Countries by poverty rate at the national poverty line, 2021
Madagascar had the highest poverty rate at the national poverty line of 72 countries in 2021, at 75.2%. Belarus had the lowest, at 4.1%. The median was 20.4%. Source: the World Bank.
Top 40 countries, 2021
Full ranking
| Rank | Countries | 2021 (%) | Change on 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Madagascar | 75.2 | |
| 2 | Honduras | 73.6 | |
| 3 | Central African Republic | 68.8 | |
| 4 | Guinea-Bissau | 50.5 | |
| 5 | Mali | 45.5 | |
| 6 | Togo | 43.8 | |
| 7 | Burkina Faso | 43.2 | |
| 8 | Niger | 41.2 | |
| 9 | Colombia | 39.7 | -3.4 pts |
| 10 | Kenya | 38.6 | -4.3 pts |
| 11 | Cameroon | 37.7 | |
| 12 | Côte d’Ivoire | 37.5 | |
| 12 | Senegal | 37.5 | |
| 14 | Argentina | 37.3 | -4.7 pts |
| 15 | Bolivia | 36.6 | -2.7 pts |
| 16 | Benin | 36.2 | |
| 17 | Egypt | 33.5 | |
| 18 | Ethiopia | 33.1 | |
| 19 | Dominican Republic | 30.7 | +0.3 pts |
| 20 | Ecuador | 27.7 | -5.3 pts |
| 21 | Armenia | 26.5 | -0.5 pts |
| 22 | Costa Rica | 26.2 | -3.8 pts |
| 23 | Peru | 25.9 | -4.2 pts |
| 24 | Tajikistan | 25.6 | |
| 25 | El Salvador | 24.6 | -1.6 pts |
| 26 | Moldova | 24.5 | -2.3 pts |
| 27 | Bulgaria | 22.9 | +0.8 pts |
| 27 | North Macedonia | 22.9 | -0.1 pts |
| 29 | Estonia | 22.8 | +2.2 pts |
| 30 | Latvia | 22.5 | -0.9 pts |
| 31 | Panama | 21.8 | |
| 32 | Romania | 21.2 | -1.3 pts |
| 33 | Lithuania | 20.9 | +0.9 pts |
| 34 | Albania | 20.6 | -1.4 pts |
| 34 | Tonga | 20.6 | |
| 36 | Spain | 20.4 | -1.3 pts |
| 37 | Montenegro | 20.3 | -0.9 pts |
| 38 | Serbia | 20.2 | -1.2 pts |
| 39 | Italy | 20.1 | 0 pts |
| 40 | Greece | 18.8 | -0.8 pts |
| 41 | Georgia | 17.5 | -3.8 pts |
| 42 | Luxembourg | 17.3 | |
| 43 | Uzbekistan | 17 | |
| 44 | Jamaica | 16.7 | |
| 44 | Malta | 16.7 | -0.2 pts |
| 46 | Tunisia | 16.6 | |
| 47 | Portugal | 16.4 | -2 pts |
| 48 | Sweden | 16 | +0.3 pts |
| 49 | Switzerland | 15.8 | +1.1 pts |
| 50 | France | 15.6 | |
| 51 | Austria | 14.8 | +0.1 pts |
| 51 | Germany | 14.8 | -1.2 pts |
| 53 | Netherlands | 14.5 | +0.1 pts |
| 54 | Türkiye | 14.4 | 0 pts |
| 55 | Ireland | 14 | +1.1 pts |
| 56 | Cyprus | 13.9 | +0.1 pts |
| 57 | Slovakia | 13.7 | +1.4 pts |
| 58 | Belgium | 13.2 | +0.5 pts |
| 59 | Finland | 12.7 | +1.9 pts |
| 60 | Denmark | 12.4 | +0.1 pts |
| 61 | Norway | 12.2 | -0.4 pts |
| 62 | Hungary | 12.1 | -0.5 pts |
| 62 | Poland | 12.1 | +0.3 pts |
| 62 | Slovenia | 12.1 | +0.4 pts |
| 65 | Russia | 11.1 | -1.1 pts |
| 66 | Czechia | 10.2 | +1.6 pts |
| 67 | Indonesia | 10.1 | +0.3 pts |
| 68 | Thailand | 6.3 | -0.5 pts |
| 69 | Malaysia | 6.2 | |
| 70 | Kazakhstan | 5.2 | -0.1 pts |
| 71 | Vietnam | 4.4 | -0.4 pts |
| 72 | Belarus | 4.1 | -0.7 pts |
Other periods
- 2021
- 2018
About this ranking
Share of the population living below the national poverty line that each country sets. World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform, compiled from official government sources or computed by World Bank staff with the national line.
Each country sets its own line, so rates cannot be compared between countries; compare years within one country, and check for method changes, which can move the rate by many points. There is no World value. For the United States see poverty_rate, and for the EU at_risk_of_poverty_rate.
Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the countries are compared on one definition. 88 countries with data in other periods have no value for 2021 and are left out rather than filled from another source. Equal values share a rank.
How to cite
World Bank, World Development Indicators. Poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines, % of population (SI.POV.NAHC). https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.NAHC. Retrieved 2026-10-12.Use this data in your AI agent
Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:
Rank Countries by poverty rate at the national poverty line using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"poverty_rate_national_line","level":"country","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=poverty_rate_national_line&level=country&limit=10Questions
Which country has the highest poverty rate at the national poverty line?
Madagascar, with 75.2% in 2021, according to the World Bank.
Which country has the lowest poverty rate at the national poverty line?
Belarus, with 4.1% in 2021.
Where does this ranking come from?
Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: World Bank, Poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines, % of population (SI.POV.NAHC). Retrieved 2026-10-12. 88 countries have no value for 2021 and are not ranked.