Society · Poverty headcount ($3.00 a day) · Mali
Mali’s poverty headcount ($3.00 a day) was 36.1% of population in 2021.
36.1% of population
2021Derived
Up 6.7 pp from 2018.
Stale — last updated 18 Oct 2026
In plain words
36.1% of population
What it is. This measure counts the share of people living below a daily poverty line, with incomes or consumption valued at 2021 purchasing power parity so that the line buys a comparable basket of goods across countries. The World Bank builds it from household surveys and fills the years between surveys by interpolation or extrapolation, so values in those years are modelled estimates. A single line counts who falls below it and leaves out how far below they fall, as well as people sitting just above it.
Lower is better. A lower share means fewer people lack the money for basic needs such as food and shelter at this line, so a falling number is good news. The latest figure, for 2021, is 36.1% of population. Since 1994 the series has ranged from a high of 89.4% of population in 1994 to a low of 29.4% of population in 2018. The 2021 figure sits far closer to that low than to the starting level, though it remains above the 2018 low.
Why it matters. At 36.1% of population, a large share of Mali's households live below the daily line. For them a rise in the price of grain or fuel quickly cuts into what is left for health care and school costs. The state faces heavy demand for support such as food aid and cash transfers, and small firms selling to these households work with limited spending power.
| Period | Poverty headcount ($3.00 a day) · Mali |
|---|---|
| 1994 | 89.4% of population |
| 2001 | 68.6% of population |
| 2006 | 64% of population |
| 2009 | 63.3% of population |
| 2018 | 29.4% of population |
| 2021 | 36.1% of population |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0) · Licence: CC BY 4.0
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Strata-AF™ Data, Poverty headcount ($3.00 a day), Mali, 2021; source World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0), retrieved 18 Oct 2026; https://data.strata-af.com/society/poverty-headcount/mali
Data insights · Worked out from the published figures
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Working this out from the published figures…
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Methodology
Share of the population living on less than $3.00 a day (2021 purchasing power parity). A World Bank modelled estimate from household surveys, interpolated or extrapolated between survey years; not an official national release.
Share of the population living on less than $3.00 a day (2021 purchasing power parity). Unit: % of population.
This is a World Bank modelled estimate. It is built from household surveys and interpolated or extrapolated between survey years. It is not an official national release, and every value carries the Derived label.
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (series SI.POV.DDAY), retrieved through the World Bank API and published under CC BY 4.0. Updated annually; the World Bank's own source notes apply.