Which country in Asia has the most extreme poverty?

Pakistan has the most extreme poverty in Asia: 23.0% under $3.00 a day (2024). Next come Syria (18.0% under $3.00 a day) and Myanmar (10.3% under $3.00 a day).

Which country in Asia has the least extreme poverty?

The United Arab Emirates, with 0.0% under $3.00 a day (2018).

What is the typical extreme poverty of a country in Asia?

The median of the 33 countries in Asia is 1.6% under $3.00 a day: half are above it, half below. The median, not the average, because a few countries at the top would drag an average far above almost everyone.

Where do the figures come from?

The share of people living on less than $3.00 a day — the international poverty line, at 2021 prices adjusted for what money buys in each country. Source: World Bank, mostly 2022. Only independent states are ranked; territories are listed separately. A country’s continent follows Natural Earth; the handful of island states it files under the open ocean are placed by their UN subregion.

Countries in Asia by extreme poverty

The share of people living on less than $3.00 a day — the international poverty line, at 2021 prices adjusted for what money buys in each country. 33 countries in Asia, highest first. World Bank, mostly 2022

See it on the map

Map: Extreme poverty — Asia — **0.1%0.4%**1%3%**12%39%**No data

Highest

23.0%

Pakistan

Median country

1.6%

half above, half below

Lowest

0.0%

United Arab Emirates

Countries in Asia by extreme poverty, World Bank, mostly 2022
#	Country	% under $3.00 a day	Year	Region
1	Pakistan	23.0%	2024	Southern Asia
2	Syria	18.0%	2022	Western Asia
3	Myanmar	10.3%	2017	South-Eastern Asia
4	Laos	7.1%	2024	South-Eastern Asia
5	Tajikistan	6.1%	2024	Central Asia
6	Bangladesh	5.9%	2022	Southern Asia
7	Lebanon	5.8%	2022	Western Asia
=8	India	5.3%	2022	Southern Asia
=8	Philippines	5.3%	2023	South-Eastern Asia
10	Georgia	4.2%	2024	Western Asia
11	Indonesia	4.0%	2025	South-Eastern Asia
12	Sri Lanka	2.7%	2019	Southern Asia
13	Iran	2.5%	2023	Southern Asia
14	Nepal	2.4%	2022	Southern Asia
15	Uzbekistan	2.3%	2025	Central Asia
16	Kyrgyzstan	2.2%	2024	Central Asia
17	Vietnam	1.6%	2022	South-Eastern Asia
18	Japan	1.2%	2020	Eastern Asia
19	Armenia	0.8%	2024	Western Asia
20	Iraq	0.5%	2023	Western Asia
=21	Israel	0.4%	2022	Western Asia
=21	Mongolia	0.4%	2022	Eastern Asia
23	Turkey	0.2%	2023	Western Asia
24	South Korea	0.1%	2021	Eastern Asia
=25	Bhutan	0.0%	2022	Southern Asia
=25	China	0.0%	2022	Eastern Asia
=25	Cyprus	0.0%	2023	Western Asia
=25	Kazakhstan	0.0%	2021	Central Asia
=25	Malaysia	0.0%	2021	South-Eastern Asia
=25	Maldives	0.0%	2019	Southern Asia
=25	Qatar	0.0%	2017	Western Asia
=25	Thailand	0.0%	2024	South-Eastern Asia
=25	United Arab Emirates	0.0%	2018	Western Asia

No World Bank figure for 15 countries: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brunei, Cambodia, Jordan, Kuwait, North Korea, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Taiwan, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Yemen.

Territories and other places

Not ranked: dependencies of the states above, places whose status is disputed. Highest first.

Place	% under $3.00 a day	Status
Palestine	2.1%	Status disputed

Questions

Which country in Asia has the most extreme poverty?: Pakistan has the most extreme poverty in Asia: 23.0% under $3.00 a day (2024). Next come Syria (18.0% under $3.00 a day) and Myanmar (10.3% under $3.00 a day).
Which country in Asia has the least extreme poverty?: The United Arab Emirates, with 0.0% under $3.00 a day (2018).
What is the typical extreme poverty of a country in Asia?: The median of the 33 countries in Asia is 1.6% under $3.00 a day: half are above it, half below. The median, not the average, because a few countries at the top would drag an average far above almost everyone.
Where do the figures come from?: The share of people living on less than $3.00 a day — the international poverty line, at 2021 prices adjusted for what money buys in each country. Source: World Bank, mostly 2022. Only independent states are ranked; territories are listed separately. A country’s continent follows Natural Earth; the handful of island states it files under the open ocean are placed by their UN subregion.

Source: World Bank (CC BY 4.0). Figures more than 10 years older than the newest are left out rather than shown beside current ones. Countries sharing a value share a rank. All sources.