Poverty: Share of population living on less than $4.20 a day in Uganda

Uganda: Poverty: Share of population living on less than $4.20 a day was 76.3% in 2019. ▼ Falling

Latest (2019)
76.3%
Change on year
up 0.9%
World rank
7th
of 120 countries
All-time high
90.3%
in 1992
All-time low
73.6%
in 2012
Years of data
10
1989–2019

Poverty: Share of population living on less than $4.20 a day in Uganda, 1989–2019

0204060801001989200420191989: 84.8 %1992: 90.3 %1996: 89.3 %1999: 90.1 %2002: 88 %2005: 84.2 %2009: 78.7 %2012: 73.6 %2016: 75.6 %2019: 76.3 %

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

Analysis

Uganda recorded 76.3% for poverty: share of population living on less than $4.20 a day in 2019.

The figure is up 0.9% on the previous year and down 3.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, poverty: share of population living on less than $4.20 a day in Uganda peaked at 90.3% in 1992 and was at its lowest, 73.6%, in 2012.

That places Uganda 7th out of 120 countries with data for 2019, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 10 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 84.8% 84.8% 84.8% 1
1990s 89.9% 89.3% 90.3% 3
2000s 83.6% 78.7% 88.0% 3
2010s 75.2% 73.6% 76.3% 3

Countries ranked near Uganda

  1. 4 Madagascar 83.9% compare
  2. 5 Zambia 81.4% compare
  3. 6 Niger 79.7% compare
  4. 8 Tanzania 70.0% compare
  5. 9 Kenya 65.5% compare
  6. 10 Burkina Faso 64.6% compare

See the full ranking of 120 places →

More reference data data for Uganda

All data for Uganda →

Frequently asked questions

What is poverty: share of population living on less than $4.20 a day in Uganda?
Poverty: share of population living on less than $4.20 a day in Uganda was 76.3% in 2019, 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 $4.20 a day recorded in Uganda?
The highest recorded value was 90.3% in 1992.
What is the lowest poverty: share of population living on less than $4.20 a day recorded in Uganda?
The lowest recorded value was 73.6% in 2012.
How does Uganda rank for poverty: share of population living on less than $4.20 a day?
Uganda ranks 7th out of 120 countries with data for 2019.
Is poverty: share of population living on less than $4.20 a day rising or falling in Uganda?
Over the last ten years it is down 3.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Uganda 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 $4.20 a day. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 10 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 $4.20 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 $4.20 per day.