a day of China sank by 28.57% from 1.4 % in 2015 to 1.0 % in 2016. Since the 3.79% decline in 1999, poverty gap at $3.2 a day plummeted by 96.72% in 2016. Poverty gap at $3.20 a day (2011 PPP) is the mean shortfall in income or consumption from the poverty line $3.20 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.

China Proportion of People Living Below 50 Percent Of Median Income: % data was reported at 11.600 % in 2021. This records a decrease from the previous number of 11.900 % for 2020. China Proportion of People Living Below 50 Percent Of Median Income: % data is updated yearly, averaging 15.100 % from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2021, with 19 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 19.500 % in 2010 and a record low of 8.900 % in 1990. China Proportion of People Living Below 50 Percent Of Median Income: % data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s China – Table CN.World Bank.WDI: Social: Poverty and Inequality. The percentage of people in the population who live in households whose per capita income or consumption is below half of the median income or consumption per capita. The median is measured at 2017 Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) using the Poverty and Inequality Platform (http://www.pip.worldbank.org). For some countries, medians are not reported due to grouped and/or confidential data. The reference year is the year in which the underlying household survey data was collected. In cases for which the data collection period bridged two calendar years, the first year in which data were collected is reported.;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).

0.1 (%) in 2016. 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.

Poverty gap at $5.5 a day of China plummeted by 16.67% from 7.8 % in 2015 to 6.5 % in 2016. Since the 4.81% downward trend in 1999, poverty gap at $5.5 a day sank by 87.35% in 2016. 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.

China Poverty Headcount Ratio at $6.85 a Day: 2017 PPP: % of Population data was reported at 17.000 % in 2021. This records a decrease from the previous number of 24.800 % for 2020. China Poverty Headcount Ratio at $6.85 a Day: 2017 PPP: % of Population data is updated yearly, averaging 54.000 % from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2021, with 19 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 99.000 % in 1990 and a record low of 17.000 % in 2021. China Poverty Headcount Ratio at $6.85 a Day: 2017 PPP: % of Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s China – Table CN.World Bank.WDI: Social: Poverty and Inequality. Poverty headcount ratio at $6.85 a day is the percentage of the population living on less than $6.85 a day at 2017 international prices.;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).

7.2 (million persons) in 2016. Number of people, in millions, living on less than $1.90 a day at 2011 PPP is calculated by multiplying the poverty rate and the population. As a result of revisions in PPP exchange rates, poverty rates for individual countries cannot be compared with poverty rates reported in earlier editions.