African nations continue to dominate the ranking of the poorest countries in the world based on the latest data from the World Bank……CONTINUE READING>>>>>>
We all have preconceptions about places. Take Ethiopia, for example. As children of the eighties, Kia and I were only too aware of the struggles Ethiopia has faced historically: political unrest, civil war and, of course, famine.
It was easy then to imagine a vast desolate dust bowl ahead of our visit in 2017.
Ethiopia is perceived by many as a representation of wider Africa: still developing, still struggling. In reality, it is a land of lush mountains, dazzling architecture and jaw-dropping natural wonders.
There is poverty, but there is also hope.
Our visit prompted us to ask if Ethiopia is still ranked as one of the poorest countries in the world. Despite plunging into yet another civil war which has left hundreds of thousands of people dead, the latest data from the World Bank shows that Ethiopia currently ranks 26th.
Which is the world’s poorest country?
Burundi, a land-locked and densely populated country in East Africa, is the world’s poorest country. Over 70% of the country’s 12.1 million people live in poverty. Recently, the country has also witnessed deadly attacks from anti-government rebels.
Burundi is followed by the Central African Republic, South Sudan, DR Congo and Mozambique. The richest countries are Luxembourg, Singapore, Ireland, Norway and Qatar.
People at a market in Burundi, one of the poorest countries in the world
Burundi is one of the poorest countries in the world
Soberingly, 19 of the 20 poorest countries are all located in Africa. The first non-African country on the list is Afghanistan, ranked 10th.
The World Bank ranks the poorest countries in the world using GDP per capita based on purchasing power parity (PPP).
The actual purchasing power of any currency is the quantity of that currency needed to buy a specified unit of a good or a basket of common goods and services. PPP is determined in each country based on its relative cost of living and inflation rates.
Therefore, using GDP PPP, it is possible to compare disparate regions and rank the poorest countries in the world. International dollars are used as a global currency for comparison.
Lalibela in Ethiopia
Ethiopia is the world’s 26th poorest country
Poorest countries in the world
The World Bank does not have sufficient data for a number of countries including Andorra, Cuba, Liechtenstein, Monaco, North Korea and Syria, but otherwise ranks the poorest countries in the world as below, based on 2022 data unless stated otherwise.
* 2021 data
** 2019 data
*** 2015 data
**** 2013 data
*****2011 data
Rank Country International $
1 Burundi 836.46
2 Central African Republic 973.25
3 South Sudan*** 1,181.93
4 DR Congo 1,337.83
5 Mozambique 1,477.35
6 Niger 1,505.54
7 Liberia* 1,570.47
8 Eritrea***** 1,628.75
9 Chad 1,668.58
10 Afghanistan* 1,673.14
11 Somalia 1,710.96
12 Malawi 1,732.60
13 Madagascar 1,774.66
14 Sierra Leone 1,930.90
15 Guinea-Bissau 2,191.16
16 Kiribati 2,365.51
17 Gambia, The 2,496.50
18 Mali 2,518.95
19 Burkina Faso 2,549.93
20 Togo 2,601.75
21 Zimbabwe 2,607.93
22 Lesotho 2,646.18
23 Solomon Islands 2,654.97
24 Uganda 2,693.11
25 Rwanda 2,793.19
26 Ethiopia 2,812.51
27 Tanzania 3,099.17
28 Guinea 3,188.08
29 Vanuatu 3,290.57
30 Haiti 3,306.17
31 Yemen**** 3,437.43
32 Comoros 3,833.74
33 Micronesia 3,854.88
34 Zambia 3,975.60
35 Benin 4,057.45
36 Sao Tome & Principe 4,061.81
37 Senegal 4,210.36
38 Sudan 4,217.42
39 Congo 4,335.06
40 Cameroon 4,398.05
41 Papua New Guinea 4,432.79
42 Timor-Leste 4,657.38
43 Nepal 4,726.61
44 Tajikistan 4,886.74
45 Myanmar 5,019.74
46 Cambodia 5,355.17
47 Tuvalu 5,423.05
48 Kenya 5,765.82
49 Nigeria 5,862.24
50 Djibouti 5,893.24
51 Kyrgyzstan 5,988.61
52 Samoa 6,089.56
53 Mauritania 6,295.78
54 Pakistan 6,351.00
55 Ghana 6,473.09
56 Cote d’Ivoire 6,540.46
57 Honduras 6,743.33
58 Palestine 6,759.02
59 Tonga* 6,778.50
60 Nicaragua 6,877.07
61 Angola 6,976.01
62 Marshall Islands 7,092.03
63 Bangladesh 7,397.55
64 India 8,400.38
65 Cabo Verde 8,716.00
66 Laos 9,387.37
67 Uzbekistan 9,535.67
68 Morocco 9,547.66
69 Bolivia 9,737.68
70 Philippines 10,136.55
71 Eswatini 10,699.54
72 Guatemala 10,821.76
73 Iraq 10,865.42
74 El Salvador 11,098.10
75 Belize 11,189.86
76 Jordan 11,209.90
77 Namibia 11,531.30
78 Jamaica 11,938.90
79 Tunisia 12,483.63
80 Ukraine 12,675.44
81 Bhutan* 12,795.35
82 Ecuador 12,826.36
83 Nauru 13,021.40
84 Algeria 13,226.79
85 Viet Nam 13,461.01
86 Dominica 13,540.22
87 Mongolia 14,260.31
88 Lebanon* 14,330.52
89 Sri Lanka 14,410.19
90 Fiji 14,632.21
91 Indonesia 14,657.78
92 Kosovo 14,971.15
93 Peru 15,052.50
94 Egypt 15,095.99
95 Palau* 15,572.74
96 Turkmenistan** 15,628.46
97 Moldova 15,719.23
98 South Africa 15,920.43
99 Paraguay 15,982.60
100 Gabon 16,464.97
101 Grenada 17,082.89
102 St Vincent & Gren 17,212.43
103 Venezuela***** 17,402.28
104 Equatorial Guinea 17,620.74
105 Suriname 17,773.48
106 Brazil 17,827.64
107 Azerbaijan 17,828.61
108 St Lucia 17,835.70
109 Barbados 18,210.13
110 Iran 18,261.85
111 Botswana 18,329.85
112 Albania 18,603.41
113 Armenia 18,965.73
114 Bosnia & Herz 19,990.81
115 Georgia 20,172.08
116 Colombia 20,268.68
117 North Macedonia 20,328.85
118 Thailand 20,679.12
119 China 21,482.56
120 Mexico 22,298.21
121 Belarus 22,550.64
122 Dominican Rep 22,841.09
123 Libya 23,382.73
124 Serbia 23,914.17
125 Turks & Caicos 24,471.52
126 Maldives 25,124.61
127 Costa Rica 25,237.12
128 Antigua & Barbuda 26,365.47
129 Argentina 26,530.32
130 Mauritius 26,979.05
131 Montenegro 27,027.48
132 Trinidad & Tobago 27,515.53
133 Uruguay 28,851.54
134 Seychelles 29,771.75
135 Chile 30,208.81
136 Kazakhstan 30,820.09
137 Malaysia 33,525.30
138 Bulgaria 33,845.58
139 St Kitts & Nevis 33,981.84
140 Russia 36,307.81
141 Greece 37,075.11
142 Turkiye 37,445.16
143 Slovakia 37,457.17
144 Panama 39,292.69
145 Latvia 39,825.26
146 Croatia 40,240.01
147 Bahamas 40,942.78
148 Romania 41,259.54
149 Oman 41,738.16
150 Hungary 41,740.91
151 Portugal 41,862.72
152 Guyana 42,089.90
153 Poland 44,134.62
154 Japan 45,583.85
155 Spain 46,331.65
156 Estonia 46,556.39
157 Slovenia 48,302.53
158 Aruba 48,750.32
159 Lithuania 48,860.68
160 Czech Rep 49,194.96
161 Israel 49,754.76
162 South Korea 50,330.54
163 Cyprus 51,322.70
164 New Zealand 52,149.24
165 Italy 52,804.00
166 UK 54,929.83
167 France 55,387.46
168 Malta 55,865.85
169 Canada 58,347.67
170 Kuwait 58,349.21
171 Saudi Arabia 59,279.89
172 Finland 59,470.15
173 Macao (SAR, China) 61,230.96
174 Bahrain 61,248.18
175 Australia 63,216.15
176 Germany 63,521.90
177 Sweden 65,156.95
178 Belgium 65,478.45
179 Austria 67,874.90
180 San Marino* 67,982.97
181 Hong Kong (SAR, China) 69,072.31
182 Brunei Darussalam 69,297.93
183 Iceland 69,615.50
184 Netherlands 70,869.41
185 Denmark 74,897.00
186 USA 76,329.58
187 Switzerland 84,649.94
188 UAE 88,488.98
189 Bermuda 95,868.78
190 Qatar 114,049.23
191 Norway 114,929.52
192 Ireland 126,837.31
193 Singapore 127,606.81
194 Luxembourg 140,616.45
Source: World Development Indicators from the World Bank; GDP per capita based on purchasing power parity (PPP); data last updated on 18 December 2023.……CONTINUE READING>>>>>>
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