World Bank Group · Income Growth of the Poorest 40%
Income growth of the poorest 40% by country
Are the incomes of the poorest 40% growing, and faster than everyone else's?
Of the 89 countries compared in the 2024 edition, Romania had the highest reading, 14.513%, and Mozambique had the lowest reading, -4.185%. In the middle country the figure was 1.841%. Among the 35 countries measured in every edition since 2014, the middle one moved from 5.241% to 2.753%.
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Part ofPoverty & Inequality
Income growth of the poorest 40% · the 2024 edition
Context statistic
Highest of 89Romania
14.513%01the 2024 edition · values only
Who leads
The three countries at the highest end of 89 compared, the three at the other end, and the first on each continent.
1Photo: Madalin Pentelie · CC0, greyscale
2Photo: Lošmi derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
3Photo: (Jan Mehlich) · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
Lowest in the 2024 edition
Mozambique-4.185%
Argentina-3.981%
Mali-3.327%
Where a country sits says how it compares with the others measured, and nothing about why.
02Every measured country
Income growth of the poorest 40% on a map
Each country is shaded by its value, in five groups holding the same number of countries. Hover a country for its value, or select it to open its profile. Below the map, each continent’s middle country.
Darker is a higher value — the better end.
- -4.185–0.135%
- 0.215–1.495%
- 1.518–2.777%
- 2.834–4.130%
- 4.419–14.513%
- No reading in the 2024 edition (37 measured in an earlier edition)
- Europe
3.530%
the middle country, of 37 measured · 49 members
Romania14.513%
France-0.621%Highest and lowest reading in Europe.
- Asia
2.777%
the middle country, of 15 measured · 52 members
China5.423%
Iran-0.119%Highest and lowest reading in Asia.
- Americas
1.010%
the middle country, of 18 measured · 48 members
Bolivia4.419%Argentina-3.981%Highest and lowest reading in Americas.
- Africa
0.126%
the middle country, of 18 measured · 55 members
Benin4.836%Mozambique-4.185%Highest and lowest reading in Africa.
- Oceania
1 of 21 measured — too few for a middle: Australia.
Australia-0.490%Highest and lowest reading in Oceania.
- Every region
18 sub-regions, highest middle country first
- Southern Europe
3.959%
the middle country, of 11 measured · 17 members
Serbia12.868%
Italy2.376%Highest and lowest reading in Southern Europe.
- Eastern Europe
3.830%
the middle country, of 10 measured · 10 members
Romania14.513%
Moldova1.302%Highest and lowest reading in Eastern Europe.
- South-eastern Asia
2.777%
the middle country, of 5 measured · 11 members
Malaysia3.221%
Thailand1.495%Highest and lowest reading in South-eastern Asia.
- Western Europe
2.328%
the middle country, of 7 measured · 9 members
Netherlands2.856%France-0.621%Highest and lowest reading in Western Europe.
- Northern Europe
1.703%
the middle country, of 9 measured · 13 members
Lithuania9.653%
Norway0.087%Highest and lowest reading in Northern Europe.
- Central America
1.001%
the middle country, of 5 measured · 8 members
Mexico3.641%
Panama-1.036%Highest and lowest reading in Central America.
- Western Africa
0.810%
the middle country, of 10 measured · 16 members
Benin4.836%Mali-3.327%Highest and lowest reading in Western Africa.
- South America
0.586%
the middle country, of 9 measured · 12 members
Bolivia4.419%Argentina-3.981%Highest and lowest reading in South America.
- Eastern Africa
-1.184%
the middle country, of 5 measured · 19 members
Uganda0.215%Mozambique-4.185%Highest and lowest reading in Eastern Africa.
- Australia and New Zealand
1 of 2 measured — too few for a middle: Australia.
Australia-0.490%Highest and lowest reading in Australia and New Zealand.
- Caribbean
2 of 24 measured — too few for a middle: Dominican Republic, Jamaica.
Dominican Republic1.630%
Jamaica-3.302%Highest and lowest reading in Caribbean.
- Central Asia
2 of 5 measured — too few for a middle: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan.
Kazakhstan3.716%
Kyrgyzstan2.230%Highest and lowest reading in Central Asia.
- Eastern Asia
2 of 8 measured — too few for a middle: China, South Korea.
China5.423%
South Korea5.112%Highest and lowest reading in Eastern Asia.
- Middle Africa
1 of 9 measured — too few for a middle: Chad.
Chad0.010%Highest and lowest reading in Middle Africa.
- Northern Africa
2 of 6 measured — too few for a middle: Egypt, Tunisia.
Tunisia0.786%
Egypt-1.748%Highest and lowest reading in Northern Africa.
- Northern America
2 of 4 measured — too few for a middle: Canada, United States.
Canada1.610%
United States1.454%Highest and lowest reading in Northern America.
- Southern Asia
2 of 9 measured — too few for a middle: Iran, Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka1.740%Iran-0.119%Highest and lowest reading in Southern Asia.
- Western Asia
4 of 19 measured — too few for a middle: Cyprus, Georgia, Israel, Türkiye.
Cyprus3.839%
Israel1.841%Highest and lowest reading in Western Asia.
03The whole field at once
The spread
89 countries, one dot each, on one scale — further right is a higher value. Half the countries are above 1.841%; a quarter are above 3.686%, and a quarter below 0.409%. The bar in each row marks that continent’s middle country.
04All 126 ever measured
Every country
In order, highest value first. No rank or position is shown: too many countries share the same value for an order to mean anything. This is a growth rate, not a level: a poor country can grow fast from a low base and a rich one slowly from a high one. Each country's spell covers its own survey years, so two rows can describe different periods — the survey years are printed on every row, and no position is shown. Compare the whole population's growth beside it: where the bottom 40% grew faster, growth was shared.
Showing 25 of 126 countries
Values for the 2024 edition. The change column compares the 2024 edition with 2023 only; the sparkline covers the recent editions.
052014–2024 · 11 editions
Over time
Each point is one release of the World Bank's Global Database of Shared Prosperity, and each release describes a different five-year spell. A falling line means a later spell was worse than an earlier one, not that incomes fell in a single year.
- the middle country
- the middle half of countries
- the middle of the 35 countries measured every time
- each continent’s middle country
The same, year by year
| Year | Countries | Middle country | Middle half | Measured every time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 89 | 1.841% | 0.409% – 3.686% | 2.753% |
| 2023 | 80 | 1.915% | 0.472% – 4.309% | 1.921% |
| 2022 | 79 | 2.141% | 0.733% – 5.125% | 2.141% |
| 2021 | 87 | 2.519% | 0.908% – 4.946% | 2.569% |
| 2020 | 91 | 1.801% | 0.584% – 3.909% | 2.201% |
| 2019 | 93 | 1.320% | 0.306% – 3.213% | 2.409% |
| 2018 | 84 | 1.474% | 0.341% – 3.543% | 2.765% |
| 2017 | 92 | 1.619% | 0.194% – 4.530% | 3.788% |
| 2016 | 79 | 1.558% | -0.145% – 4.743% | 3.905% |
| 2015 | 85 | 1.558% | -0.709% – 4.279% | 3.701% |
| 2014 | 66 | 3.696% | 1.762% – 5.785% | 5.241% |
062023 → 2024
Who rose and fell
The biggest changes in value between the two newest editions. Places are shown second, because they also move when other countries do.
Improved most
before → after- Kazakhstan-0.298% → 3.716%+4.014
Brazil-0.848% → 2.300%+3.147- Mexico0.701% → 3.641%+2.940
Colombia-2.389% → 0.369%+2.758
Georgia0.196% → 2.753%+2.557
Declined most
before → after
Bulgaria10.131% → 6.631%−3.499- United States4.271% → 1.454%−2.817
Slovakia4.474% → 1.685%−2.789
Luxembourg4.485% → 2.328%−2.157
Vietnam4.695% → 2.608%−2.087
74 countries were measured in both 2023 and 2024. The field changed from 80 to 89 countries, so a place can move for reasons that have nothing to do with the country itself.
07Across every edition
Income growth of the poorest 40% in records
The extremes of the statistic. A record reached by more than one country names none of them.
Highest reading on record
15.290%
Annualized growth in real income or consumption per person of the bottom 40% (%)
Lowest reading on record
-11.730%
Annualized growth in real income or consumption per person of the bottom 40% (%)
Biggest improvement between editions
+10.151
-8.349% → 1.801%
Biggest decline between editions
−7.558
12.220% → 4.662%
Most improved since first measured
+15.125
-10.025% → 5.100%
At the top most often
5 of 11
editions, alone at the first-listed end
08The measure
About income growth of the poorest 40%
This measures how fast the incomes of each country's poorest 40% grew — the annual growth in their real consumption or income per person between two household surveys about five years apart. It is the World Bank's measure of shared prosperity: whether growth is reaching the people at the bottom.
What the number is: Annualized growth in real income or consumption per person of the bottom 40% (%).
09Where it fits
Connections
Its part in the Country Index, the statistics whose values line up most closely with it across countries, and others on the same subject.
In the Country Index
Context, with no vote
This statistic is published in full under Poverty & Inequality, but does not help decide any Country Index standing.
Moves with
Where income growth of the poorest 40% is higher, these tend to be higher too.
- Sex Ratio at BirthUN DESA Population Division · 89 countries in commonρ 0.59
- Median Age of the PopulationUN DESA Population Division · 89 countries in commonρ 0.54
- Population Aged 65 and OverUN DESA Population Division · 89 countries in commonρ 0.50
Moves against
Where income growth of the poorest 40% is higher, these tend to be lower.
- Crude Birth RateUN DESA Population Division · 89 countries in commonρ −0.55
- Population Under Age 15UN DESA Population Division · 89 countries in commonρ −0.54
- Firms Experiencing Internet DisruptionsWorld Bank Group · 83 countries in commonρ −0.52
Rank correlation (ρ, from −1 to 1) across countries, on each statistic’s newest edition, out of 268 statistics sharing at least 80 countries with this one. Two statistics that move together do not cause each other.
10Keep reading
Explore further
The subject
More from World Bank Group
11Questions
Income growth of the poorest 40%: questions and answers
Which country has the highest income growth of the poorest 40%?
Romania, at 14.513%, among the 89 countries compared in the 2024 edition.
Which country has the lowest income growth of the poorest 40%?
Mozambique, at -4.185%, among the 89 countries compared in the 2024 edition.
How many countries does the Income Growth of the Poorest 40% cover?
89 in the 2024 edition, and 126 at least once across all editions. The number measured varies from 66 to 93 between editions.
What is the world average income growth of the poorest 40%?
This site does not calculate a world average, which would depend on how countries are weighted. In the middle country of the 89 compared in the 2024 edition, the figure was 1.841%.
Is this World Bank Group’s own ranking?
No ranking is shown. World Bank Group publishes values only, and too many countries share the same value for an ordering to mean anything, so none is derived.
How often is the Income Growth of the Poorest 40% published?
This site holds 11 editions, describing 2014 to 2024.
Where does the data come from, and can I download it?
From World Bank Group, under CC BY 4.0. The World Bank's Global Database of Shared Prosperity, read from the Bank's workbook of every release rather than its indicator API, which rounds the figures to two decimals. Every edition is on this site’s Datasets pages as a full table, and downloads as a CSV file with every value unrounded.
12Method
Sources, method and citation
Source
Income Growth of the Poorest 40% — World Bank Group
The World Bank's Global Database of Shared Prosperity, read from the Bank's workbook of every release rather than its indicator API, which rounds the figures to two decimals.
Newest edition
Report year 2024Data year not recorded
Cite the source as: World Bank. Global Database of Shared Prosperity. Washington, DC: World Bank Group.
Licence: CC BY 4.0, checked 2026-09-29.
How this page reads the numbers
- No rank or position is shown: World Bank Group publishes values only, and too many countries share the same value for an ordering to mean anything.
- Which end is better follows the publisher’s own reading of the measure.
- A country is named at an end only when it holds that value alone. Where several share it, the page says how many and names none first.
- The file gives each country’s most recent reading, so the rows are from different years. Readings from before 2014 are listed but left out of every comparison on this page.
- Values are stored exactly as published and trimmed only for display. “The middle country” is the median of the countries measured, not a world average.
The file itself, column by column — where it came from, what each column holds, and every edition as a CSV — is on its dataset page.
Photographs
The countries at the top of this statistic, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.
- Romania — Madalin Pentelie, CC0
- Serbia — Lošmi derivative work: Jjtkk, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Lithuania — (Jan Mehlich), CC BY-SA 3.0
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). Income growth of the poorest 40% by country: Income Growth of the Poorest 40%, data from World Bank Group. https://nationsinquiry.com/statistics/bottom-40-income-growth