Countries in North America 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. 14 countries in North America, highest first. World Bank, mostly 2024
Median country
1.3%
half above, half below| # | Country | % under $3.00 a day | Year | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Honduras | 15.7% | 2024 | Central America |
| 2 |  Guatemala | 9.7% | 2023 | Central America |
| 3 |  El Salvador | 4.6% | 2023 | Central America |
| 4 |  Panama | 3.1% | 2024 | Central America |
| 5 |  Barbados | 1.7% | 2016 | Caribbean |
| 6 |  Mexico | 1.6% | 2024 | Central America |
| 7 |  Jamaica | 1.4% | 2021 | Caribbean |
| 8 |  United States | 1.1% | 2024 | Northern America |
| 9 |  Belize | 1.0% | 2018 | Central America |
| =10 |  Costa Rica | 0.8% | 2025 | Central America |
| =10 |  Dominican Republic | 0.8% | 2024 | Caribbean |
| =10 |  Grenada | 0.8% | 2018 | Caribbean |
| 13 |  Canada | 0.3% | 2022 | Northern America |
| 14 |  Saint Lucia | 0.1% | 2015 | Caribbean |
No World Bank figure for 9 countries: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Cuba, Dominica, Haiti, Nicaragua, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago.
Questions
- Which country in North America has the most extreme poverty?
- Honduras has the most extreme poverty in North America: 15.7% under $3.00 a day (2024). Next come Guatemala (9.7% under $3.00 a day) and El Salvador (4.6% under $3.00 a day).
- Which country in North America has the least extreme poverty?
- Saint Lucia, with 0.1% under $3.00 a day (2015).
- What is the typical extreme poverty of a country in North America?
- The median of the 14 countries in North America is 1.3% 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 2024. 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.