Poverty: Share of population living on less than $10 a day in China

China: Poverty: Share of population living on less than $10 a day was 31.3% in 2022. ▼ Falling

Latest (2022)
31.3%
Change on year
up 1.8%
World rank
57th
of 120 countries
All-time high
100.0%
in 1981
All-time low
30.8%
in 2021
Years of data
23
1981–2022

Poverty: Share of population living on less than $10 a day in China, 1981–2022

4060801001981200120221981: 100 %1984: 100 %1987: 100 %1990: 99.7 %1993: 99.2 %1996: 97.9 %1999: 96.6 %2002: 93.1 %2005: 87.6 %2008: 80.4 %2010: 74.3 %2011: 70.9 %2012: 66.5 %2013: 61.1 %2014: 56.5 %2015: 52.3 %2016: 48.6 %2017: 46 %2018: 41.9 %2019: 38.7 %2020: 40.1 %2021: 30.8 %2022: 31.3 %

Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

The most recent figure for poverty: share of population living on less than $10 a day in China is 31.3%, measured in 2022.

That represents a change of up 1.8% on the previous year and down 52.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, poverty: share of population living on less than $10 a day in China peaked at 100.0% in 1981 and was at its lowest, 30.8%, in 2021.

That places China 57th out of 120 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 23 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 3
1990s 98.4% 96.6% 99.7% 4
2000s 87.0% 80.4% 93.1% 3
2010s 55.7% 38.7% 74.3% 10
2020s 34.1% 30.8% 40.1% 3

Countries ranked near China

  1. 54 Moldova 34.9% compare
  2. 55 Jamaica 31.6% compare
  3. 56 Tunisia 31.5% compare
  4. 58 Kazakhstan 31.3% compare
  5. 59 Vietnam 31.1% compare
  6. 60 Albania 31.1% compare

See the full ranking of 120 places →

More reference data data for China

All data for China →

Frequently asked questions

What is poverty: share of population living on less than $10 a day in China?
Poverty: share of population living on less than $10 a day in China was 31.3% in 2022, 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 $10 a day recorded in China?
The highest recorded value was 100.0% in 1981.
What is the lowest poverty: share of population living on less than $10 a day recorded in China?
The lowest recorded value was 30.8% in 2021.
How does China rank for poverty: share of population living on less than $10 a day?
China ranks 57th out of 120 countries with data for 2022.
Is poverty: share of population living on less than $10 a day rising or falling in China?
Over the last ten years it is down 52.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this China 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 $10 a day. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

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About this data

Indicator
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $10 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 $10 per day.