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ILO · Working Poverty Rate
Working poverty by country
What share of people in work still live in extreme poverty?
Of the 113 countries compared in 2025, Bhutan had the lowest reading, 0.007%, and Madagascar had the highest reading, 86.016%. In the middle country the figure was 4.885%. Among the 113 countries measured in every edition since 2000, the middle one moved from 25.783% to 4.885%.
Part ofWork & Labour
Working poverty · 2025
Context statistic
Lowest of 113Bhutan
0.007%012025 · values only
Who leads
The three countries at the lowest end of 113 compared, the three at the other end, and the first on each continent.
1Photo: VIkramjit Kakati derivative work: ויקיג'אנקי · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
2Photo: Strokin.ru derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY 3.0, greyscale
3Photo: Marina Balasini & Juan Montiel from Argentina, Argentina · CC BY 2.0, greyscale
Highest in 2025
Madagascar86.016%
DR Congo80.251%
Mozambique79.612%
Where a country sits says how it compares with the others measured, and nothing about why.
02Every measured country
Working poverty on a map
Each country is shaded by its value, in five groups holding the same number of countries. Hover a country for its value, or select it to open its profile. Below the map, each continent’s middle country.
Darker is a lower value — the better end.
- 35.468–86.016%
- 12.128–34.346%
- 1.876–11.862%
- 0.100–1.615%
- 0.007–0.088%
- No reading in 2025 (4 measured in an earlier edition)
- Europe
0.094%
the middle country, of 8 measured · 49 members
Russia0.010%
North Macedonia0.725%Lowest and highest reading in Europe.
- Americas
0.813%
the middle country, of 25 measured · 48 members
Argentina0.029%
Haiti43.095%Lowest and highest reading in Americas.
- Asia
1.383%
the middle country, of 31 measured · 52 members
Bhutan0.007%
Yemen66.532%Lowest and highest reading in Asia.
- Africa
32.380%
the middle country, of 46 measured · 55 members
3 share 0.100%
Madagascar86.016%Lowest and highest reading in Africa.
- Oceania
3 of 21 measured — too few for a middle: Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands.
Fiji1.924%
Solomon Islands43.333%Lowest and highest reading in Oceania.
- Every region
16 sub-regions, lowest middle country first
- Southern Europe
0.100%
the middle country, of 5 measured · 17 members
Serbia0.044%North Macedonia0.725%Lowest and highest reading in Southern Europe.
- Western Asia
0.135%
the middle country, of 8 measured · 19 members
Armenia0.047%Yemen66.532%Lowest and highest reading in Western Asia.
- Caribbean
0.386%
the middle country, of 5 measured · 24 members
Trinidad and Tobago0.100%Haiti43.095%Lowest and highest reading in Caribbean.
- South America
0.686%
the middle country, of 12 measured · 12 members
Argentina0.029%
Venezuela29.503%Lowest and highest reading in South America.
- Central America
2.059%
the middle country, of 8 measured · 8 members
2 share 0.100%
Honduras12.417%Lowest and highest reading in Central America.
- Southern Asia
2.396%
the middle country, of 8 measured · 9 members
Bhutan0.007%
Pakistan15.096%Lowest and highest reading in Southern Asia.
- Central Asia
2.430%
the middle country, of 5 measured · 5 members
Kazakhstan0.100%
Tajikistan5.138%Lowest and highest reading in Central Asia.
- South-eastern Asia
3.513%
the middle country, of 8 measured · 11 members
2 share 0.100%
Timor-Leste42.926%Lowest and highest reading in South-eastern Asia.
- Southern Africa
14.475%
the middle country, of 5 measured · 5 members
Namibia11.862%
Lesotho33.633%Lowest and highest reading in Southern Africa.
- Western Africa
24.000%
the middle country, of 16 measured · 16 members
Cabo Verde5.625%
Niger49.834%Lowest and highest reading in Western Africa.
- Middle Africa
40.096%
the middle country, of 7 measured · 9 members
Gabon2.862%DR Congo80.251%Lowest and highest reading in Middle Africa.
- Eastern Africa
48.902%
the middle country, of 14 measured · 19 members
Mauritius0.100%Madagascar86.016%Lowest and highest reading in Eastern Africa.
- Eastern Asia
2 of 8 measured — too few for a middle: China, Mongolia.
2 share 0.100%
2 share 0.100%
Lowest and highest reading in Eastern Asia.
- Eastern Europe
3 of 10 measured — too few for a middle: Belarus, Moldova, Russia.
Russia0.010%
Belarus0.100%Lowest and highest reading in Eastern Europe.
- Melanesia
3 of 5 measured — too few for a middle: Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands.
Fiji1.924%Solomon Islands43.333%Lowest and highest reading in Melanesia.
- Northern Africa
4 of 6 measured — too few for a middle: Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia.
2 share 0.100%
Morocco2.803%Lowest and highest reading in Northern Africa.
03The whole field at once
The spread
113 countries, one dot each, on one scale — further right is a higher value. Half the countries are above 4.885%; a quarter are above 32.076%, and a quarter below 0.291%. The bar in each row marks that continent’s middle country.
Log scale: each gridline is ten times the one before, so countries of very different sizes can be seen on one line.
04All 117 ever measured
Every country
In order, lowest value first. No rank or position is shown: too many countries share the same value for an order to mean anything. Poverty is measured for a household and employment for a person, so this counts workers who live in a poor household — not workers on a poverty wage. A sole earner supporting a large family can appear here on a decent wage. No position is shown: twenty countries share the same floor value.
Showing 25 of 117 countries
Values for 2025. The change column compares 2025 with 2024 only; the sparkline covers the recent editions.
052000–2025 · 26 editions
Over time
Each point is one reference year from 2000. The long decline tracks the global fall in extreme poverty rather than any change in how work is paid.
- the middle country
- the middle half of countries
- the middle of the 113 countries measured every time
- each continent’s middle country
The same, year by year
| Year | Countries | Middle country | Middle half | Measured every time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 113 | 4.885% | 0.291% – 32.076% | 4.885% |
| 2024 | 113 | 4.873% | 0.332% – 33.514% | 4.873% |
| 2023 | 114 | 5.168% | 0.421% – 33.643% | 5.548% |
| 2022 | 116 | 5.442% | 0.333% – 34.476% | 5.686% |
| 2021 | 117 | 6.476% | 0.293% – 34.776% | 6.847% |
| 2020 | 117 | 7.816% | 0.327% – 34.553% | 7.905% |
| 2019 | 117 | 5.527% | 0.295% – 30.538% | 5.775% |
| 2018 | 117 | 5.772% | 0.495% – 32.571% | 6.438% |
| 2017 | 117 | 7.200% | 0.736% – 32.084% | 7.467% |
| 2016 | 117 | 6.912% | 0.965% – 34.867% | 8.206% |
| 2015 | 117 | 8.010% | 0.928% – 35.376% | 8.592% |
| 2014 | 117 | 8.198% | 1.031% – 34.013% | 8.517% |
| 2013 | 117 | 9.802% | 0.967% – 34.112% | 10.430% |
| 2012 | 117 | 11.080% | 0.986% – 36.431% | 12.868% |
| 2011 | 117 | 12.146% | 1.381% – 37.503% | 13.334% |
| 2010 | 117 | 12.759% | 1.884% – 40.744% | 13.475% |
| 2009 | 117 | 12.680% | 2.135% – 44.374% | 13.990% |
| 2008 | 117 | 14.182% | 2.493% – 45.912% | 16.126% |
| 2007 | 117 | 15.656% | 2.594% – 46.082% | 17.093% |
| 2006 | 117 | 16.684% | 2.781% – 46.956% | 18.081% |
| 2005 | 117 | 19.675% | 3.183% – 50.362% | 23.285% |
| 2004 | 117 | 21.893% | 4.178% – 51.081% | 24.140% |
| 2003 | 117 | 23.194% | 5.820% – 55.631% | 23.780% |
| 2002 | 117 | 23.431% | 5.855% – 56.550% | 24.475% |
| 2001 | 117 | 23.520% | 6.170% – 57.702% | 25.476% |
| 2000 | 117 | 24.763% | 6.940% – 58.143% | 25.783% |
062024 → 2025
Who rose and fell
The biggest changes in value between the two newest editions. Places are shown second, because they also move when other countries do.
Improved most
before → after
Rwanda44.624% → 42.301%−2.323- Niger51.872% → 49.834%−2.038
Senegal19.241% → 17.218%−2.023
Ethiopia29.989% → 28.232%−1.757- Timor-Leste44.590% → 42.926%−1.664
Worsened most
before → after- Yemen64.525% → 66.532%+2.007
Syria15.927% → 17.897%+1.970- Haiti42.115% → 43.095%+0.980
- Venezuela28.894% → 29.503%+0.609
Central African Republic69.309% → 69.682%+0.373
113 countries were measured in both 2024 and 2025.
07Across every edition
Working poverty in records
The extremes of the statistic. A record reached by more than one country names none of them.
Highest reading on record
95.113%
Employed people living in extreme poverty (%)
Lowest reading on record
0.002%
Employed people living in extreme poverty (%)
Biggest improvement between editions
−23.157
51.979% → 28.822%
Biggest decline between editions
+16.990
47.819% → 64.809%
Most improved since first measured
−87.734
90.172% → 2.438%
At the top most often
16 of 26
editions, alone at the first-listed end
08The measure
About working poverty
The working poverty rate is the share of people who have a job and are still living in extreme poverty. It answers the question an unemployment rate cannot — whether work is enough.
What the number is: Employed people living in extreme poverty (%).
09Where it fits
Connections
Its part in the Country Index, the statistics whose values line up most closely with it across countries, and others on the same subject.
In the Country Index
Context, with no vote
This statistic is published in full under Work & Labour, but does not help decide any Country Index standing.
Moves with
Where working poverty is higher, these tend to be higher too.
- Global Multidimensional Poverty IndexOPHI · 91 countries in commonρ 0.85
- Prevalence of UndernourishmentFAO · 106 countries in commonρ 0.81
- Under-Five Mortality RateKeyUN IGME · 113 countries in commonρ 0.81
Moves against
Where working poverty is higher, these tend to be lower.
- GDP per Capita (PPP)KeyWorld Bank Group · 110 countries in commonρ −0.87
- Access to ElectricityWorld Bank Group · 113 countries in commonρ −0.86
- Inequality-adjusted Human Development IndexUNDP Human Development Report Office · 106 countries in commonρ −0.86
Rank correlation (ρ, from −1 to 1) across countries, on each statistic’s newest edition, out of 102 statistics sharing at least 80 countries with this one. Two statistics that move together do not cause each other.
11Keep reading
Explore further
The subject
The countries at either end
12Questions
Working poverty: questions and answers
Which country has the lowest working poverty?
Bhutan, at 0.007%, among the 113 countries compared in 2025.
Which country has the highest working poverty?
Madagascar, at 86.016%, among the 113 countries compared in 2025.
How many countries does the Working Poverty Rate cover?
113 in 2025, and 117 at least once across all editions. The number measured varies from 113 to 117 between editions.
What is the world average working poverty?
This site does not calculate a world average, which would depend on how countries are weighted. In the middle country of the 113 compared in 2025, the figure was 4.885%.
Is this International Labour Organization (ILO)’s own ranking?
No ranking is shown. International Labour Organization (ILO) publishes values only, and too many countries share the same value for an ordering to mean anything, so none is derived.
How often is the Working Poverty Rate published?
This site holds 26 editions, describing 2000 to 2025.
Where does the data come from, and can I download it?
From International Labour Organization (ILO), under CC BY 4.0. SDG indicator 1.1.1, read from ILOSTAT directly (SDG_0111_SEX_AGE_RT). Every edition is available on this site’s Datasets pages as a full table, unrounded.
13Method
Sources, method and citation
Source
Working Poverty Rate — International Labour Organization (ILO)
SDG indicator 1.1.1, read from ILOSTAT directly (SDG_0111_SEX_AGE_RT).
Newest edition
Report year 2025Data year 2025
Cite the source as: International Labour Organization. ILOSTAT. Geneva: ILO.
Licence: CC BY 4.0, checked 2026-09-10.
How this page reads the numbers
- No rank or position is shown: International Labour Organization (ILO) publishes values only, and too many countries share the same value for an ordering to mean anything.
- Which end is better follows the publisher’s own reading of the measure.
- A country is named at an end only when it holds that value alone. Where several share it, the page says how many and names none first.
- Values are stored exactly as published and trimmed only for display. “The middle country” is the median of the countries measured, not a world average.
The full note on this data
26 reference years (2000–2025), covering 113 to 117 countries, SDG indicator 1.1.1 read from ILOSTAT directly (SDG_0111_SEX_AGE_RT), with the female, male and youth figures stored beside the headline. The share of EMPLOYED people aged 15 and over living below the international extreme-poverty line. ⚠ It answers what an unemployment rate cannot: whether having work is enough to escape poverty. A country can have almost nobody unemployed and a large figure here. ⚠ POVERTY IS MEASURED AT THE HOUSEHOLD LEVEL AND WORK AT THE INDIVIDUAL LEVEL, so this counts workers who LIVE in a poor household, not workers paid a poverty wage — a well-paid sole earner supporting many dependants can appear. ⚠ NO POSITION IS DERIVED: twenty countries share exactly 0.1%, which is 17.7% of the field, so ordering them would invent a distinction the data does not contain. Same call as youth-literacy.
Photographs
The countries at the top of this statistic, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). Working poverty by country: Working Poverty Rate, data from International Labour Organization (ILO). https://nationsinquiry.com/statistics/working-poverty