Economy · Africa ranking
Income Share of Poorest 20% by African country
Egypt has the highest income share held by the poorest fifth of any African country, at 9.7%, ahead of Algeria and Comoros.
Share of national income or consumption held by the poorest 20% of the population. 51 of 54 countries, ranked · World Bank — World Development Indicators, 2021.
Egypt
Algeria
ComorosBy region
Full ranking
| # | Country | Income Share of Poorest 20% | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Egypt | 9.7% | |
| 2 | Algeria | 9.4% | |
| 3 | Comoros | 8.8% | |
| 4 | Niger | 8.7% | |
| 5 | Guinea | 8.5% | |
| 6 | Ethiopia | 8.3% | |
| 7 | Guinea-Bissau | 7.9% | |
| 8 | Sierra Leone | 7.9% | |
| 9 | Mauritania | 7.8% | |
| 10 | Sudan | 7.8% | |
| 11 | Tunisia | 7.7% | |
| 12 | Benin | 7.6% | |
| 13 | Cote d'Ivoire | 7.6% | |
| 14 | Mali | 7.6% | |
| 15 | Nigeria | 7.5% | |
| 16 | Rwanda | 7.4% | |
| 17 | Burkina Faso | 7.3% | |
| 18 | Senegal | 7.3% | |
| 19 | Liberia | 7.2% | |
| 20 | Madagascar | 7.2% | |
| 21 | Mauritius | 7.2% | |
| 22 | Burundi | 7.1% | |
| 23 | Kenya | 7.1% | |
| 24 | Seychelles | 7.1% | |
| 25 | Malawi | 7% | |
| 26 | Chad | 6.9% | |
| 27 | Tanzania | 6.9% | |
| 28 | Togo | 6.8% | |
| 29 | Morocco | 6.7% | |
| 30 | Gambia | 6.6% | |
| 31 | Equatorial Guinea | 6.4% | |
| 32 | Sao Tome and Principe | 6.4% | |
| 33 | Uganda | 6.1% | |
| 34 | Gabon | 6% | |
| 35 | Cabo Verde | 5.7% | |
| 36 | Central African Republic | 5.6% | |
| 37 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 5.5% | |
| 38 | Cameroon | 5.4% | |
| 39 | Djibouti | 5.4% | |
| 40 | South Sudan | 4.9% | |
| 41 | Zimbabwe | 4.8% | |
| 42 | Ghana | 4.7% | |
| 43 | Mozambique | 4.7% | |
| 44 | Lesotho | 4.6% | |
| 45 | Republic of the Congo | 4.2% | |
| 46 | Zambia | 3.9% | |
| 47 | Angola | 3.8% | |
| 48 | Botswana | 3.7% | |
| 49 | Eswatini | 3.7% | |
| 50 | South Africa | 3.7% | |
| 51 | Namibia | 2.8% |
Niger
Guinea
Ethiopia
Guinea-Bissau
Sierra Leone
Mauritania
Sudan
Tunisia
Benin
Cote d'Ivoire
Mali
Nigeria
Rwanda
Burkina Faso
Senegal
Liberia
Madagascar
Mauritius
Burundi
Kenya
Seychelles
Malawi
Chad
Tanzania
Togo
Morocco
Gambia
Equatorial Guinea
Sao Tome and Principe
Uganda
Gabon
Cabo Verde
Central African Republic
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Cameroon
Djibouti
South Sudan
Zimbabwe
Ghana
Mozambique
Lesotho
Republic of the Congo
Zambia
Angola
Botswana
Eswatini
South Africa
NamibiaGet this ranking via API
One call to /v1/data returns the latest Income Share of Poorest 20% figure for every country you pass — JSON, with source metadata on each observation.
curl "https://api.africa-api.com/v1/data?metric_key=income_share_lowest_20pct&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, 2021. 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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Frequently asked questions
Which African country has the highest income share held by the poorest fifth?
Egypt has the highest income share held by the poorest fifth in Africa at 9.7% (2021), followed by Algeria and Comoros.
Which African country has the lowest income share held by the poorest fifth?
Namibia has the lowest income share held by the poorest fifth of the 51 African countries with data, at 2.8% (2015).
How many African countries report Income Share of Poorest 20% data?
51 of 54 African countries have a recent Income Share of Poorest 20% figure in the Africa API. Each value links to the country's full series with source and history.
How do I get this ranking via API?
Call GET /v1/data?metric_key=income_share_lowest_20pct&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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