Ranked: poorest countries in the world 2023

African nations dominate the ranking of the poorest countries in the world based on the latest data from the World Bank

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 recently plunging into a civil war which left hundreds of thousands of people dead, the latest data from the World Bank shows that Ethiopia currently ranks 25th.

Which is the world’s poorest country?

Burundi is the world’s poorest country followed by Central African Republic, DR Congo, South Sudan and Somalia as the poorest. The richest countries are Luxembourg, Singapore, Ireland, Qatar and Switzerland.

Soberingly, 19 of the 20 poorest countries are all located in Africa. The first non-African country on the list is Afghanistan, ranked 15th.

The World Bank is able to rank 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 — Atlas & Boots Ethiopia is the world’s 23rd 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 2021 data unless stated otherwise.

Rank	Country	International $
1	Burundi	774.5
2	Central African Republic	920.1
3	DR Congo	1,179.50
4	South Sudan**	1,181.90
5	Somalia	1,248.80
6	Niger	1,303.60
7	Mozambique	1,347.70
8	Liberia	1,563.60
9	Chad	1,566.00
10	Madagascar	1,607.90
11	Eritrea****	1,628.80
12	Malawi	1,638.20
13	Afghanistan	1,665.80
14	Sierra Leone	1,773.90
15	Guinea-Bissau	2,011.90
16	Kiribati	2,128.10
17	The Gambia	2,281.30
18	Zimbabwe	2,323.70
19	Mali	2,329.70
20	Togo	2,334.30
21	Burkina Faso	2,394.70
22	Rwanda	2,459.70
23	Uganda	2,467.90
24	Lesotho	2,521.50
25	Ethiopia	2,547.70
26	Solomon Islands	2,648.70
27	Tanzania	2,836.20
28	Guinea	2,900.70
29	Vanuatu	3,057.40
30	Haiti	3,153.10
31	Yemen***	3,437.40
32	Comoros	3,546.80
33	Congo	3,553.30
34	Zambia	3,555.90
35	Micronesia	3,642.10
36	Benin	3,649.00
37	Senegal	3,840.00
38	Papua New Guinea	4,040.00
39	Cameroon	4,065.30
40	Sudan	4,066.00
41	Nepal	4,209.80
42	Tajikistan	4,288.20
43	Myanmar	4,430.20
44	Sao Tome & Principe	4,451.60
45	Cambodia	4,783.90
46	Kenya	5,211.20
47	Kyrgyzstan	5,289.70
48	Djibouti	5,397.70
49	Nigeria	5,408.00
50	Tuvalu	5,409.50
51	Timor-Leste	5,528.60
52	Pakistan	5,748.00
53	Mauritania	5,830.80
54	Cote d’Ivoire	5,850.10
55	Ghana	5,971.10
56	Samoa	6,079.80
57	Honduras	6,121.60
58	Nicaragua	6,194.70
59	West Bank & Gaza	6,199.50
60	Angola	6,491.10
61	Bangladesh	6,493.80
62	Marshall Islands	6,549.60
63	Cabo Verde	6,717.00
64	Tonga	6,748.50
65	India	7,242.00
66	Uzbekistan	8,497.40
67	Lao PDR	8,620.60
68	Bolivia	8,846.10
69	Morocco	8,852.90
70	Philippines	8,892.80
71	Belize	9,626.60
72	Eswatini	9,730.10
73	Guatemala	9,806.80
74	Iraq	9,846.00
75	El Salvador	9,981.90
76	Namibia	10,038.70
77	Jordan	10,132.50
78	Jamaica	10,542.70
79	Tunisia	11,282.50
80	Fiji	11,380.60
81	Vietnam	11,676.10
82	Ecuador	11,720.60
83	Dominica	11,950.60
84	Bhutan	11,983.30
85	Algeria	12,128.30
86	Egypt	12,706.40
87	Mongolia	12,818.90
88	Indonesia	13,027.30
89	Kosovo	13,055.90
90	Nauru	13,125.30
91	Peru	13,748.50
92	Ukraine	14,219.80
93	Lebanon	14,256.70
94	St. Lucia	14,332.20
95	South Africa	14,624.40
96	Sri Lanka	14,706.50
97	Paraguay	15,037.20
98	Grenada	15,037.80
99	St. Vincent & Gren	15,045.30
100	Barbados	15,111.00
101	Palau	15,144.60
102	Gabon	15,175.70
103	Moldova	15,390.50
104	Armenia	15,592.50
105	Turkmenistan*	15,625.40
106	Albania	15,709.30
107	Azerbaijan	15,854.60
108	Brazil	16,031.10
109	Equatorial Guinea	16,080.10
110	Suriname	16,222.70
111	Botswana	16,304.20
112	Iran	16,484.10
113	Colombia	16,819.20
114	Georgia	17,013.60
115	Bosnia & Herz	17,376.60
116	Venezuela****	17,402.30
117	North Macedonia	18,222.30
118	Thailand	18,760.80
119	China	19,338.20
120	Mexico	20,277.20
121	Turks & Caicos	20,337.70
122	Dominican Rep	20,462.50
123	Maldives	20,615.40
124	Antigua & Barbuda	21,010.00
125	Serbia	21,503.40
126	Belarus	21,698.60
127	Curacao	22,832.20
128	Mauritius	23,035.30
129	Montenegro	23,284.60
130	Costa Rica	23,319.50
131	Argentina	23,649.70
132	Guyana	24,086.90
133	Libya	24,130.80
134	Uruguay	25,048.70
135	Trinidad & Tobago	25,308.50
136	Bulgaria	27,926.10
137	Chile	28,684.80
138	Kazakhstan	28,684.90
139	Malaysia	28,929.50
140	St. Kitts & Nevis	29,097.20
141	Turkiye	30,737.00
142	Greece	31,363.80
143	Seychelles	31,596.20
144	Panama	31,900.90
145	Russia	32,862.60
146	Slovak Rep	33,010.30
147	Bahamas	33,188.70
148	Croatia	34,314.00
149	Latvia	34,444.30
150	Portugal	35,798.80
151	Puerto Rico	35,850.30
152	Romania	35,869.60
153	Sint Maarten	35,973.20
154	Hungary	36,752.50
155	Oman	37,676.10
156	Poland	37,836.80
157	Spain	40,698.70
158	Estonia	42,138.30
159	Lithuania	42,581.30
160	Aruba	42,698.40
161	Japan	42,940.40
162	Slovenia	43,602.50
163	Israel	43,721.60
164	Cyprus	44,109.70
165	Czechia	45,093.70
166	Italy	45,902.20
167	Kuwait	46,328.10
168	New Zealand	46,419.50
169	South Korea	47,242.50
170	Malta	48,581.50
171	Saudi Arabia	48,710.90
172	UK	49,675.30
173	France	50,541.30
174	Canada	52,085.00
175	Bahrain	54,256.80
176	Finland	55,013.40
177	Australia	56,281.40
178	Iceland	57,611.60
179	Germany	57,881.10
180	Austria	58,430.60
181	Belgium	58,905.20
182	Sweden	59,324.00
183	San Marino*	59,451.00
184	Netherlands	63,768.20
185	Denmark	64,651.20
186	Hong Kong SAR	65,891.70
187	Brunei	66,055.20
188	USA	69,287.50
189	Macao SAR	71,185.70
190	Cayman Islands	74,155.30
191	UAE	76,609.20
192	Switzerland	77,273.60
193	Norway	79,201.20
194	Bermuda	88,185.50
195	Qatar	102,018.10
196	Ireland	106,351.40
197	Singapore	116,486.50
198	Luxembourg	134,544.50