Field Listing :: Population below poverty line
National estimates of the percentage of the population falling below the poverty line are based on surveys of sub-groups, with the results weighted by the number of people in each group. Definitions of poverty vary considerably among nations. For example, rich nations generally employ more generous standards of poverty than poor nations.
Country
Population below poverty line(%)
Afghanistan 36% (FY08/09)
Albania 14.3% (2012 est.)
Algeria 23% (2006 est.)
American Samoa NA%
Andorra NA% (2008)
Angola 40.5% (2006 est.)
Anguilla 23% (2002)
Antigua and Barbuda NA%
Argentina 30%
note: data are based on private estimates (2010)
Armenia 35.8% (2010 est.)
Aruba NA%
Australia NA%
Austria 6.2% (2012)
Azerbaijan 6% (2012 est.)
Bahamas, The 9.3% (2010 est.)
Bahrain NA%
Bangladesh 31.5% (2010 est.)
Barbados NA%
Belarus 27.1% (2003 est.)
Belgium 15.2% (2007 est.)
Belize 41% (2013 est.)
Benin 37.4% (2007 est.)
Bermuda 11% (2008 est.)
Bhutan 12% (2012)
Bolivia 45%
note: based on percent of population living on less than the international standard of $2/day (2011 est.)
Bosnia and Herzegovina 18.6% (2007 est.)
Botswana 30.3% (2003)
Brazil 21.4%
note: official Brazilian data show 4.2% of the population being below the "extreme" poverty line in 2011 (2009 est.)
British Virgin Islands NA%
Brunei NA%
Bulgaria 21.8% (2008)
Burkina Faso 46.7% (2009 est.)
Burma 32.7% (2007 est.)
Burundi 68% (2002 est.)
Cabo Verde 30% (2000)
Cambodia 20% (2012 est.)
Cameroon 48% (2000 est.)
Canada 9.4%
note: this figure is the Low Income Cut-Off (LICO), a calculation that results in higher figures than found in many comparable economies; Canada does not have an official poverty line (2008)
Cayman Islands NA%
Central African Republic NA%
Chad 80% (2001 est.)
Chile 15.1% (2009 est.)
China 6.1%
note: in 2011, China set a new poverty line at RMB 2300 (approximately US $3,630)
(2013)
Colombia 32.7% (2012 est.)
Comoros 60% (2002 est.)
Congo, Democratic Republic of the 71% (2006 est.)
Congo, Republic of the 46.5% (2011 est.)
Cook Islands NA%
Costa Rica 24.8% (2011 est.)
Cote d'Ivoire 42% (2006 est.)
Croatia 21.1% (2011)
Cuba NA%
Cyprus NA%
Czech Republic 9.8% (2011 est.)
Denmark 13.4% (2011)
Djibouti 18.8%
note: percent of population below $1.25 per day at purchasing power parity (2012 est.)
Dominica 29% (2009 est.)
Dominican Republic 34.4% (2010 est.)
Ecuador 25.6% (December 2013 est)
Egypt 22% (2008 est.)
El Salvador 36.5% (2010 est.)
Equatorial Guinea NA%
Eritrea 50% (2004 est.)
Estonia 17.5% (2010)
Ethiopia 39% (2012 est.)
European Union note - see individual country entries of member states
Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) NA%
Faroe Islands NA%
Fiji 31% (2009 est.)
Finland NA%
France 7.9% (2011)
French Polynesia 19.7% (2009)
Gabon NA%
Gambia, The 48.4% (2010 est.)
Gaza Strip 38% (2010 est.)
Georgia 9.2% (2010)
Germany 15.5% (2010 est.)
Ghana 28.5% (2007 est.)
Gibraltar NA%
Greece 20% (2009 est.)
Greenland 9.2% (2007 est.)
Grenada 38% (2008)
Guam 23% (2001 est.)
Guatemala 54% (2011 est.)
Guernsey NA%
Guinea 47% (2006 est.)
Guinea-Bissau NA%
Guyana 35% (2006)
Haiti 80% (2003 est.)
Holy See (Vatican City) NA%
Honduras 60% (2010 est.)
Hong Kong 19.6% (2012)
Hungary 14% (2012)
Iceland NA%
note: 332,100 families (2011 est.)
India 29.8% (2010 est.)
Indonesia 11.7% (2012 est.)
Iran 18.7% (2007 est.)
Iraq 25% (2008 est.)
Ireland 5.5% (2009)
Isle of Man NA%
Israel 21%
note: Israel's poverty line is $7.30 per person per day (2012)
Italy 29.9% (2012)
Jamaica 16.5% (2009 est.)
Japan 16% (2010)
Jersey NA%
Jordan 14.2% (2002)
Kazakhstan 5.3% (2011 est.)
Kenya 43.4% (2012 est.)
Kiribati NA%
Korea, North NA%
Korea, South 16% (2009 est.)
Kosovo 30% (2013 est.)
Kuwait NA%
Kyrgyzstan 33.7% (2011 est.)
Laos 22% (2013 est.)
Latvia NA%
Lebanon 28% (1999 est.)
Lesotho 49% (1999)
Liberia 80% (2000 est.)
Libya NA%
note: about one-third of Libyans live at or below the national poverty line
Liechtenstein NA%
Lithuania 4% (2008)
Luxembourg NA%
Macau NA%
Macedonia 30.4% (2011)
Madagascar 50% (2004 est.)
Malawi 53% (2004)
Malaysia 3.8% (2009 est.)
Maldives 16% (2008)
Mali 36.1% (2005 est.)
Malta 15.1% (2012)
Marshall Islands NA%
Mauritania 40% (2004 est.)
Mauritius 8% (2006 est.)
Mexico 52.3%
note: based on food-based definition of poverty; asset based poverty amounted to more than 47% (2012 est.)
Micronesia, Federated States of 26.7% (2000)
Moldova 21.9% (2010 est.)
Monaco NA%
Mongolia 29.8% (2011 est.)
Montenegro 6.6% (2010 est.)
Montserrat NA%
Morocco 15% (2007 est.)
Mozambique 52% (2009 est.)
Namibia 28.7%
note: the UNDP's 2005 Human Development Report indicated that 34.9% of the population live on $1 per day and 55.8% live on $2 per day (2010 est.)
Nauru NA%
Nepal 25.2% (2011 est.)
Netherlands 9.1% (2013 est.)
New Caledonia NA%
New Zealand NA%
Nicaragua 42.5% (2009)
Niger 63% (1993 est.)
Nigeria 70% (2010 est.)
Niue NA%
Northern Mariana Islands NA%
Norway NA%
Oman NA%
Pakistan 22.3% (FY05/06 est.)
Palau NA%
Panama 26% (2012 est.)
Papua New Guinea 37% (2002 est.)
Paraguay 34.7% (2010 est.)
Peru 25.8% (2012 est.)
Philippines 26.5% (2009 est.)
Poland 10.6% (2008 est.)
Portugal 18% (2006)
Puerto Rico NA%
Qatar NA%
Romania 22.2% (2011 est.)
Russia 11% (2013 est.)
Rwanda 44.9% (2011 est.)
Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha NA%
Saint Kitts and Nevis NA%
Saint Lucia NA%
Saint Pierre and Miquelon NA%
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines NA%
Samoa NA%
San Marino NA%
Sao Tome and Principe 66.2% (2009 est.)
Saudi Arabia NA%
Senegal 54% (2001 est.)
Serbia 9.1% (2013 est.)
Seychelles NA%
Sierra Leone 70.2% (2004)
Singapore NA%
Slovakia 21% (2002)
Slovenia 13.5% (2012)
Solomon Islands NA%
Somalia NA%
South Africa 31.3% (2009 est.)
South Sudan 50.6% (2009 est.)
Spain 21.1% (2012)
Sri Lanka 8.9% (2010 est.)
Sudan 46.5% (2009 est.)
Suriname 70% (2002 est.)
Swaziland 69% (2006)
Sweden NA%
Switzerland 7.6% (2011)
Syria 11.9% (2006 est.)
Taiwan 1.5% (2012 est.)
Tajikistan 35.6% (2013 est.)
Tanzania 36% (2002 est.)
Thailand 13.2% (2011 est.)
Timor-Leste 41% (2009 est.)
Togo 32% (1989 est.)
Tokelau NA%
Tonga 24% (FY03/04)
Trinidad and Tobago 17% (2007 est.)
Tunisia 3.8% (2005 est.)
Turkey 16.9% (2010)
Turkmenistan 30% (2004 est.)
Turks and Caicos Islands NA%
Tuvalu NA%
Uganda 24.5% (2009 est.)
Ukraine 24.1% (2010)
United Arab Emirates 19.5% (2003)
United Kingdom 16.2% (2011 est.)
United States 15.1% (2010 est.)
Uruguay 18.6% (2010 est.)
Uzbekistan 17% (2011 est.)
Vanuatu NA%
Venezuela 31.6% (2011 est.)
Vietnam 11.3% (2012 est.)
Virgin Islands 28.9% (2002)
Wallis and Futuna NA%
West Bank 18.3% (2010 est.)
Western Sahara NA%
Yemen 45.2% (2003)
Zambia 60.5% (2010)
Zimbabwe 68% (2004)