Top 10 Poorest Countries
This map will take you through the top 10 countries with the highest poverty rates.
The poverty rate is determined by counting the amount of people who are living under the poverty line. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) prepared the numbers used in this map. According to the OECD, the poverty line is "determined as half the total population's median household income" (Poverty Rate By Country 2021, 2021) .
South Sudan
South Sudan is the poorest country in the world with a poverty rate of 82.3% in 2021 ( Poverty Rate By Country 2021, 2021) . As a result of a civil war, they have a very weak and underdeveloped economy, which is the main reason why the country has such a large poverty rate (South Sudan Population 2021 (Demographics, Maps, Graphs), 2021) .
Equatorial Guinea
The second poorest country with a poverty rate of 76.8% (Poverty Rate By Country 2021, 2021) . The reason in which they are so poor is due to political corruption and not properly distributing income, which negatively alters its possible success (Staff Reports, 2017 ).
Madagascar
The third poorest country is Madagascar with a poverty rate of 70.70% ( Poverty Rate By Country 2021, 2021) . Because the economy has stalled and the lack of education and health care available has pushed them further into poverty (Madagascar Population 2021 (Demographics, Maps, Graphs), 2021)
Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau is the fourth poorest country in the world with a poverty rate of 69.30% ( Poverty Rate By Country 2021, 2021) . Ever since 1974, Guinea-Bissau has endured political instability which has resulted in lack of development and therefore the high rates of poverty. Their chronic malnutrition rates are 25% (Guinea-Bissau | World Food Programme, 2020) .
Eritrea
Eritrea is the fifth poorest country in the world with a poverty rate of 69.00% ( Poverty Rate By Country 2021, 2021) . The high poverty rate is a result of drought, hunger and reoccurring conflict (Rena, 2009) .
Sao Tome and Principe
Sao Tome and Principe is the 6th poorest country in the world with a poverty rate of 66.70% ( Poverty Rate By Country 2021, 2021) . The main causes of the poverty rate is dependence on foreign aid, poor economic growth and natural disasters (Staff Reports, 2017) .
Burundi
The seventh poorest country in the world is Burundi with a poverty rate of 64.90% ( Poverty Rate By Country 2021, 2021) . The main cause of poverty in this country is the civil war that was fought until 2005. Another main reason is that the prices of food have dramatically increased with the increase in population (Thelwell, 2017) .
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo has the 8th highest poverty rate in the world with 63.90% ( Poverty Rate By Country 2021, 2021) . The five main reasons that relate to the poverty rate in DRC is the inadequate use of resources, the lack of infrastructure, the food insecurity, the conflict and the political corruption that occurs within the country (Staff Reports, 2018) .
Central African Republic
The 9th poorest country in the world in again in Africa, and it is Central African Republic. The country has a poverty rate of 62.00% ( Poverty Rate By Country 2021, 2021) . The main causes for this high poverty rate is the poor agriculture conditions and the poorly-constructed medical system (Borgen Project, 2017) .
Guatemala
Guatemala is the only country in the top ten poorest countries that is not in Africa. Guatemala has a poverty rate of 59.30% ( Poverty Rate By Country 2021, 2021) . The causes for poverty in this country are civil war, social inequality and forced labor (Poverty in Guatemala, 2017) .