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

Latest (2020)
0.6%
Change on year
up 50.0%
World rank
28th
of 120 countries
All-time high
0.7%
in 2003
All-time low
0.3%
in 2008
Years of data
13
1981–2020

Poverty: Share of population living on less than $1 a day in Australia, 1981–2020

00.20.40.61981200020201981: 0.4 %1985: 0.5 %1989: 0.4 %1995: 0.6 %2001: 0.6 %2003: 0.7 %2004: 0.5 %2008: 0.3 %2010: 0.3 %2014: 0.4 %2016: 0.3 %2018: 0.4 %2020: 0.6 %

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.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest 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

  1. 25 El Salvador 0.7% compare
  2. 26 Italy 0.7% compare
  3. 27 Lithuania 0.6% compare
  4. 28 Germany 0.6% compare
  5. 30 Gambia 0.6% compare
  6. 31 Sweden 0.5% compare

See the full ranking of 120 places →

More reference data data for Australia

All data for Australia →

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

Indicator
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $1 a day
Unit
%
Source
World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
120 places, 2,148 data points, 1963–2025
Last refreshed

Percentage of population living in households with an income or consumption below $1 per day.