Society · Poverty headcount ($3.00 a day) · Rwanda
Rwanda’s poverty headcount ($3.00 a day) fell to 38.6% of population in 2023.
38.6% of population
2023Derived
Down 25.2 pp from 2016.
Updated 18 Oct 2026
In plain words
38.6% of population
What it is. This measure counts the share of people in Rwanda living below a fixed daily poverty line, with prices adjusted for purchasing power so that a dollar 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 the yearly path is modelled. It counts heads at a single line, so a household just under the line and one far below it weigh the same.
Lower is better. Each point off the headcount means fewer people living on very little for food and housing. The latest figure, for 2023, is 38.6% of population. Since 2000 the series has ranged from 82.3% of population in January 2000 to 38.6% of population in January 2023, so the latest reading sits at the bottom of that range. The headcount has fallen by a wide margin over that span.
Why it matters. At 38.6% of population, a large share of Rwandan households stretch very small daily budgets across food and school costs. A rise in food prices or a loss of farm income can push families near the line below it. For the state, this is a large group whose welfare depends on rural incomes and on the reach of social protection programmes.
| Period | Poverty headcount ($3.00 a day) · Rwanda |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 82.3% of population |
| 2005 | 74.2% of population |
| 2010 | 70.2% of population |
| 2013 | 65.2% of population |
| 2016 | 63.8% of population |
| 2023 | 38.6% 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), Rwanda, 2023; source World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0), retrieved 18 Oct 2026; https://data.strata-af.com/society/poverty-headcount/rwanda
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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.