Topic 14 of 18 · Country Index 2026

Poverty & Inequality

How is a country’s income shared, and how many live below a line?

Belarus is placed first of 159 countries on poverty & inequality in the Country Index 2026, and Mozambique 159th. The standing rests on 3 key statistics; the other 31 on this page are published as context, with no vote.

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Placed first · Country Index 2026Belarus

1st of 159

159countries placed
65measured, not placed
3key statistics
34statistics in all
9publishers
2023–2025the years the keys describe

01Country Index 2026

Who leads on poverty & inequality

The three countries placed highest of 159, the three placed lowest, and the country placed highest on each continent. Each position is a place in this topic’s own list, built from its key statistics.

1
Belarus
Eastern Europe
1st of 159 · 3 of 3 keys
Photo: zedlik , cropped by Jjtkk · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
2
Slovenia
Southern Europe
2nd of 159 · 3 of 3 keys
Photo: Z.K. derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY 3.0, greyscale
=3
Ukraine
Eastern Europe
Joint 3rd of 159 · 2 of 3 keys
Photo: uploaded by Chern038 · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale

Placed lowest on Poverty & Inequality

Positions out of 159. A standing is relative: it says where a country places against the others measured, not that it scored zero.

Placed first on each continent · position among all 159

02The subject

About poverty & inequality

How a country's income is shared and how many live below a line: the headcount at each poverty threshold, how far below it those people fall, what share reaches the poorest fifth, and how much of a country's human development is lost to the gaps inside it. Separate from Development because a country can raise its average while the distance between its top and bottom widens.

An average income says almost nothing about a country until you know how it is spread. Two economies with the same output per person can be entirely different places to be poor in: one where the bottom fifth take a tenth of everything and one where they take a twentieth, one where almost nobody lives below an international poverty line and one where a third do. This subject holds the readings that tell them apart — the headcount at each poverty threshold, how far below it those people fall, the concentration of income, the share reaching the poorest fifth, and how much of a country’s human development is lost to the gaps inside it.

It is kept apart from Development & Human Capital deliberately. Development asks whether a country is getting richer, healthier and better schooled on average; this asks who is getting it. The two move independently often enough that folding them together would hide the interesting cases: a country can climb the development table for a decade while the distance between its top and its bottom widens.

What this topic does not measure

These figures come from household surveys, which most countries run every few years rather than every year. So the subject's standing is read from each country's most recent survey of the last decade, with the year of every reading shown, rather than from one year in which only a minority of countries were surveyed. Two readings decide it — how unequally income is shared and how deep extreme poverty runs — because the other poverty and inequality measures here largely repeat one of those two or repeat average income, which already counts under Economy and Development. Countries with no survey in the last decade have no standing here. What work pays is under Work & Labour; wealth, as opposed to income, has no global source this site is permitted to republish.

03The evidence

The 3 statistics that decide it

These are the only statistics that place countries on poverty & inequality — one vote each. Every number is somebody else’s research, reproduced without adjustment; the ordering on top is this site’s.

Key 1 of 3
Share of Population Unable to Afford a Healthy Diet
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Why it is a key: The share of people whose income cannot buy the cheapest healthy diet available where they live — a poverty line priced in food rather than in dollars.
Edition used
2025data for 2025
Countries
145
Publisher’s rank
None — values only
Licence
CC BY 4.0
Most affected, 2025 editionSouth Sudan
Every country, every edition
Key 2 of 3
Gini Index
World Bank Group
Why it is a key: How evenly income or consumption is shared across a whole population — the distance between rich and poor that an average income cannot show.
Edition used
2023data for 2023
Countries
159
Publisher’s rank
None — values only
Licence
CC BY 4.0
Most affected, 2023 editionColombia
Every country, every edition
Key 3 of 3
Poverty Gap at $3.00 a Day
World Bank Group
Why it is a key: How far below the $3.00-a-day extreme poverty line people fall, averaged over the whole population — how many are poor and how poor they are, in one reading.
Edition used
2023data for 2023
Countries
159
Publisher’s rank
None — values only
Licence
CC BY 4.0
Most affected, 2023 editionUganda
Every country, every edition
How the keys combine
Each country’s value on each key becomes its place in that key’s own field, as a share of the field. The shares are averaged, one vote per key, and only the order that produces is published.
The method in full

04Every placed country

Poverty & Inequality on a map

Darker is placed higher. Hover a country for its position, or select it to open its page. Below the map, each continent’s median position — half its placed countries sit at or above it, so lower is better.

All regions

1st159thNot placed · 65 countries with too few key statisticsNo data

1st of 5 continents
Europe
32nd
median position, of 159 · 40 of its 49 countries placed
HighestBelarus
2nd of 5 continents
Asia
57th
median position, of 159 · 37 of its 52 countries placed
HighestUnited Arab Emirates
3rd of 5 continents
Oceania
72nd
median position, of 159 · 8 of its 21 countries placed
HighestKiribati
4th of 5 continents
Americas
100th
median position, of 159 · 25 of its 48 countries placed
HighestCanada
5th of 5 continents
Africa
128th
median position, of 159 · 49 of its 55 countries placed
HighestTunisia
Every region

All 21 sub-regions on Poverty & Inequality, best median first

1Polynesiamedian 15thfrom 2 of 7Tonga15
2Western Europemedian 21stfrom 7 of 9Netherlands5
3Northern Europemedian 22ndfrom 10 of 13Iceland8
4Eastern Europemedian 24thfrom 10 of 10Belarus1
5Northern Americamedian 28thfrom 2 of 4Canada28
6Eastern Asiamedian 39thfrom 5 of 8Taiwan=19
7Central Asiamedian 42ndfrom 4 of 5Kazakhstan14
8Southern Asiamedian 46thfrom 8 of 9Bhutan10
9Northern Africamedian 47thfrom 4 of 6Tunisia43
10Southern Europemedian 52ndfrom 13 of 17Slovenia2
11Western Asiamedian 57thfrom 12 of 19United Arab Emirates=3
12South-eastern Asiamedian 66thfrom 8 of 11Thailand27
13Micronesiamedian 72ndfrom 3 of 7Kiribati12
14Caribbeanmedian 76thfrom 5 of 24Saint Lucia60
15Melanesiamedian 80thfrom 2 of 5Fiji80
16South Americamedian 101stfrom 10 of 12Uruguay78
17Central Americamedian 115thfrom 8 of 8Belize75
18Western Africamedian 119thfrom 16 of 16Guinea81
19Middle Africamedian 136thfrom 8 of 9Gabon102
20Eastern Africamedian 142ndfrom 16 of 19Mauritius61
21Southern Africamedian 147thfrom 5 of 5Namibia143

05The whole field

Where all 159 countries stand

In order, best first. A row resting on fewer keys rests on less evidence: a country needs 2 of the 3 to be placed at all. “=” marks a position shared with another country. Select a country to see the working behind its standing.

The full Country Index 2026

Search this list

Showing 25 of 159 countries placed on Poverty & Inequality

65 countries measured in the index but not placed on poverty & inequality

Each holds readings on too few of this topic’s key statistics to be placed. Their profiles still show every reading the publishers give.

06Beyond the headline

A different story

The countries placed furthest above and below their overall position in the Country Index 2026. Both positions are compared as a share of their own field, because 50th of 193 and 50th of 174 are not the same showing.

Placed higher on Poverty & Inequality than overall

Placed lower on Poverty & Inequality than overall

07Context, no vote

Also measured under poverty & inequality

31 more statistics on the same subject, published in full and deliberately given no vote — keeping them out is what stops the standing drifting toward whichever kind of statistic was imported most. Select a row for its leader and trend.

All statistics

Exclusion by Socio-Economic GroupV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 174 countries · 2023V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg1742023
Most affected:Central African Republic
V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 34 editions, data 1990–2023
Chart and every country The 2023 dataset
Actual Individual Consumption per Capita (PPP)World Bank Group · 173 countries · 2021World Bank Group1732021
Current leader:United States
World Bank Group · 2 editions, data 2017–2021
Chart and every country The 2021 dataset
Poverty Headcount at $3.00 a Day, Line-up EstimatesWorld Bank Group · 171 countries · 2024World Bank Group1712024
Most affected:South Sudan
World Bank Group · 44 editions, data 1981–2024
Chart and every country The 2024 dataset
Coefficient of Human InequalityUNDP Human Development Report Office · 169 countries · 2023UNDP Human Development Report Office1692023
Most affected:Somalia
UNDP Human Development Report Office · 14 editions, data 2010–2023
Chart and every country The 2023 dataset
Inequality-adjusted Human Development IndexUNDP Human Development Report Office · 169 countries · 2023UNDP Human Development Report Office1692023
Current leader:Iceland
UNDP Human Development Report Office · 14 editions, data 2010–2023
Chart and every country The 2023 dataset
Coefficient of Variation of Habitual Caloric ConsumptionFAO · 164 countries · 2024FAO1642024
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) · 24 editions, data 2001–2024
Chart and every country The 2024 dataset
Multidimensional Poverty MeasureWorld Bank Group · 158 countries · 2025World Bank Group1582025
Most affected:DR Congo
World Bank Group · 1 edition
Chart and every country The 2025 dataset
Intergenerational Persistence in EducationWorld Bank Group · 153 countries · 2017World Bank Group1532017
Most affected:Bulgaria
World Bank Group · 1 edition
Chart and every country The 2017 dataset
Prevalence of Moderate or Severe Food InsecurityFAO · 135 countries · 2024FAO1352024
Most affected:South Sudan
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) · 10 editions, data 2015–2024
Chart and every country The 2024 dataset
Adequacy of Social Protection and Labour BenefitsWorld Bank Group · 123 countries · 2023World Bank Group1232023
Current leader:Laos
World Bank Group · 1 edition
Chart and every country The 2023 dataset
Severe Child Food Poverty, Children Aged 6–23 MonthsUNICEF · 113 countries · 2024UNICEF1132024
Most affected:Somalia
UNICEF · 1 edition
Chart and every country The 2024 dataset
Working Poverty RateILO · 113 countries · 2025ILO1132025
Most affected:Madagascar
International Labour Organization (ILO) · 26 editions, data 2000–2025
Chart and every country The 2025 dataset
Wealth Parity Index, Lower Secondary CompletionUIS · 111 countries · 2024UIS1112024
Current leader:Azerbaijan
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) · 1 edition
Chart and every country The 2024 dataset
Global Multidimensional Poverty IndexOPHI · 109 countries · 2025OPHI1092025
Most affected:Chad
Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) · 8 editions
Chart and every country The 2025 dataset
Income Growth of the Poorest 40%World Bank Group · 89 countries · 2024World Bank Group892024
Current leader:Romania
World Bank Group · 11 editions
Chart and every country The 2024 dataset
Gini Index of Disposable Income (SWIID)Frederick Solt, University of Iowa · 79 countries · 2023Frederick Solt, University of Iowa792023
Most affected:Puerto Rico
Frederick Solt, University of Iowa · 44 editions, data 1980–2023
Chart and every country The 2023 dataset
Gini Index of Monthly EarningsILO · 75 countries · 2024ILO752024
Most affected:Lesotho
International Labour Organization (ILO) · 16 editions, data 2009–2024
Chart and every country The 2024 dataset
Low Pay RateILO · 71 countries · 2024ILO712024
Most affected:Tanzania
International Labour Organization (ILO) · 18 editions, data 2006–2024
Chart and every country The 2024 dataset
Income Share Held by Lowest 20%World Bank Group · 60 countries · 2023World Bank Group602023
Current leader:India
World Bank Group · 22 editions, data 2002–2023
Chart and every country The 2023 dataset
Income Share Held by Richest 10%World Bank Group · 60 countries · 2023World Bank Group602023
Most affected:Colombia
World Bank Group · 22 editions, data 2002–2023
Chart and every country The 2023 dataset
Median Daily Income or Consumption per PersonWorld Bank Group · 60 countries · 2023World Bank Group602023
Current leader:Luxembourg
World Bank Group · 22 editions, data 2002–2023
Chart and every country The 2023 dataset
Palma RatioWorld Bank Group · 60 countries · 2023World Bank Group602023
Most affected:Colombia
World Bank Group · 22 editions, data 2002–2023
Chart and every country The 2023 dataset
Poverty Headcount Ratio at $3.00 a DayWorld Bank Group · 60 countries · 2023World Bank Group602023
Most affected:Uganda
World Bank Group · 22 editions, data 2002–2023
Chart and every country The 2023 dataset
Poverty Headcount Ratio at $4.20 a DayWorld Bank Group · 60 countries · 2023World Bank Group602023
Most affected:Uganda
World Bank Group · 22 editions, data 2002–2023
Chart and every country The 2023 dataset
Poverty Headcount Ratio at $8.30 a DayWorld Bank Group · 60 countries · 2023World Bank Group602023
Most affected:Uganda
World Bank Group · 22 editions, data 2002–2023
Chart and every country The 2023 dataset
Poverty Severity (Squared Poverty Gap) at $3.00 a DayWorld Bank Group · 60 countries · 2023World Bank Group602023
Most affected:Uganda
World Bank Group · 22 editions, data 2002–2023
Chart and every country The 2023 dataset
Prosperity GapWorld Bank Group · 60 countries · 2023World Bank Group602023
Most affected:Uganda
World Bank Group · 22 editions, data 2002–2023
Chart and every country The 2023 dataset
Societal Poverty RateWorld Bank Group · 60 countries · 2023World Bank Group602023
Most affected:Uganda
World Bank Group · 22 editions, data 2002–2023
Chart and every country The 2023 dataset

Describing the shape of a country (3)

These have no better end — more is not better or worse, only different — so they could not place countries even as keys.

Poverty Headcount at National Poverty LinesWorld Bank Group · 160 countries · 2025World Bank Group1602025
Highest:South Sudan
World Bank Group · 1 edition
Chart and every country The 2025 dataset
Cost of a Healthy DietFAO · 159 countries · 2025FAO1592025
Highest:Japan
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) · 9 editions, data 2017–2025
Chart and every country The 2025 dataset
Catastrophic Out-of-Pocket Health SpendingWorld Bank Group · 139 countries · 2019World Bank Group1392019
Highest:Georgia
World Bank Group · 1 edition
Chart and every country The 2019 dataset

08Keep reading

Explore further

All topics

The most-read profiles, on Poverty & Inequality

How Poverty & Inequality relates to the other topics

Moves most with: Development & Human CapitalCountries place similarly on both. (0.75, 157 countries)
Moves most with: Health & WellbeingCountries place similarly on both. (0.74, 158 countries)
Moves least with: Environment & SustainabilityCountries placed high on one tend to place low on the other. (-0.61, 154 countries)

Rank correlation of the two topics’ positions across the countries placed on both: 1 means the same order, 0 no link. Every pair of topics

The other topics

The full Country Index 2026

09Method

Questions, method and sources

Which country is placed first on poverty & inequality in the Country Index 2026?

Belarus, of the 159 countries given a standing on Poverty & Inequality. The standing is this site’s own, built from 3 key statistics by 9 publishers; it is not a rank any of those publishers printed.

Which country is placed last on poverty & inequality?

Mozambique, 159th of 159. A standing says how a country places against the others measured alongside it, so it moves when they move.

Which statistics decide the Poverty & Inequality standing?

Share of Population Unable to Afford a Healthy Diet, Gini Index, Poverty Gap at $3.00 a Day. Each is read at one edition and turned into a place within its own field; the places are averaged with one vote each. The other 31 statistics on this topic are published as context and have no vote.

Why is a country not placed on poverty & inequality?

A country needs readings on at least 2 of the 3 key statistics before it is placed. 65 countries in the Country Index fall short on this topic; every reading the publishers do give for them is still on their profiles.

Are these the publishers’ own rankings?

The underlying numbers and any printed ranks are the publishers’, reproduced without adjustment on each statistic’s page. The standing that combines them is this site’s, and the average it is ordered by is never published — only the position it produces.

How the Poverty & Inequality standing is decided, step by step

A standing is a place in a list, not a mark out of anything. This one is part of the Country Index 2026, and it is worked out like this.

A few key indicators decide it; the rest are context. 3 indicators on this topic are keys and 31 are charted alongside them without a vote. That split is the point: if every statistic voted, importing five more of one kind would quietly change what the topic is about.
Each key is read at one edition. ⚠ The keys behind this standing do not all describe the same year — they run from 2023 to 2025, because publishers release on their own schedules. Read the standing as “how this country places now”, not as a snapshot of one year.
Every country’s published value is turned into a place within that one key’s own field, and then expressed as a share of that field — how far down this key’s list the country sits, rather than how many countries are above it. Keys where a higher published number is worse (terrorism, hunger, disaster risk) are turned round first, so the good end is always the same end.
Dividing by the field first is the whole reason this works. A place carries the size of its list inside it: 22nd of 44 and 108th of 215 are the same showing, and averaging the numbers 22 and 108 says loudly that they are not. Fields on this site run from about 44 countries to about 215, so averaging raw places would reward a country for happening to be measured in small ones. Dividing each place by its own field removes the size and leaves only the showing.
The shares are averaged, plainly. One key, one vote — no key is weighted above another, because any weighting would be this site’s opinion presented as a measurement. Countries are then put in order by that average, and the average itself is never published. It is our arithmetic with nothing anchoring it, so printing it would invite it to be read as a measurement somebody made. The position it produces, the band, and the keys it was built from are all published instead — every one of them checkable against the tables on this page.
A country needs 2 of this topic’s 3 keys — half, rounded up, and never fewer than 2. A standing built from one reading, printed beside one built from four, is two different things sharing a column heading. 159 countries clear the bar here.
A key has to earn its vote every edition. It must measure at least 120 countries (below that it starts measuring who was surveyed rather than the world), it must not have more than 10% of its field tied at either end, and it must not repeat another key in the same topic — Spearman correlation above 0.92 counts as repeating. A topic needs at least 2 surviving keys to place anyone at all; this one has 3.
A standing is relative, and the grouping is ours. It says where a country places against the others measured alongside it, so it moves when they move. The publishers listed on this page did not agree to be read together, and each measures its subject its own way: the underlying numbers are theirs, the ordering on top is this site’s — the same method as the rest of the Country Index, applied to one subject instead of all of them.

The key statistics and their licences

Share of Population Unable to Afford a Healthy Diet — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), CC BY 4.0
Gini Index — World Bank Group, CC BY 4.0
Poverty Gap at $3.00 a Day — World Bank Group, CC BY 4.0

The other 31 statistics on this page come from 9 publishers, each named beside its numbers, with every edition and licence on the datasets pages.

The standing itself is part of the Country Index 2026, published under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Photographs

The countries placed highest, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.

Belarus — zedlik , cropped by Jjtkk, CC BY-SA 3.0
Slovenia — Z.K. derivative work: Jjtkk, CC BY 3.0
Ukraine — uploaded by Chern038, CC BY-SA 3.0

Cite this page

Nations Inquiry (2026). Poverty & Inequality: country standings, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/topics/poverty

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