16 Countries with the Lowest Poverty Rates in the World in 2017

No country has a 0 % poverty rate, but the following 16 countries with the lowest poverty rates in the world in 2017 come close to that ideal.

Poverty has always been an issue, regardless of the given historical and social context. It is just a matter of fact. At any given point in time, you could distinguish between different classes of society. Some have it better than others. It is not just a matter of pure luck, of being born to a right family and in the right place but it is also a matter of human nature. The issue of poverty is not unsolvable. There is an old saying in my home country which says that the problem is not to feed the poor, but to feed the rich. No wonder the saying dates back in time as its message is pretty much universal. Greed is inherent to the human nature. Perhaps that is more visible now than ever before, as the current setup makes it possible for one group of people to completely dominate over another. That is why there are such huge disparities in wealth worldwide. Just to illustrate, the United Nations estimated that it would take $30 billion a year to solve the problem of world hunger. At first this might seem like a huge amount of money, however, if we put things into a perspective, it becomes clear that the only thing lacking to eradicate world hunger is not money, but will. The National Retail Federation has estimated that consumers in the United States alone spend around $680 billion during Christmas season. It has been estimated that since 9/11 the US government has spent $5.6 trillion on wars. $30 billion a year seems like an insignificant amount of money if we take into consideration these figures. To emphasize, this is the data concerning only the USA. I imagine the perspective on how much money $30 billion a year, in fact, is would be much different if we were to consider spending made by other developed countries.

This is not the first time I have chosen to write about poverty on Insider Monkey. The last article I wrote was about countries with the highest poverty rates in the world in 2017. Not surprisingly, most of the countries which made it to the list were those located in Africa. So, in this article, you can read about top 20 poorest countries in the world, as well as 10 poorest countries in Africa. Furthermore, all of the countries which were on the list of top 10 poorest countries in the world in 2016 have also made it to the list of the poorest countries in 2017. South Sudan was placed at the top of the list, followed by Haiti and Ethiopia. Some of the countries which were also listed as being among the poorest are Afghanistan, Burundi, Chad, Nigeria, and Yemen. If poverty rates by country in 2016 are to be considered, it is clear there is not much improvement in 2017, which is unfortunate, to say the least. Moreover, if we decide to look into the data on poverty rates from some years back, it is evident that the same countries appear on the ranking of top 100 poorest countries in the world year after year. It goes to show that global poverty rate is not a priority on an agenda of those in power. As I have already stated in the introductory paragraph, there are means to solve the issue, what the world lacks is the will and determination to effectively use those means. In the meantime, what you and I as average persons can do is to continually point to the issue, hoping that someday the message will be clearly heard by those in decision making structures and start an avalanche.

100 richest countries in the world stand in stark contrast to 100 poorest countries in the world. In my article on top 25 richest, healthiest and most advanced countries in the world, I have listed countries which, because they dominate the list of the richest countries in the world, have most influence and power on the global political scene. Switzerland was the first on the list, followed by the USA on 2^nd and Norway on 3^rd place. Other Scandinavian countries were also among top 25, alongside several countries from the Southeast of Asia. The chances are that many of the countries which were on the list of top 25 richest, healthiest and most advanced will also be on the list of top countries with the lowest poverty rates. What is left to see is what country has the lowest poverty rate in the world.

In order to create the list of 16 countries with the lowest poverty rates in the world in 2017, I have referred to a number of relevant sources. My primary sources of information were Human Development Reports (HDR) provided by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The first report ranks countries based on the values of Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI). The MPI is calculated “based on data on deprivations in education, health, and living standards”, as explained in the report. The second report ranks countries based on the values of Human Development Index (HDI). I should note that the data presented in the reports is not concerning 2017. However, it is the latest available. There is no data available concerning 2017. Where available I have also looked into the data on poverty rates provided by official government institutions.

16. Netherlands

The last spot on our list of countries with the lowest poverty rates belongs to the Netherlands. The latest data shows that one in seven people in the Netherlands lives below poverty line. That amounts to 14% of its population.

15. Australia

Australian Council of Social Service shows that 13.3% or 2.9 million Australians live below poverty line. The poverty rate among children is 17.4%.

14. United States of America

USA’s MPI value secured it 5^th rank on the UNDP’s list, which is to suggest that the number of people living below poverty line is rather low. Census Bureau shows that 12.7% of the US is hardly making the ends meet.

13. Singapore

This Asian country makes progress every year and is setting an example of how significant economic growth can help in tackling the problem of poverty. The country has 5th highest HDI, 0.925.

12. Liechtenstein

Liechtenstein is ranked 12^th on our list of countries with the lowest poverty rates in the world in 2017. The country’s high GDP and low unemployment rate contribute to the elimination of poverty.

11. Canada

While the poverty rate in Canada, the number 11 on our list of countries with the lowest poverty rates in the world in 2017, is not very high, poverty among children is a problem calling for an immediate action. Data on poverty shows that it is as high as 9.6%, a quarter of which are children living below poverty line.

10. Ireland

The European Anti-Poverty Network indicates that the poverty rate in Ireland is 8.7%. Children are identified as being particularly vulnerable to poverty and, the poverty rate among children is estimated to be 11.5%.

9. Sweden

Sweden is undoubtedly one of the most prosperous European countries. Its MPI ranked it 12^th on UNDP’s list, while it has 14^th highest HDI. Such ranking is what secured Sweden 9^th spot on our list of 16 countries with the lowest poverty rates in the world in 2017.

8. New Zealand

New Zealand’s HDI is 0.915 ranking it 13^th in the world. The country is even better ranked on MPI list where it is 7^th in the world. There is no official poverty line which would make it easy to calculate the poverty rate in New Zealand. The strongest indicator of poverty is considered to be the level of income.

7. Switzerland

We are continuing our list of countries with the lowest poverty rates in the world in 2017 with Switzerland, which is ranked 2^nd on UNDP’s HDI list, with HDI valued to be 0.939. The latest poverty data concern 2012. It was estimated that 7.7% of the population in Switzerland lived below poverty line.

6. Norway

Norway’s poverty rate is 7.5%, and it has been so for quite some time. Immigrants are particularly susceptible to poverty. It is estimated that 4 in 10 immigrant children in Norway live in poverty.

5. United Kingdom

United Kingdom’s MPI value has secured it 14^th rank on UNDP’s list, which is definitely good news. The country is ranked 16^th in the world on HDI ranking. The latest data shows that the UK’s poverty rate is 6.5%.

4. Denmark

It is only natural that another Scandinavian country will find its place on the list of countries with the lowest poverty rates in the world in 2017. As suggested by the OECD, Denmark has 2^nd lowest relative poverty rate among OECD countries. It is estimated to be 6%.

3. Germany

Germany has a strong economy which helped in establishing it as one of the protagonists on the global political scene. Data shows that 5.6% of the German population lives in poverty, while one-fifth of the population is at risk of becoming poor.

2. Iceland

Iceland has many things to offer: beautiful sights, cool weather, job opportunities in various sectors of its booming economy and good education. The Icelandic Review points out that there are approximately 30.000 people in Iceland living below poverty line. The latest data suggests that tourism has helped in decreasing the poverty rate in Iceland.

1. Republic of Korea

The first spot on our list of 16 countries with the lowest poverty rates in the world in 2017 goes to the Republic of Korea. As the World Bank suggests, Korea’s rapid and remarkable economic growth has significantly decreased its poverty rates.

This was Insider Monkey’s list of 16 countries with the lowest poverty rates in the world in 2017 .