Countries
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state (polity), state, nation, or other polity, political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, so ...
by percentage of
population
Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...
living in
poverty
Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in ...
, as recorded by
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
and other sources.
Methodology
"Poverty" is defined as an economic condition by the lack of both
money
Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are as ...
and basic necessities needed to live successfully, such as
food
Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is inge ...
,
water
Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...
, utilities, and housing. There are many working definitions of "poverty", with considerable debate on the most accurate definition of the term.
Lack of income security, economic stability and the
predictability
Predictability is the degree to which a correct prediction or forecast of a system's state can be made, either qualitatively or quantitatively.
Predictability and causality
Causal determinism has a strong relationship with predictability. Perf ...
of one's continued means to meet basic needs all serve as absolute indicators of poverty. Poverty may therefore also be defined as the economic condition of lacking predictable and stable means of meeting basic life needs.
The first table lists countries by the percentage of their population with an income of less than $1.90 (the
extreme poverty
Extreme poverty, deep poverty, abject poverty, absolute poverty, destitution, or penury, is the most severe type of poverty, defined by the United Nations (UN) as "a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, includi ...
line), $3.20 and $5.50 US dollars a day in 2011 international (PPP) prices. The data is from the most recent year available from the
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
API.
The second table lists countries by the percentage of the population living below the national
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
—the poverty line deemed appropriate for a country by its authorities. National estimates are based on population-weighted subgroup estimates from household surveys.
Definitions of the poverty line vary considerably among nations. For example, rich nations generally employ more generous standards of poverty than poor nations. Even among rich nations, the standards differ greatly. Thus, the numbers are not comparable among countries. Even when nations do use the same method, some issues may remain.
Only countries for which sourced data is available are listed. Data for some countries, including
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...
and
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
, remains unavailable. It is usually accepted that over one third (33.3%) of the population in Libya and Saudi Arabia live below the poverty line.
Percent of population living on less than $1.90, $3.20 and $5.50 a day
Percent of population (including non-citizens) living on less than $1.90, $3.20, and $5.50 a day, international (PPP) dollars as per the
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
, the
World Poverty Clock
The World Poverty Clock is a tool to monitor progress against poverty globally, and regionally. It provides real-time poverty data across countries. Created by the Vienna-based NGO, World Data Lab, it was launched in Berlin at the re:publica conf ...
, and the
Our World in Data
Our World in Data (OWID) is a scientific online publication that focuses on large global problems such as poverty, disease, hunger, climate change, war, existential risks, and inequality.
It is a project of the Global Change Data Lab, a re ...
Percent of population living below national poverty line
The percentage of the population living below national
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
(%) – poverty line deemed appropriate for a country by its authorities (however definitions of the poverty line vary considerably among nations).
See also
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List of countries by Human Development Index
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) compiles the Human Development Index (HDI) of 191 nations in the annual Human Development Report. The index considers the health, education and income in a given country to provide a measure ...
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List of countries by Official Development Assistance received
This is a list of countries based on the official development assistance (ODA) they have received for the given year.
More comprehensive and current lists are available from the OECDTable DAC2a and the World BankNet official development assistan ...
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Economic inequality
There are wide varieties of economic inequality, most notably income inequality measured using the distribution of income (the amount of money people are paid) and wealth inequality measured using the distribution of wealth (the amount of we ...
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Income disparity
There are wide varieties of economic inequality, most notably income inequality measured using the distribution of income (the amount of money people are paid) and wealth inequality measured using the distribution of wealth (the amount of we ...
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International inequality
International inequality refers to inequality between countries, as compared to global inequality, which is inequality between people across countries. International inequality research has primarily been concentrated on the rise of internati ...
References
External links
Global Distribution of PovertyGlobal poverty datasets and map collection
Population below poverty line: Countries Compared
{{Population country lists
Poverty, percentage
Measurements and definitions of poverty
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ru:Список стран по показателям неравенства доходов