Poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines (% of population) - Country Ranking

Definition: 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.

Source: 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.

See also: Thematic map, Time series comparison

Find indicator:
Rank Country Value Year
1 Equatorial Guinea 76.80 2006
2 Madagascar 70.70 2012
3 Eritrea 69.00 1993
4 Burundi 64.90 2013
5 Dem. Rep. Congo 63.90 2012
6 Central African Republic 62.00 2008
7 Guatemala 59.30 2014
8 Eswatini 58.90 2016
9 Haiti 58.50 2012
10 Sierra Leone 56.80 2018
11 South Africa 55.50 2014
12 Togo 55.10 2015
13 Afghanistan 54.50 2016
14 Zambia 54.40 2015
15 Liberia 50.90 2016
16 Malawi 50.70 2019
17 Lesotho 49.70 2017
18 Yemen 48.60 2014
18 The Gambia 48.60 2015
20 Honduras 48.00 2019
21 Guinea-Bissau 47.70 2018
22 Senegal 46.70 2011
23 Sudan 46.50 2009
24 Mozambique 46.10 2014
25 Mexico 43.90 2020
26 Guinea 43.70 2018
27 Colombia 42.50 2020
28 Comoros 42.40 2013
29 Chad 42.30 2018
30 Argentina 42.00 2020
31 Mali 41.90 2020
32 Timor-Leste 41.80 2014
33 Burkina Faso 41.40 2018
34 Congo 40.90 2011
35 Niger 40.80 2018
36 Nigeria 40.10 2018
37 Papua New Guinea 39.90 2009
38 Côte d'Ivoire 39.50 2018
39 Bolivia 39.00 2020
40 Benin 38.50 2019
41 Zimbabwe 38.30 2019
42 Rwanda 38.20 2016
43 Cameroon 37.50 2014
44 Kenya 36.10 2015
45 Syrian Arab Republic 35.20 2007
46 Cabo Verde 35.00 2015
47 Gabon 33.40 2017
48 Venezuela 33.10 2015
49 Ecuador 33.00 2020
50 Egypt 32.50 2017
51 Angola 32.30 2018
52 Mauritania 31.00 2014
53 Peru 30.10 2020
54 Costa Rica 30.00 2020
55 Mongolia 27.80 2020
56 Lebanon 27.40 2011
57 Armenia 27.00 2020
58 Paraguay 26.90 2020
59 Moldova 26.80 2020
60 Tanzania 26.40 2017
61 Tajikistan 26.30 2019
61 Tuvalu 26.30 2010
63 El Salvador 26.20 2020
64 Seychelles 25.30 2018
64 Kyrgyz Republic 25.30 2020
66 Nepal 25.20 2010
67 St. Lucia 25.00 2016
68 Palau 24.90 2006
68 Nicaragua 24.90 2016
70 Myanmar 24.80 2017
71 Bangladesh 24.30 2016
72 Fiji 24.10 2019
73 Bulgaria 23.80 2019
74 Ethiopia 23.50 2015
75 Ghana 23.40 2016
75 Romania 23.40 2019
77 Montenegro 22.60 2019
78 Tonga 22.50 2009
79 India 21.90 2011
79 Pakistan 21.90 2018
79 Kiribati 21.90 2020
82 Albania 21.80 2019
83 Serbia 21.70 2019
84 North Macedonia 21.60 2018
84 Latvia 21.60 2019
86 Panama 21.50 2019
87 Georgia 21.30 2020
88 Djibouti 21.10 2017
89 Dominican Republic 21.00 2019
89 Spain 21.00 2019
91 Lithuania 20.90 2019
92 Estonia 20.70 2019
93 Uganda 20.30 2019
93 Samoa 20.30 2013
95 Italy 20.10 2018
96 Jamaica 19.90 2012
97 Botswana 19.30 2009
98 Iraq 18.90 2012
99 United Kingdom 18.60 2017
100 Germany 18.50 2019
101 Croatia 18.30 2019
101 Lao PDR 18.30 2018
103 Cambodia 17.70 2012
103 Greece 17.70 2019
105 Namibia 17.40 2015
105 Luxembourg 17.40 2019
107 Malta 16.90 2019
107 Bosnia and Herzegovina 16.90 2015
109 Philippines 16.70 2018
110 Portugal 16.20 2019
111 Sweden 16.10 2019
112 Vanuatu 15.90 2020
113 Jordan 15.70 2018
114 Switzerland 15.50 2019
115 Tunisia 15.20 2015
116 Turkey 15.00 2019
117 Poland 14.80 2019
118 Cyprus 14.30 2019
119 Belgium 14.10 2019
119 Uzbekistan 14.10 2013
121 Ireland 13.90 2019
121 Austria 13.90 2019
123 France 13.80 2019
124 Netherlands 13.40 2019
125 Norway 12.70 2019
125 Solomon Islands 12.70 2012
127 Slovenia 12.40 2019
128 Hungary 12.30 2019
129 Finland 12.20 2019
130 Denmark 12.10 2019
130 Russia 12.10 2020
132 Uruguay 11.60 2020
133 Slovak Republic 11.40 2019
134 Chile 10.80 2020
135 Mauritius 10.30 2017
136 Indonesia 9.80 2020
137 Czech Republic 9.50 2019
138 Iceland 8.80 2017
139 Malaysia 8.40 2019
140 Bhutan 8.20 2017
141 Thailand 6.80 2020
142 Vietnam 6.70 2018
143 Azerbaijan 6.00 2012
144 Algeria 5.50 2011
145 Kazakhstan 5.30 2020
146 Morocco 4.80 2013
146 Belarus 4.80 2020
148 Sri Lanka 4.10 2016
149 Ukraine 1.10 2019
150 China 0.00 2020

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Statistical Concept and Methodology: Poverty headcount ratio among the population is measured based on national (i.e. country-specific) poverty lines. A country may have a unique national poverty line or separate poverty lines for rural and urban areas, or for different geographic areas to reflect differences in the cost of living or sometimes to reflect differences in diets and consumption baskets. Poverty estimates at national poverty lines are computed from household survey data collected from nationally representative samples of households. These data must contain sufficiently detailed information to compute a comprehensive estimate of total household income or consumption (including consumption or income from own production), from which it is possible to construct a correctly weighted distribution of per capita consumption or income. National poverty lines are the benchmark for estimating poverty indicators that are consistent with the country's specific economic and social circumstances. National poverty lines reflect local perceptions of the level and composition of consumption or income needed to be non-poor. The perceived boundary between poor and non-poor typically rises with the average income of a country and thus does not provide a uniform measure for comparing poverty rates across countries. While poverty rates at national poverty lines should not be used for comparing poverty rates across countries, they are appropriate for guiding and monitoring the results of country-specific national poverty reduction strategies. Almost all national poverty lines are anchored to the cost of a food bundle - based on the prevailing national diet of the poor - that provides adequate nutrition for good health and normal activity, plus an allowance for nonfood spending. National poverty lines must be adjusted for inflation between survey years to remain constant in real terms and thus allow for meaningful comparisons of poverty over time. Because diets and consumption baskets change over time, countries periodically recalculate the poverty line based on new survey data. In such cases the new poverty lines should be deflated to obtain comparable poverty estimates from earlier years. The data is based on the two most recent years for which survey data are available. Survey year is the year in which the underlying household survey data were collected or, when the data collection period bridged two calendar years, the year in which most of the data were collected.

Periodicity: Annual

General Comments: 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.