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 est.) |
| Albania |
14.3% (2012 est.) |
| Algeria |
23% (2006 est.) |
| American Samoa |
NA% |
| Andorra |
NA% |
| Angola |
40.5% (2006 est.) |
| Anguilla |
23% (2002 est.) |
| Antigua and Barbuda |
NA% |
| Argentina |
30% note: data are based on private estimates (2010 est.) |
| Armenia |
32% (2013 est.) |
| Aruba |
NA% |
| Australia |
NA% |
| Austria |
4.2% (2013 est.) |
| Azerbaijan |
6% (2012 est.) |
| Bahamas, The |
9.3% (2010 est.) |
| Bahrain |
NA% |
| Bangladesh |
31.5% (2010 est.) |
| Barbados |
NA% |
| Belarus |
6.3% (2012 est.) |
| Belgium |
15.1% (2013 est.) |
| Belize |
41% (2013 est.) |
| Benin |
37.4% (2007 est.) |
| Bermuda |
11% (2008 est.) |
| Bhutan |
12% (2012 est.) |
| Bolivia |
45% note: based on percent of population living on less than the international standard of $2/day (2011 est.) |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina |
17.2% (2011 est.) |
| Botswana |
30.3% (2003 est.) |
| Brazil |
21.4% note: approximately 4% of the population are below the "extreme" poverty line (2009 est.) |
| British Virgin Islands |
NA% |
| Brunei |
NA% |
| Bulgaria |
21% (2012 est.) |
| Burkina Faso |
46.7% (2009 est.) |
| Burma |
32.7% (2007 est.) |
| Burundi |
68% (2002 est.) |
| Cabo Verde |
30% (2000 est.) |
| Cambodia |
17.7% (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 est.) |
| Cayman Islands |
NA% |
| Central African Republic |
NA% |
| Chad |
46.7% (2011 est.) |
| Chile |
15.1% (2009 est.) |
| China |
6.1% note: in 2011, China set a new poverty line at RMB 2300 (approximately US $400) (2013 est.) |
| Colombia |
32.7% (2012 est.) |
| Comoros |
60% (2002 est.) |
| Congo, Democratic Republic of the |
63% (2012 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 |
19.5% (2014 est.) |
| Cuba |
NA% |
| Cyprus |
NA% |
| Czech Republic |
8.6% (2012 est.) |
| Denmark |
13.4% (2011 est.) |
| Djibouti |
18.8% note: percent of population below $1.25 per day at purchasing power parity (2012 est.) |
| Dominica |
29% (2009 est.) |
| Dominican Republic |
41.1% (2013 est.) |
| Ecuador |
25.6% (December 2013 est.) |
| Egypt |
25.2% (2011 est.) |
| El Salvador |
36.5% (2010 est.) |
| Equatorial Guinea |
NA% |
| Eritrea |
50% (2004 est.) |
| Estonia |
22.1% (2013 est.) |
| 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 |
8.1% (2012 est.) |
| French Polynesia |
19.7% (2009 est.) |
| Gabon |
NA% |
| Gambia, The |
48.4% (2010 est.) |
| Gaza Strip |
39% note: data exclude West Bank (2011 est.) |
| Georgia |
9.2% (2010 est.) |
| Germany |
15.5% (2010 est.) |
| Ghana |
24.2% (2013 est.) |
| Gibraltar |
NA% |
| Greece |
44% (2013 est.) |
| Greenland |
9.2% (2007 est.) |
| Grenada |
38% (2008 est.) |
| Guam |
23% (2001 est.) |
| Guatemala |
54% (2011 est.) |
| Guernsey |
NA% |
| Guinea-Bissau |
NA% |
| Guinea |
47% (2006 est.) |
| Guyana |
35% (2006 est.) |
| Haiti |
58.5% (2012 est.) |
| Holy See (Vatican City) |
NA% |
| Honduras |
60% (2010 est.) |
| Hong Kong |
19.6% (2012 est.) |
| Hungary |
14% (2012 est.) |
| Iceland |
NA% note: 332,100 families (2011 est.) |
| India |
29.8% (2010 est.) |
| Indonesia |
11.3% (2014 est.) |
| Iran |
18.7% (2007 est.) |
| Iraq |
25% (2008 est.) |
| Ireland |
5.5% (2009 est.) |
| Isle of Man |
NA% |
| Israel |
21% note: Israel's poverty line is $7.30 per person per day (2012 est.) |
| Italy |
29.9% (2012 est.) |
| Jamaica |
16.5% (2009 est.) |
| Japan |
16.1% (2013 est.) |
| Jersey |
NA% |
| Jordan |
14.2% (2002 est.) |
| Kazakhstan |
5.3% (2011 est.) |
| Kenya |
43.4% (2012 est.) |
| Kiribati |
NA% |
| Korea, North |
NA% |
| Korea, South |
14.6% (2013 est.) |
| Kosovo |
30% (2013 est.) |
| Kuwait |
NA% |
| Kyrgyzstan |
33.7% (2011 est.) |
| Laos |
22% (2013 est.) |
| Latvia |
NA% |
| Lebanon |
28.6% (2004 est.) |
| Lesotho |
49% (1999 est.) |
| Liberia |
63.8% (2007 est.) |
| Libya |
NA% note: about one-third of Libyans live at or below the national poverty line |
| Liechtenstein |
NA% |
| Lithuania |
4% (2008 est.) |
| Luxembourg |
NA% |
| Macau |
NA% |
| Macedonia |
30.4% (2011 est.) |
| Madagascar |
50% (2004 est.) |
| Malawi |
53% (2004 est.) |
| Malaysia |
3.8% (2009 est.) |
| Maldives |
16% (2008 est.) |
| Mali |
36.1% (2005 est.) |
| Malta |
15.7% (2013 est.) |
| 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 est.) |
| Moldova |
21.9% (2010 est.) |
| Monaco |
NA% |
| Mongolia |
29.8% (2011 est.) |
| Montenegro |
8.6% (2013 est.) |
| Montserrat |
NA% |
| Morocco |
15% (2007 est.) |
| Mozambique |
52% (2009 est.) |
| Namibia |
28.7% (2010 est.) |
| Nauru |
NA% |
| Nepal |
25.2% (2011 est.) |
| Netherlands |
9.1% (2013 est.) |
| New Caledonia |
NA% |
| New Zealand |
NA% |
| Nicaragua |
42.5% (2009 est.) |
| Nigeria |
70% (2010 est.) |
| Niger |
63% (1993 est.) |
| Niue |
NA% |
| Northern Mariana Islands |
NA% |
| Norway |
NA% |
| Oman |
NA% |
| Pakistan |
12.4% (FY2011 est.) |
| Palau |
NA% |
| Panama |
26% (2012 est.) |
| Papua New Guinea |
37% (2002 est.) |
| Paraguay |
34.7% (2010 est.) |
| Peru |
25.8% (2012 est.) |
| Philippines |
25.2% (2012 est.) |
| Poland |
10.6% (2008 est.) |
| Portugal |
18.7% (2012 est.) |
| Puerto Rico |
NA% |
| Qatar |
NA% |
| Romania |
22.6% (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 |
46.7% (2011 est.) |
| Serbia |
9.2% (2013 est.) |
| Seychelles |
NA% |
| Sierra Leone |
70.2% (2004 est.) |
| Singapore |
NA% |
| Slovakia |
20.5% (2012 est.) |
| Slovenia |
13.5% (2012 est.) |
| Solomon Islands |
NA% |
| Somalia |
NA% |
| South Africa |
35.9% (2012 est.) |
| South Sudan |
50.6% (2009 est.) |
| Spain |
21.1% (2012 est.) |
| Sri Lanka |
8.9% (2010 est.) |
| Sudan |
46.5% (2009 est.) |
| Suriname |
70% (2002 est.) |
| Swaziland |
69% (2006 est.) |
| Sweden |
14% (2011 est.) |
| Switzerland |
7.6% (2011 est.) |
| Syria |
11.9% (2006 est.) |
| Taiwan |
1.5% (2012 est.) |
| Tajikistan |
35.6% (2013 est.) |
| Tanzania |
67.9% (2011 est.) |
| Thailand |
12.6% (2012 est.) |
| Timor-Leste |
37% (2011 est.) |
| Togo |
32% (1989 est.) |
| Tokelau |
NA% |
| Tonga |
24% (FY03/04 est.) |
| Trinidad and Tobago |
17% (2007 est.) |
| Tunisia |
3.8% (2005 est.) |
| Turkey |
16.9% (2010 est.) |
| Turkmenistan |
0.2% (2012 est.) |
| Turks and Caicos Islands |
NA% |
| Tuvalu |
26.3% (2010 est.) |
| Uganda |
19.7% (2013 est.) |
| Ukraine |
24.1% (2010 est.) |
| United Arab Emirates |
19.5% (2003 est.) |
| United Kingdom |
15% (2013 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 est.) |
| Wallis and Futuna |
NA% |
| West Bank |
18% (2011 est.) |
| Western Sahara |
NA% |
| Yemen |
54% (2014 est.) |
| Zambia |
60.5% (2010 est.) |
| Zimbabwe |
72.3% (2012 est.) |