Economy · Africa ranking
Extreme Poverty Rate by African country
Democratic Republic of the Congo has the highest share of the population in extreme poverty of any African country, at 85.3%, ahead of Mozambique and South Sudan.
Share of the population living on less than $2.15 a day at 2017 international prices. 51 of 54 countries, ranked · World Bank — World Development Indicators, 2020.
Latest available year varies by country (2011–2024); each row shows its year, and values more than 5 years behind the most recent are marked ⚠.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Mozambique
South SudanBy region
Full ranking
| # | Country | Extreme Poverty Rate | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 85.3% | |
| 2 | Mozambique | 81.4% | |
| 3 | South Sudan | 76.5% ⚠ ’16 | |
| 4 | Malawi | 75.4% ⚠ ’19 | |
| 5 | Burundi | 74.2% | |
| 6 | Zambia | 71.7% | |
| 7 | Central African Republic | 71.6% | |
| 8 | Madagascar | 69.2% | |
| 9 | Niger | 60.5% | |
| 10 | Uganda | 59.8% ⚠ ’19 | |
| 11 | Tanzania | 51.3% ⚠ ’18 | |
| 12 | Zimbabwe | 49.2% ⚠ ’19 | |
| 13 | Kenya | 45.5% | |
| 14 | Eswatini | 44.5% ⚠ ’16 | |
| 15 | Burkina Faso | 42.1% | |
| 16 | Lesotho | 41.9% ⚠ ’17 | |
| 17 | Nigeria | 41.8% | |
| 18 | Sierra Leone | 41.5% ⚠ ’18 | |
| 19 | Guinea-Bissau | 39.9% | |
| 20 | Chad | 39.5% | |
| 21 | Angola | 39.3% ⚠ ’18 | |
| 22 | Republic of the Congo | 39.2% ⚠ ’11 | |
| 23 | Ghana | 39% ⚠ ’16 | |
| 24 | Ethiopia | 38.6% | |
| 25 | Rwanda | 38.6% | |
| 26 | Mali | 36.1% | |
| 27 | Togo | 34.7% | |
| 28 | Liberia | 33.6% ⚠ ’16 | |
| 29 | Benin | 27.2% | |
| 30 | Cameroon | 26.7% | |
| 31 | Djibouti | 25.4% ⚠ ’17 | |
| 32 | Namibia | 22.9% ⚠ ’15 | |
| 33 | Gambia | 22% | |
| 34 | Botswana | 21.4% ⚠ ’15 | |
| 35 | Cote d'Ivoire | 20.8% | |
| 36 | Senegal | 17.9% | |
| 37 | South Africa | 17.4% | |
| 38 | Cabo Verde | 14.6% ⚠ ’15 | |
| 39 | Sao Tome and Principe | 13% ⚠ ’17 | |
| 40 | Guinea | 11.7% ⚠ ’18 | |
| 41 | Mauritania | 10.2% ⚠ ’19 | |
| 42 | Sudan | 10.1% ⚠ ’14 | |
| 43 | Equatorial Guinea | 8.8% | |
| 44 | Comoros | 5.1% | |
| 45 | Gabon | 3.8% ⚠ ’17 | |
| 46 | Morocco | 3.7% ⚠ ’13 | |
| 47 | Egypt | 1.4% | |
| 48 | Seychelles | 0.7% ⚠ ’18 | |
| 49 | Tunisia | 0.7% | |
| 50 | Mauritius | 0.5% ⚠ ’17 | |
| 51 | Algeria | 0% ⚠ ’11 |
Malawi
Burundi
Zambia
Central African Republic
Madagascar
Niger
Uganda
Tanzania
Zimbabwe
Kenya
Eswatini
Burkina Faso
Lesotho
Nigeria
Sierra Leone
Guinea-Bissau
Chad
Angola
Republic of the Congo
Ghana
Ethiopia
Rwanda
Mali
Togo
Liberia
Benin
Cameroon
Djibouti
Namibia
Gambia
Botswana
Cote d'Ivoire
Senegal
South Africa
Cabo Verde
Sao Tome and Principe
Guinea
Mauritania
Sudan
Equatorial Guinea
Comoros
Gabon
Morocco
Egypt
Seychelles
Tunisia
Mauritius
AlgeriaGet this ranking via API
One call to /v1/data returns the latest Extreme Poverty Rate figure for every country you pass — JSON, with source metadata on each observation.
curl "https://api.africa-api.com/v1/data?metric_key=poverty_headcount_215_pct&latest=true&country_codes=NG,KE,ZA,EG" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $AFRICA_API_KEY"Cite or republish this ranking
Data: Africa API — World Bank — World Development Indicators, 2020. Free to republish with a link to this page. Pull the live figures via the API above so your version never goes stale.
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Drop this chart into your article or site — it stays live as the data updates. Paste the snippet anywhere HTML is allowed (a citation link is included).
Frequently asked questions
Which African country has the highest share of the population in extreme poverty?
Democratic Republic of the Congo has the highest share of the population in extreme poverty in Africa at 85.3% (2020), followed by Mozambique and South Sudan.
Which African country has the lowest share of the population in extreme poverty?
Algeria has the lowest share of the population in extreme poverty of the 51 African countries with data, at 0% (2011).
How many African countries report Extreme Poverty Rate data?
51 of 54 African countries have a Extreme Poverty Rate figure in the Africa API, each from the latest year available for that country (which can differ between countries, here 2011–2024). Every value links to its full series with source and history.
How do I get this ranking via API?
Call GET /v1/data?metric_key=poverty_headcount_215_pct&latest=true with the country codes you need and a free Africa API key — the response returns the latest value per country as JSON.
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