Poverty: Share of population living on less than $4.20 a day in United Kingdom
United Kingdom: Poverty: Share of population living on less than $4.20 a day was 0.5% in 2021. ▲ Rising
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $4.20 a day in United Kingdom, 1968–2021
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
United Kingdom recorded 0.5% for poverty: share of population living on less than $4.20 a day in 2021.
That represents a change of down 16.7% on the previous year and unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, poverty: share of population living on less than $4.20 a day in United Kingdom peaked at 0.6% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0.1%, in 1971.
That places United Kingdom 94th out of 120 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 54 years of available data.
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $4.20 a day in United Kingdom, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | 0.2% | — |
| 1969 | 0.3% | +50.0% |
| 1970 | 0.2% | -33.3% |
| 1971 | 0.1% | -50.0% |
| 1972 | 0.4% | +300.0% |
| 1973 | 0.1% | -75.0% |
| 1974 | 0.3% | +200.0% |
| 1975 | 0.2% | -33.3% |
| 1976 | 0.1% | -50.0% |
| 1977 | 0.3% | +200.0% |
| 1978 | 0.1% | -66.7% |
| 1979 | 0.1% | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 0.1% | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 0.2% | +100.0% |
| 1982 | 0.2% | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 0.2% | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 0.2% | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 0.2% | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 0.3% | +50.0% |
| 1987 | 0.1% | -66.7% |
| 1988 | 0.2% | +100.0% |
| 1989 | 0.2% | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 0.2% | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 0.2% | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 0.3% | +50.0% |
| 1993 | 0.3% | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 0.4% | +33.3% |
| 1995 | 0.4% | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 0.3% | -25.0% |
| 1997 | 0.3% | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 0.4% | +33.3% |
| 1999 | 0.4% | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 0.3% | -25.0% |
| 2001 | 0.4% | +33.3% |
| 2002 | 0.4% | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 0.4% | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 0.3% | -25.0% |
| 2005 | 0.4% | +33.3% |
| 2006 | 0.3% | -25.0% |
| 2007 | 0.4% | +33.3% |
| 2008 | 0.5% | +25.0% |
| 2009 | 0.4% | -20.0% |
| 2010 | 0.4% | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 0.5% | +25.0% |
| 2012 | 0.5% | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 0.3% | -40.0% |
| 2014 | 0.4% | +33.3% |
| 2015 | 0.4% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 0.4% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 0.4% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 0.5% | +25.0% |
| 2019 | 0.5% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 0.6% | +20.0% |
| 2021 | 0.5% | -16.7% |
United Kingdom compared with similar countries
- United Kingdom's 0.5% is below the median for high income countries, which is 0.6%, 86% of the median. (42 countries reporting)
- United Kingdom's 0.5% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 0.6%, 86% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Poverty: Share of population living on less than $4.20 a day in United Kingdom changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | +300.0% | 0.1% | 0.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 2 |
| 1970s | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.4% | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.3% | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.6% | 2 |
Countries ranked near United Kingdom
More reference data data for United Kingdom
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 3.13 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 3.97 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 13.26 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.01 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 13.26 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 10.5 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 6.51 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 15.81 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 59.34 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 5.48 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is poverty: share of population living on less than $4.20 a day in United Kingdom?
- Poverty: share of population living on less than $4.20 a day in United Kingdom was 0.5% in 2021, 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 United Kingdom?
- The highest recorded value was 0.6% in 2020.
- What is the lowest poverty: share of population living on less than $4.20 a day recorded in United Kingdom?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1% in 1971.
- How does United Kingdom rank for poverty: share of population living on less than $4.20 a day?
- United Kingdom ranks 94th out of 120 countries with data for 2021.
- Is poverty: share of population living on less than $4.20 a day rising or falling in United Kingdom?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United Kingdom 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 — 54 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 $4.20 per day.