Poverty at $6.85 a day — all countries

Poverty at $6.85 a day — South America

Poverty at $6.85 a day in South America in 2024 — 22.98%. Since 1999, the indicator has fallen by 32.5 pp.

2024 22.98% −2.95 pp vs 2022
World rank
Period maximum 55.48%1999
Period minimum 22.98%2024

Trend over time

1999–2024 · % of population

Poverty at $6.85 a day — South America, 1999–202420304050601999200220052008201120142017202020231999: 55.48%2003: 52.6%2004: 51.29%2005: 48.42%2006: 41.73%2009: 36.57%2011: 31.89%2013: 28.08%2017: 27.71%2020: 26.5%2022: 25.92%2024: 22.98%
Change over the period: −32.5 pp Annual average: -1.3 pp

Comparison, 2024

How the value compares with the world and the groups this territory belongs to: South America

South America 22.98%
World 46.1%
Poverty at $6.85 a day — South America, by year South America All countries CSV XLSX
Year % Change, pp
2024 22.98
2022 25.92
2020 26.5
2017 27.71
2013 28.08
2011 31.89
2009 36.57
2006 41.73 −6.68 pp
2005 48.42 −2.87 pp
2004 51.29 −1.31 pp
2003 52.6
1999 55.48

About the indicator

The share of the population whose consumption falls below $6.85 a day at 2017 purchasing power parity — the highest of the three international lines of the World Bank. It is this line that shows how much more modest the fall in world poverty looks than the extreme line suggests: nearly half the population of the planet lives below this level, and over recent decades that share has been falling more slowly than the share of the destitute.

Important: It matches the typical national poverty lines of upper-middle-income countries. For rich countries even this line is low — there poverty is measured relative to median income rather than by an absolute amount.

Source: World Development Indicators (World Bank), license CC BY 4.0.