Poverty: Share of population living on less than $1 a day in Australia
Australia: Poverty: Share of population living on less than $1 a day was 0.6% in 2020. ▼ Falling
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $1 a day in Australia, 1981–2020
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2020, poverty: share of population living on less than $1 a day in Australia stood at 0.6%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 50.0% on the previous year and up 100.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, poverty: share of population living on less than $1 a day in Australia peaked at 0.7% in 2003 and was at its lowest, 0.3%, in 2008.
Australia ranks 28th of 120 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 13 years of available data.
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $1 a day in Australia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 0.4% | — |
| 1985 | 0.5% | +25.0% |
| 1989 | 0.4% | -20.0% |
| 1995 | 0.6% | +50.0% |
| 2001 | 0.6% | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 0.7% | +16.7% |
| 2004 | 0.5% | -28.6% |
| 2008 | 0.3% | -40.0% |
| 2010 | 0.3% | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 0.4% | +33.3% |
| 2016 | 0.3% | -25.0% |
| 2018 | 0.4% | +33.3% |
| 2020 | 0.6% | +50.0% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 0.6% is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.1%, 5.2× the median. (42 countries reporting)
- Australia's 0.6% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.0%, 855.9× the median. (11 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.5% | 3 |
| 1990s | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 1 |
| 2000s | 0.5% | 0.3% | 0.7% | 4 |
| 2010s | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.4% | 4 |
| 2020s | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More reference data data for Australia
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.21 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 28.02 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 38.41 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 38.41 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 4.07 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 6.14 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 118.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 170.29 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 13.9 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is poverty: share of population living on less than $1 a day in Australia?
- Poverty: share of population living on less than $1 a day in Australia was 0.6% in 2020, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest poverty: share of population living on less than $1 a day recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 0.7% in 2003.
- What is the lowest poverty: share of population living on less than $1 a day recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.3% in 2008.
- How does Australia rank for poverty: share of population living on less than $1 a day?
- Australia ranks 28th out of 120 countries with data for 2020.
- Is poverty: share of population living on less than $1 a day rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 100.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Poverty: Share of population living on less than $1 a day. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 13 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Percentage of population living in households with an income or consumption below $1 per day.