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 12.5% (2008 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 26.5% (2006 est.)
Aruba NA%
Australia NA%
Austria 6% (2008)
Azerbaijan 11% (2009 est.)
Bahamas, The 9.3% (2004)
Bahrain NA%
Bangladesh 40% (2010 est.)
Barbados NA%
Belarus 27.1% (2003 est.)
Belgium 15.2% (2007 est.)
Belize 43% (2010 est.)
Benin 37.4% (2007 est.)
Bermuda 19% (2000)
Bhutan 23.2% (2008)
Bolivia 30.3%
note: based on percent of population living on less than the international standard of $2/day (2009 est.)
Bosnia and Herzegovina 18.6% (2007 est.)
Botswana 30.3% (2003)
Brazil 26% (2008)
British Virgin Islands NA%
Brunei NA%
Bulgaria 21.8% (2008)
Burkina Faso 46.4% (2004)
Burma 32.7% (2007 est.)
Burundi 68% (2002 est.)
Cambodia 31% (2007 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)
Cape Verde 30% (2000)
Cayman Islands NA%
Central African Republic NA%
Chad 80% (2001 est.)
Chile 11.5% (2009)
China 2.8%
note: 21.5 million rural population live below the official "absolute poverty" line (approximately $90 per year); an additional 35.5 million rural population live above that level but below the official "low income" line (approximately $125 per year) (2007)
Colombia 45.5% (2009)
Comoros 60% (2002 est.)
Congo, Democratic Republic of the 71% (2006 est.)
Congo, Republic of the NA%
Cook Islands NA%
Costa Rica 16% (2006 est.)
Cote d'Ivoire 42% (2006 est.)
Croatia 17% (2008)
Cuba NA%
Cyprus NA%
Czech Republic NA%
Denmark 12.1% (2007)
Djibouti 42% (2007 est.)
Dominica 30% (2002 est.)
Dominican Republic 42.2% (2004)
Ecuador 33.1% (June 2010)
Egypt 20% (2005 est.)
El Salvador 37.8% (2009 est.)
Equatorial Guinea NA%
Eritrea 50% (2004 est.)
Estonia 19.7% (2008)
Ethiopia 38.7% (FY05/06 est.)
European Union note - see individual country entries of member states
Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) NA%
Faroe Islands NA%
Fiji 25.5% (FY90/91)
Finland NA%
France 6.2% (2004)
French Polynesia NA%
Gabon NA%
Gambia, The NA%
Gaza Strip 70% (2009 est.)
Georgia 31% (2006)
Germany 15.5% (2010 est.)
Ghana 28.5% (2007 est.)
Gibraltar NA%
Greece 20% (2009 est.)
Greenland 9.2% (2007 est.)
Grenada 32% (2000)
Guam 23% (2001 est.)
Guatemala 56.2% (2004 est.)
Guernsey NA%
Guinea 47% (2006 est.)
Guinea-Bissau NA%
Guyana NA%
Haiti 80% (2003 est.)
Holy See (Vatican City) NA%
Honduras 65% (2010)
Hong Kong NA%
Hungary 13.9% (2010)
Iceland NA%
India 25% (2007 est.)
Indonesia 13.33% (2010)
Iran 18% (2007 est.)
Iraq 25% (2008 est.)
Ireland 5.5% (2009 est.)
Isle of Man NA%
Israel 23.6%
note: Israel's poverty line is $7.30 per person per day (2007)
Italy NA%
Jamaica 16.5% (2009 est.)
Japan 15.7% (2007)
note: Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) press release, 20 October 2009
Jersey NA%
Jordan 14.2% (2002)
Kazakhstan 8.2% (2009)
Kenya 50% (2000 est.)
Kiribati NA%
Korea, North NA%
Korea, South 15% (2006 est.)
Kosovo 30% (2010 est.)
Kuwait NA%
Kyrgyzstan 40% (2004 est.)
Laos 26% (2010 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% (2003)
Luxembourg NA%
Macau NA%
Macedonia 28.7% (2008)
Madagascar 50% (2004 est.)
Malawi 53% (2004)
Malaysia 3.6% (2007 est.)
Maldives 16% (2008)
Mali 36.1% (2005 est.)
Malta NA%
Marshall Islands NA%
Mauritania 40% (2004 est.)
Mauritius 8% (2006 est.)
Mexico 18.2%
note: based on food-based definition of poverty; asset based poverty amounted to more than 47% (2008)
Micronesia, Federated States of 26.7% (2000)
Moldova 26.3% (2009)
Monaco NA%
Mongolia 36.1% (2004)
Montenegro 7% (2007 est.)
Montserrat NA%
Morocco 15% (2007 est.)
Mozambique 70% (2001 est.)
Namibia 55.8%
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 (2005 est.)
Nauru NA%
Nepal 24.7% (2008)
Netherlands 10.5% (2005)
New Caledonia NA%
New Zealand NA%
Nicaragua 48% (2005)
Niger 63% (1993 est.)
Nigeria 70% (2007 est.)
Niue NA%
Northern Mariana Islands NA%
Norway NA%
Oman NA%
Pakistan 24% (FY05/06 est.)
Palau NA%
Panama 25.6% (2010 est.)
Papua New Guinea 37% (2002 est.)
Paraguay 18.8% (2009 est.)
Peru 34.8% (2009)
Philippines 32.9% (2006 est.)
Poland 17% (2003 est.)
Portugal 18% (2006)
Puerto Rico NA%
Qatar NA%
Romania 25% (2005 est.)
Russia 13.1% (2009)
Rwanda 60% (2001 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 54% (2004 est.)
Saudi Arabia NA%
Senegal 54% (2001 est.)
Serbia 8.8% (2010 est.)
Seychelles NA%
Sierra Leone 70.2% (2004)
Singapore NA%
Slovakia 21% (2002)
Slovenia 12.3% (2008)
Solomon Islands NA%
Somalia NA%
South Africa 50% (2000 est.)
Spain 19.8% (2005)
Sri Lanka 23% (2008 est.)
Sudan 40% (2004 est.)
Suriname 70% (2002 est.)
Swaziland 69% (2006)
Sweden NA%
Switzerland 6.9% (2010)
Syria 11.9% (2006 est.)
Taiwan 1.16% (2010 est.)
Tajikistan 53% (2009 est.)
Tanzania 36% (2002 est.)
Thailand 9.6% (2006 est.)
Timor-Leste 42% (2003 est.)
Togo 32% (1989 est.)
Tokelau NA%
Tonga 24% (FY03/04)
Trinidad and Tobago 17% (2007 est.)
Tunisia 3.8% (2005 est.)
Turkey 17.11% (2008)
Turkmenistan 30% (2004 est.)
Turks and Caicos Islands NA%
Tuvalu NA%
Uganda 35% (2001 est.)
Ukraine 35% (2009)
United Arab Emirates 19.5% (2003)
United Kingdom 14% (2006 est.)
United States 12% (2004 est.)
Uruguay 20.9% of households (2009)
Uzbekistan 26% (2008 est.)
Vanuatu NA%
Venezuela 37.9% (2005 est.)
Vietnam 10.6% (2010 est.)
Virgin Islands 28.9% (2002)
Wallis and Futuna NA%
West Bank 46% (2007 est.)
Western Sahara NA%
Yemen 45.2% (2003)
Zambia 64% (2006)
Zimbabwe 68% (2004)