Over the Last Four Decades, Extreme Poverty has Plummeted in China
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In China in 1981, 97% of people in the countryside lived in extreme poverty. By 2020, the share was well below 1%. Large economic growth made it possible for hundreds of millions of people to leave extreme poverty behind, first in cities and then in the countryside.
Extreme poverty is defined as living below the International Poverty Line of $2.15/day. This is adjusted for both inflation and cost of living differences between countries — it’s the equivalent of what $2.15 could buy you in the USA.
Dataset
Entity | Year | $2.15 a day - Share of population in poverty |
---|---|---|
China | 1981 | 91.62324 |
China | 1984 | 81.15976 |
China | 1987 | 67.497826 |
China | 1990 | 71.96234 |
China | 1993 | 62.705994 |
China | 1996 | 48.140484 |
China | 1999 | 45.965843 |
China | 2002 | 36.503 |
China | 2005 | 22.117523 |
China | 2008 | 17.958988 |
China | 2010 | 13.902283 |
China | 2011 | 10.225214 |
China | 2012 | 8.49286 |
China | 2013 | 2.8830345 |
China | 2014 | 2.0791492 |
China | 2015 | 1.1696801 |
China | 2016 | 0.83326894 |
China | 2017 | 0.675714 |
China | 2018 | 0.42781484 |
China | 2019 | 0.14242858 |
China | 2020 | 0.11077428 |
China (rural) | 1981 | 96.87142 |
China (rural) | 1984 | 88.66636 |
China (rural) | 1987 | 78.37542 |
China (rural) | 1990 | 83.70145 |
China (rural) | 1993 | 77.35049 |
China (rural) | 1996 | 61.915047 |
China (rural) | 1999 | 62.647022 |
China (rural) | 2002 | 54.85098 |
China (rural) | 2005 | 35.628475 |
China (rural) | 2008 | 31.937206 |
China (rural) | 2010 | 26.347506 |
China (rural) | 2011 | 19.879072 |
China (rural) | 2012 | 16.97438 |
China (rural) | 2013 | 5.318997 |
China (rural) | 2014 | 3.7446043 |
China (rural) | 2015 | 2.0908825 |
China (rural) | 2016 | 1.6088012 |
China (rural) | 2017 | 1.3158911 |
China (rural) | 2018 | 0.8826282 |
China (rural) | 2019 | 0.2601941 |
China (rural) | 2020 | 0.028306887 |
China (urban) | 1981 | 70.78442 |
China (urban) | 1984 | 54.857426 |
China (urban) | 1987 | 33.536007 |
China (urban) | 1990 | 39.305775 |
China (urban) | 1993 | 27.030962 |
China (urban) | 1996 | 18.75625 |
China (urban) | 1999 | 14.801963 |
China (urban) | 2002 | 7.100867 |
China (urban) | 2005 | 3.8544457 |
China (urban) | 2008 | 1.9017113 |
China (urban) | 2010 | 1.0656971 |
China (urban) | 2011 | 0.7666846 |
China (urban) | 2012 | 0.58971804 |
China (urban) | 2013 | 0.7239685 |
China (urban) | 2014 | 0.67515016 |
China (urban) | 2015 | 0.43105838 |
China (urban) | 2016 | 0.2418872 |
China (urban) | 2017 | 0.21137574 |
China (urban) | 2018 | 0.11373901 |
China (urban) | 2019 | 0.06492065 |
China (urban) | 2020 | 0.16255738 |
Data sources
What you should know about this indicator - Extreme poverty here is defined as living below the International Poverty Line of $2.15 per day. - The data is measured in international-$ at 2017 prices – this adjusts for inflation and for differences in the cost of living between countries. - Depending on the country and year, the data relates to income measured after taxes and benefits, or to consumption, per capita. 'Per capita' means that the income of each household is attributed equally to each member of the household (including children). - Non-market sources of income, including food grown by subsistence farmers for their own consumption, are taken into account.