25 Poorest Countries in the World

Zimbabwe is a country of 14.6 million in southern Africa. Formerly a part of Rhodesia, a colonial British territory, Zimbabwe gained independence in 1980 and has struggled economically since. Severe droughts have hamstrung the country’s agriculture industry, and poor infrastructure and government corruption have discouraged foregin investors and hampered development.

Only about 41% of Zimbabwe’s mostly rural population has access to electricity. The country also struggles with high rates of HIV and tuberculosis. Partially as a result, life expectancy at birth is only 61.2 years, over a decade below the global average.

The East African nation of Tanzania has a $63.2 billion economy and a population of 58 million. Home to international destinations such as Mount Kilimanjaro, the Serengeti, and the Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania’s economy depends largely on tourism. Agriculture is also a significant component of the economy, accounting for 28.7% of the country’s GDP.

Despite Tanzania’s strong tourism industry, which many other countries on this list lack, the country’s GNI per capita is only $2,700. The country also has a relatively high income inequality, with nearly half the population living on the equivalent $1.90 per day. Obstacles to development include a lack of reliable infrastructure. Currently, only about a third of the population has access to electricity.

Guinea, a country on the western coast of Africa, is one of the poorest in the world. Its GNI per capita is just $2,520, about one-seventh of the worldwide GNI per capita of $17,591. More than a third of the population lives on less than $1.90 per day.

Poverty is associated with poor health outcomes. In Guinea, the infant mortality rate of 64.9 per 1,000 births is more than double the worldwide rate of 28.9 per 1,000. The life expectancy at birth is just 61.2 years, over a decade below the worldwide average life expectancy.

The West African nation of Mali has a $17.5 billion economy — smaller than that of many countries with home to far fewer people. Agriculture is an economic pillar in Mali, accounting for over a third of the national GDP.

The country’s economic development has been hindered by political violence and government instability. Poor infrastructure is also a problem, as only about half the country’s 19.7 million residents have access to electricity. Residents of poorer countries often have lower than average life expectancies. Mali is one of only 12 countries where life expectancy at birth is less than 60 years.

The Solomon Islands, a nation consisting of a chain of islands east of Papua New Guinea, has one of the smallest economies in the world. The country of about 670,000 people had a GDP of just $1.4 billion 2019. Prosperity in the country has been hampered by violence and civil unrest between different ethnic groups on neighboring islands. Australia has led a peacekeeping force in the country for much of the last two decades.

Most people living in the country depend on farming and fishing. The country is heavily forested, and wood accounts for 70% of its exports. Manufactured goods are mostly imported.

Instability and conflict have hampered economic development in Afghanistan in recent decades. After the Soviet Union waged war in the country from 1979 to 1989, the Taliban began to gain power in the Soviet’s absence and controlled 90% of the country by 1998. Three years later, following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the U.S. invaded the country and still maintains a military presence there.

The country is heavily dependent on foreign aid and struggles with pervasive public sector corruption and a lack of infrastructure. Less than half of the 15 and older population is literate.

The East African country of Ethiopia ranks among the poorest in the world, with a GNI per capita of just $2,300. The country has reported rapid economic growth in recent decades due to developments in the farming and services sectors as well as government investment in infrastructure. Agriculture accounts for over a third of the country’s economic output.

As is often the case in the world’s poorest countries, public health is a major challenge for Ethiopia. Life expectancy at birth is only 66.2 years, over half a decade below the global average.

Though it has a population of 2.3 million people, The Gambia has a GDP of $1.8 billion. It also has a GNI per capita of $2,260. The African nation had just $118 million in total exports in 2018, largely in agricultural products like nuts and fruits.

In most of the world’s poorest countries, the vast majority of the population lives in rural areas. But in The Gambia, 61.9% of the population lives in urban areas. The country is growing quickly, with its population increasing 12.6% from 2015 to 2019, well above the 4.6% population growth worldwide.

In the mid-1990s, Rwanda was the site of one of the worst government-backed genocides in modern history, when Hutu forces killed an estimated 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus. The country has struggled to rebuild its economy in recent years, exporting tea, coffee, and gold. The government has also invested more in education and infrastructure and is leveraging the service industry and building its technology industry to become a middle-income country.

Currently, however, the country ranks among the poorest in the world, with a GNI per capita of just $2,240.

Guinea-Bissau is a country in West Africa with a GNI per capita of just $2,220. Cashews account for the vast majority of the country’s exports, and the country depends largely on subsistence farming and foreign aid. Agriculture accounts for over half of the country’s GDP.

Economic development in the country is hampered by government corruption, and in recent years, Guinea-Bissau has become an international hub for drug trafficking.

Despite having significant reserves of valuable natural resources like gold, Burkina Faso is one of the poorest countries in the world, with a GNI per capita of $2,220. Nearly 44% of the country’s 20.3 million residents live on the equivalent of $1.90 a day or less.

Economic growth in the country has been hobbled by political instability. Despite relatively poor soil quality and frequent droughts, the majority of the population relies on subsistence farming to some degree. The country’s infrastructure is lacking, as only 14.4% of the population have access to electricity.

With a GNI per capita of $2,210, the Central African nation of Uganda is one of the least wealthy countries in the world. More than three-quarters of its population live in rural areas, and 21.9% of GDP comes from agriculture, forestry, and fishing, as compared to the 4% global average.

Like many of the poorest countries in the world, Uganda has a history of political instability and violence and is currently struggling with corruption. Rebel groups have waged violent conflicts, and many leaders have been deposed and accused of corruption in recent years.

Haiti is the only North American country to rank on this list and is one of only 13 countries with a GNI per capita of less than $2,000. The country, located on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, gained independence from France in the early 1800s and was forced to pay its former colonial master reparations for more than a century following. In more recent years, economic development has been limited by natural disasters, dictatorships, and instability.

Other hurdles the country faces include government corruption and poor infrastructure. Less than half of the country’s 11.3 million residents have access to electricity.

Sierra Leone is a West African country that effectively had to start from scratch following a devastating civil war in the early 2000s that destroyed the country’s institutions. More recently, the country was devastated by the ebola epidemic. Though the country is rich in valuable natural resources, like diamonds, these assets have fueled violence in the country and ultimately hindered development.

As is the case in many of the world’s poorest countries, Sierra Leone depends heavily on agriculture, and public health outcomes lag behind much of the world. An estimated 57.4% of Sierra Leone’s GDP is generated by agriculture and fishing. Additionally, at just 54.3 years, life expectancy at birth in the country is nearly the lowest in the world and about 18 years below the global average.

Nearly half of Togo’s population lives in extreme poverty, subsisting on no more than $1.90 per day. Worldwide, 10% of people live in such poverty. The nation’s GNI per capita is one of the lowest in the world, at $1,670.

Like many other countries on this list, Togo’s economy is heavily reliant on natural resources. Petroleum accounted for over half of its $2.5 billion in exports in 2018. Togo also exported over $300 million in gold that year.

Madagascar, an island nation off the coast of East Africa, is one of the poorest countries in the world, with a GNI per capita of $1,660. Though it exports over $1 billion of agricultural products like vanilla and cloves and has a strong tourism industry, it is dependent on foreign aid.

Development in Madagascar is held back by government corruption and lack of infrastructure. Only about one-quarter of the country’s 27 million residents have access to electricity, and 77.6% of the population lives on $1.90 or less per day.

Chad’s $11.3 billion economy is smaller than that of some countries home to far fewer people. It has the ninth lowest GNIs per capita, at $1,620.

Poorer countries often face significant health challenges related to poverty and lacking health care systems among other factors. Chad’s life expectancy at birth is just 54 years — nearly two decades less than the global average and the third lowest of any country on Earth. The country also has the fifth highest infant mortality rate of any country, at 71.4 deaths per 1,000 live births.

The West African nation of Liberia, founded by freed American slaves, is one of the poorest countries in the world. Liberia has a GNI per capita of $1,320, and 40.9% of the population lives on $1.90 or less per day. Like many poor countries, Liberia is heavily dependent on farming. The agriculture, fishing, and forestry sector accounts for 39% of the country’s GDP, compared to the global average of about 4%.

Less than half the country’s 15 and older residents are literate, and only about a quarter of the total population has access to electricity. Government corruption is also a barrier to Liberia’s development.

Mozambique is one of just seven nations with a GNI per capita of $1,300 or lower. It has the fifth highest extreme poverty rate of any nation, as 62.9% of its population lives on $1.90 per day or less.

Mozambique residents are more likely to face significant health challenges than those in almost every other country. More than one in eight residents ages 15 to 49 have been diagnosed with HIV, as compared to 0.8% of people worldwide. Mozambique’s incidence of tuberculosis is 551 per 100,000 people, more than four times the global concentration of the disease.

South Sudan was formed in 2011, gaining independence from Sudan as part of a peace deal that ended Africa’s longest-running civil war. Yet for most of the country’s existence to date it has suffered from its own devastating civil war. Infrastructure is lacking in the country as only about 2% of the roadway is paved, and only 28% of the population has access to electricity.

South Sudan is also one of the most corrupt countries in the world. Though the country is rich in natural resources like oil, water, and fertile soil, the vast majority of goods in the country are imported. South Sudan’s GNI per capita is just $1,280.

Niger exported just $539 million of goods in 2018, less than the vast majority of other countries. Gold accounted for over $300 million worth of these exports, with much of the rest coming from agricultural products.

More than 83% of Niger’s population lives in rural areas, and its economy is more reliant on agriculture than almost any other nation’s is — 38.2% of its GDP comes from agriculture, forestry, or fishing. Niger’s GNI per capita is one of the lowest in the world, at $1,250.

Like many other countries on this list, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is rich in valuable mineral resources. Rather than being an economic boon, however, control of these resources has fueled violence and a civil war that has resulted in millions of deaths and government corruption.

The country ranks among the poorest in the world with a GNI per capita of just $1,110. More than three-quarters of the country’s 86.8 million residents live on $1.90 or less per day, below the poverty line set by the World Bank.

Malawi’s GNI per capita of $1,080 is a fraction of the worldwide GNI per capita of $17,591. More than 70% of the nation’s residents live on $1.90 per day or less, as compared to 10% of the world’s population overall.

Malawi is a largely rural country with an economy that relies on agriculture. Nearly 83% of the country lives in rural areas, and tobacco accounts for more than two-thirds of its total annual export value.

The Central African Republic has the second lowest GNI per capita, at just over $1,000. It exported less than $100 million worth of goods in 2018 — which accounts for a very small share of its GDP — over 70% of which was wood.

Like many other impoverished nations, the Central African Republic has among the worst health outcomes in the world. It has the lowest life expectancy at birth of any country at 52.8 years — nearly two decades lower than the worldwide average life expectancy. It also has the highest infant mortality rate, at 84.5 deaths per 1,000 live births.

Burundi is the poorest country in the world by a wide margin. Its gross national income per capita is just $780, as compared to a worldwide GNI per capita of $17,591. It is the only country with a GNI per capita below $1,000. More than 70% of its population lives on $1.90 per day or less — over 8 million total people.

Like many other countries that rank among the world’s poorest, the majority or Burundi’s residents live outside urban areas — 86.6% reside in rural areas, the second highest share of any country and nearly double the worldwide share. The country had just $272 million in exports in 2018, far less than most other countries, 41.5% of which was in gold.