Mexico: Proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income (%)

Key figures

Since 1984 it is down 2.7 percentage points from 18.4% in 1984. The World Bank has no value for 21 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

How it compares

In 2024, Mexico had the 11th highest value of the 20 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Mexico in the 2024 ranking

• Uruguay — 8th of 20: 17.4%
• Peru — 9th of 20: 17%
• Paraguay — 10th of 20: 16.3%
• Dominican Republic — 12th of 20: 15.3%
• Chile — 13th of 20: 13.9%
• Tajikistan — 14th of 20: 13.4%

What this measures

The percentage of people in the population who live in households whose per capita income or consumption is below half of the median income or consumption per capita. The median is measured at 2021 Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) using the Poverty and Inequality Platform (http://www.pip.worldbank.org). For some countries, medians are not reported due to grouped and/or confidential data. The reference year is the year in which the underlying household survey data was collected. In cases for which the data collection period bridged two calendar years, the first year in which data were collected is reported.

Limitations: Despite progress in the last decade, the challenges of measuring poverty remain. The timeliness, frequency, quality, and comparability of household surveys need to increase substantially, particularly in the poorest countries. The availability and quality of poverty monitoring data remains low in small states, countries with fragile situations, and low-income countries and even some middle-income countries. The low frequency and lack of comparability of the data available in some countries create uncertainty over the magnitude of poverty reduction. Besides the frequency and timeliness of survey data, other data quality issues arise in measuring household living standards.

All 20 values

Proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income (%) in nearby economies

• Argentina — 19.6% (2024)
• Bolivia — 17.8% (2024)
• Brazil — 21.2% (2024)
• Chile — 13.9% (2024)
• Colombia — 22.7% (2024)
• Costa Rica — 20% (2025)
• Dominican Republic — 15.3% (2024)
• Ecuador — 18.1% (2025)
• El Salvador

More poverty data for Mexico

• Income share held by second 20% — 10% (2024)
• Income share held by third 20% — 14.3% (2024)
• Income share held by fourth 20% — 21.1% (2024)
• Income share held by highest 20% — 48.9% (2024)
• Income share held by highest 10% — 33.4% (2024)
• Income share held by lowest 10% — 2.1% (2024)
• Income share held by lowest 20% — 5.6% (2024)
• Poverty headcount ratio at $3.00 a day (2021 PPP) (% of population) — 1.6% (2024)
• Poverty gap at $3.00 a day (2021 PPP) (%) — 0.4% (2024)
• Gini index — 42.6 (2024)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Mexico's proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income (%)?

15.7% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1984?

It is down 2.7 percentage points from 18.4% in 1984. The highest value was 23.4% in 1998 and the lowest 15.3% in 2022.

How does Mexico rank?

11th highest of 20 economies with data for 2024.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income economies are mostly from the Luxembourg Income Study database..

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SI.DST.50MD, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income economies are mostly from the Luxembourg Income Study database. 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.

Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.