Sub-Saharan Africa: Poverty headcount ratio at $3.00 a day (2021 PPP) (% of population)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Sub-Saharan Africa's poverty headcount ratio at $3.00 a day (2021 PPP) (% of population) fell 0.5 percentage points on 2023 (from 45.5% to 45%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was −0.63 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.85 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 2.1 percentage points in 2020 and the biggest yearly fall was 3 percentage points in 2004. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2015 to 2024 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 9% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

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

How it compares

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

What this measures

Poverty headcount ratio at $3.00 a day is the percentage of the population living on less than $3.00 a day at 2021 purchasing power adjusted prices. As a result of revisions in PPP exchange rates, poverty rates for individual countries cannot be compared with poverty rates reported in earlier editions.

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.

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

All 35 values

Poverty headcount ratio at $3.00 a day (2021 PPP) (% of population) in nearby economies

• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 1.4% (2021)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 2.5% (2023)
• Israel — 0.4% (2022)
• Malta — 0.4% (2023)
• Pakistan — 23% (2024)

More poverty data for Sub-Saharan Africa

• Poverty gap at $3.00 a day (2021 PPP) (%) — 17.1% (2024)
• Poverty headcount ratio at $4.20 a day (2021 PPP) (% of population) — 63.2% (2024)
• Poverty gap at $4.20 a day (2021 PPP) (%) — 27.9% (2024)
• Poverty headcount ratio at societal poverty line (% of population) — 48.2% (2024)
• Poverty headcount ratio at $8.30 a day (2021 PPP) (% of population) — 88.6% (2024)
• Poverty gap at $8.30 a day (2021 PPP) (%) — 53.1% (2024)
• Prosperity gap (average shortfall from a prosperity standard of $28/day) — 11.5 (2024)

Every indicator for Sub-Saharan Africa is on the Sub-Saharan Africa data page.

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Questions people ask

What is Sub-Saharan Africa's poverty headcount ratio at $3.00 a day (2021 PPP) (% of population)?

45% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1990?

It is down 16.5 percentage points from 61.5% in 1990. The highest value was 64.6% in 1994 and the lowest 43.9% in 2019.

Is the latest change in poverty headcount ratio at $3.00 a day (2021 PPP) (% of population) unusual for Sub-Saharan Africa?

In 2024, Sub-Saharan Africa's poverty headcount ratio at $3.00 a day (2021 PPP) (% of population) fell 0.5 percentage points on 2023 (from 45.5% to 45%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was −0.63 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.85 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SI.POV.DDAY, 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.

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