Nigeria has been ranked first globally in the estimated number of people living in extreme poverty in 2026, with approximately 73.1 million people affected.
According to figures attributed to World Data Lab, Nigeria stays ahead of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which has an estimated 71.6 million people living in extreme poverty, followed by Afghanistan with 35.2 million.
Mozambique ranks fourth with 25 million people, while Yemen occupies fifth position with 24.2 million.
Tanzania ranks sixth with 23.9 million people, followed by Madagascar with 20.1 million and Uganda with 18.2 million.
India occupies ninth position with an estimated 14.46 million people living in extreme poverty, while Ethiopia completes the top 10 with 14.3 million.
World Data Lab’s World Poverty Clock uses economic, demographic and household survey data to estimate the number of people living in extreme poverty and track changes over time.
The figures represent estimates rather than an exact headcount and may differ from those published by other organizations.
