China: Poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines (% of population)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2020, China's poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines (% of population) fell 0.6 percentage points on 2019 (from 0.6% to 0%).

Across the 9 yearly changes before that (2011 to 2019), the average change was −1.84 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.08 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.2 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly fall was 4.5 percentage points in 2011. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2011 to 2020 the straight-line trend is downward, about 1.39 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 99% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

What this measures

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.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a population-weighted average.

All 13 values

Poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines (% of population) in nearby economies

• Indonesia — 8.5% (2025)
• Thailand — 5.4% (2022)
• Viet Nam — 4.2% (2022)

More poverty data for China

• Income share held by second 20% — 11.4% (2022)
• Income share held by third 20% — 15.7% (2022)
• Income share held by fourth 20% — 21.9% (2022)
• Income share held by highest 20% — 43.7% (2022)
• Income share held by highest 10% — 28.4% (2022)
• Proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income (%) — 12.2% (2022)
• Income share held by lowest 10% — 3.1% (2022)
• Income share held by lowest 20% — 7.3% (2022)
• Poverty headcount ratio at $3.00 a day (2021 PPP) (% of population) — 0% (2022)
• Poverty gap at $3.00 a day (2021 PPP) (%)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is China's poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines (% of population)?

0% in 2020, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2000?

It is down 49.8 percentage points from 49.8% in 2000. The highest value was 49.8% in 2000 and the lowest 0% in 2020.

Is the latest change in poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines (% of population) unusual for China?

In 2020, China's poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines (% of population) fell 0.6 percentage points on 2019 (from 0.6% to 0%). Across the 9 yearly changes before that (2011 to 2019), the average change was −1.84 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.08 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.2 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SI.POV.NAHC, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are compiled from official government sources or are computed by World Bank staff using national (i.e. Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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