Sub-Saharan Africa: Prosperity gap (average shortfall from a prosperity standard of $28/day)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Sub-Saharan Africa's prosperity gap (average shortfall from a prosperity standard of $28/day) fell 0.9% on 2023 (from 11.6 to 11.5).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was −1.5% and a typical year strayed about 2% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 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 4.4% in 2020 and the biggest yearly fall was 5.5% in 2007. 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 4% 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

The average shortfall from a prosperity standard of $28 per day (adjusted for differences in purchasing power parity across countries). It is measured as the average factor by which incomes fall short of $28.

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

All 35 values

Prosperity gap (average shortfall from a prosperity standard of $28/day) in nearby economies

• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 3.9 (2021)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 3.3 (2023)
• Israel — 1.2 (2022)
• Malta — 0.7 (2023)
• Pakistan — 7.2 (2024)

More poverty data for Sub-Saharan Africa

• Poverty headcount ratio at $3.00 a day (2021 PPP) (% of population) — 45% (2024)
• 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)

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

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Sub-Saharan Africa's prosperity gap (average shortfall from a prosperity standard of $28/day)?

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

How has it changed since 1990?

It is down 33.14% from 17.2 in 1990 (1.18% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 18.6 in 1994 and the lowest 11.4 in 2018.

Is the latest change in prosperity gap (average shortfall from a prosperity standard of $28/day) unusual for Sub-Saharan Africa?

In 2024, Sub-Saharan Africa's prosperity gap (average shortfall from a prosperity standard of $28/day) fell 0.9% on 2023 (from 11.6 to 11.5). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was −1.5% and a typical year strayed about 2% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 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.SPR.PGAP, 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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