Poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines (% of population) by country
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...
What the numbers show
Poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines (% of population) is currently reported for 70 countries. The highest value is 65.0% in Mozambique; the lowest is 0.0% in China.
The median across all reporting countries is 17.5%, and the mean is 19.9%.
Over the past decade 19 countries rose and 47 fell. The largest increase was in Albania (up 37.8%), and the largest decrease in China (down 100.0%).
Poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mozambique | 65.0% | 2022 | up 34.3% | flat |
| 2 | Malawi | 50.7% | 2019 | unchanged | falling |
| 3 | Guinea-Bissau | 50.5% | 2021 | up 3.7% | falling |
| 4 | Lesotho | 49.7% | 2017 | down 12.2% | flat |
| 5 | Kenya | 39.8% | 2022 | up 10.2% | falling |
| 6 | Argentina | 38.1% | 2024 | up 25.7% | rising |
| 7 | South Africa | 37.9% | 2022 | down 17.2% | falling |
| 8 | Bolivia | 37.7% | 2024 | down 12.3% | falling |
| 9 | Venezuela | 33.1% | 2015 | down 21.9% | falling |
| 9 | Ethiopia | 33.1% | 2021 | up 11.8% | falling |
| 11 | Colombia | 31.8% | 2024 | down 14.1% | falling |
| 12 | Moldova | 31.6% | 2023 | — | rising |
| 13 | Mexico | 29.6% | 2024 | down 31.5% | falling |
| 14 | Peru | 27.6% | 2024 | up 21.6% | falling |
| 15 | Tanzania | 26.4% | 2018 | down 23.3% | falling |
| 16 | Nicaragua | 24.9% | 2016 | down 48.4% | falling |
| 17 | Ghana | 23.4% | 2016 | down 26.6% | falling |
| 18 | Ukraine | 23.2% | 2020 | down 55.3% | falling |
| 19 | Latvia | 22.5% | 2022 | up 16.0% | flat |
| 19 | Estonia | 22.5% | 2022 | up 21.0% | rising |
| 21 | Pakistan | 21.9% | 2018 | down 50.3% | falling |
| 21 | North Macedonia | 21.9% | 2023 | down 0.9% | rising |
| 23 | Panama | 21.7% | 2023 | down 15.9% | falling |
| 23 | Bulgaria | 21.7% | 2023 | down 5.2% | falling |
| 23 | Armenia | 21.7% | 2024 | down 27.7% | falling |
| 26 | Ecuador | 21.4% | 2025 | down 8.2% | falling |
| 27 | Lithuania | 20.9% | 2021 | up 12.4% | rising |
| 28 | Spain | 20.2% | 2022 | down 1.0% | rising |
| 29 | Italy | 20.1% | 2021 | up 3.1% | rising |
| 30 | Montenegro | 20.0% | 2023 | down 17.0% | rising |
| 31 | Albania | 19.7% | 2022 | up 37.8% | rising |
| 31 | Serbia | 19.7% | 2023 | down 21.2% | rising |
| 33 | Romania | 19.0% | 2023 | down 24.3% | falling |
| 34 | Greece | 18.8% | 2021 | down 18.6% | falling |
| 35 | Cambodia | 17.7% | 2012 | down 64.7% | falling |
| 36 | Dominican Republic | 17.3% | 2025 | down 50.3% | falling |
| 37 | Costa Rica | 17.1% | 2025 | down 27.5% | flat |
| 38 | Malta | 16.7% | 2021 | up 10.6% | rising |
| 39 | Tunisia | 16.6% | 2021 | down 19.0% | falling |
| 40 | Portugal | 16.4% | 2021 | down 8.4% | falling |
| 41 | Sweden | 16.1% | 2022 | up 0.6% | rising |
| 41 | Uganda | 16.1% | 2023 | down 18.3% | falling |
| 41 | Botswana | 16.1% | 2015 | down 47.4% | falling |
| 44 | Switzerland | 15.8% | 2021 | down 0.6% | flat |
| 45 | Austria | 14.8% | 2021 | up 2.8% | rising |
| 46 | Netherlands | 14.5% | 2021 | up 14.2% | rising |
| 47 | Sri Lanka | 14.3% | 2019 | down 49.6% | falling |
| 48 | Cyprus | 13.9% | 2021 | down 5.4% | falling |
| 49 | Slovakia | 13.7% | 2021 | up 3.8% | rising |
| 50 | Poland | 13.3% | 2024 | — | rising |
| 51 | Turkey | 13.0% | 2024 | down 11.6% | falling |
| 52 | Slovenia | 12.7% | 2022 | down 12.4% | flat |
| 53 | Belgium | 12.3% | 2022 | — | falling |
| 54 | Finland | 12.2% | 2022 | up 3.4% | falling |
| 55 | Hungary | 12.1% | 2021 | down 15.4% | falling |
| 56 | Czechia | 10.2% | 2021 | up 6.2% | flat |
| 57 | Georgia | 9.4% | 2024 | down 60.0% | falling |
| 58 | Indonesia | 9.0% | 2024 | down 20.4% | falling |
| 59 | Iceland | 8.8% | 2017 | down 12.9% | falling |
| 60 | Jamaica | 8.2% | 2023 | down 66.7% | falling |
| 61 | Russia | 7.2% | 2024 | down 36.3% | falling |
| 62 | Chile | 6.5% | 2022 | down 70.0% | falling |
| 63 | Azerbaijan | 6.0% | 2012 | down 87.9% | volatile |
| 64 | Uzbekistan | 5.8% | 2025 | down 58.9% | falling |
| 65 | Thailand | 5.4% | 2022 | down 57.1% | volatile |
| 66 | Kazakhstan | 5.0% | 2024 | up 16.3% | rising |
| 67 | Vietnam | 4.2% | 2022 | down 75.6% | volatile |
| 68 | Morocco | 3.9% | 2022 | down 18.8% | volatile |
| 69 | Belarus | 3.5% | 2024 | down 27.1% | volatile |
| 70 | China | 0.0% | 2020 | down 100.0% | volatile |
About this data
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.