Demographics

Charted: The World’s Working Poor, by Country (1991-2021)

Published

2 years ago

January 24, 2023

Gilbert Fontana

Featured Creator

Article/Editing:

Carmen Ang

Breakdown of poverty rates among employed people

Charting Three Decades of the World’s Working Poor

Poverty is often associated with unemployment—however, millions of working people around the world are living in what’s considered to be extreme poverty, or less than $1.90 per day.

Thankfully, the world’s population of poor workers has decreased substantially over the last few decades. But how exactly has it changed since 1991, and where is the majority of the working poor population living today?

This graphic by Gilbert Fontana uses data from the International Labour Organization (ILO) to show the regional breakdown of the world’s working poor, and how this demographic has changed in the last few decades.

From Asia to Africa

In 1991, about 808 million employed people were living in extreme poverty, or nearly 15% of the global population at the time.

As the graphic above shows, a majority of this population lived in Eastern Asia, most notably in China, which was the world’s most populous country until only very recently.

However, thanks to China’s economic reforms, and political reforms like the National “8-7” Poverty Reduction Plan, millions of people in the country were lifted out of poverty.

Today, Sub-Saharan Africa is the region with the world’s highest concentration of working poor. Below, we’ll take a closer look at the region and zoom in on select countries.

Zooming in on Sub-Saharan Africa

As of 2021, 11 of the 49 countries that make up Sub-Saharan Africa had a working poverty rate that made up over half their population.

Here’s a look at these 11 countries, and the percentage of their working population that lives in extreme poverty:

Rank	Country	Working Poverty Rate (% of total population)
1	🇧🇮 Burundi	79%
2	🇲🇬 Madagascar	76%
3	🇨🇩 DR Condo	69%
4	🇲🇼 Malawi	65%
5	🇨🇫 Central African Republic	63%
6	🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau	61%
7	🇲🇿 Mozambique	61%
8	🇨🇬 Congo	59%
9	🇿🇲 Zambia	56%
10	🇦🇴 Angola	52%
11	🇱🇷 Liberia	51%

Burundi is first on the list, with 79% of its working population living below the poverty line. One reason for this is the country’s struggling economy—Burundi has the lowest GDP per capita of any country in the world.

Because of the economic conditions in the country, many people struggle to meet their basic needs. For instance, it’s estimated that 40% of urban dwellers in Burundi don’t have access to safe drinking water.

But Burundi is not alone, with other countries like Madagascar and the Democratic Republic of the Congo also having more than two-thirds of their working population in extreme poverty. Which countries will be able to able to lift their people out of poverty next?

This article was published as a part of Visual Capitalist's Creator Program, which features data-driven visuals from some of our favorite Creators around the world.

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Countries

Mapped: Countries With the Highest Share of International Migrants

Gulf states like Qatar, the UAE, and Kuwait have among the highest shares of international migrants in their populations.

Published

2 days ago

June 18, 2025

Kayla Zhu

A global map showing the top countries with the highest share of international migrants in its population

Countries With Highest Proportion of International Migrants

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

The number of international migrants worldwide hit 304 million in 2024, a figure that has doubled since 1990.

As people relocate across borders for reasons ranging from work opportunities to conflict and displacement, certain countries have become major destinations for foreign-born populations.

This map visualizes the top 20 countries with the highest proportion of international migrants in their populations as of 2024, based on data from the United Nations.

An international migrant is defined as someone living in a country other than their birth country for at least 12 months, regardless of reasons or status.

Which Country Has the Highest Share of International Migrants?

Below, we show countries by share of international migrants in their population.

Rank	Country	Share (%) of international migrants in total population (2024)
1	🇶🇦 Qatar	76.7
2	🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates	74.0
3	🇲🇨 Monaco	70.2
4	🇱🇮 Liechtenstein	69.4
5	🇰🇼 Kuwait	67.3
6	🇦🇩 Andorra	59.1
7	🇧🇭 Bahrain	52.3
8	🇱🇺 Luxembourg	51.2
9	🇸🇬 Singapore	48.7
10	🇯🇴 Jordan	45.7
11	🇴🇲 Oman	43.2
12	🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia	40.3
13	🇲🇹 Malta	37.0
14	🇦🇬 Antigua and Barbuda	32.5
15	🇨🇭 Switzerland	31.1
16	🇦🇺 Australia	30.4
17	🇵🇼 Palau	29.5
18	🇳🇿 New Zealand	28.2
19	🇧🇳 Brunei	25.9
20	🇦🇹 Austria	25.5
21	🇮🇸 Iceland	25.1
22	🇱🇧 Lebanon	24.5
23	🇫🇲 Micronesia	23.4
24	🇮🇪 Ireland	23.1
25	🇮🇱 Israel	22.3
26	🇨🇦 Canada	22.2
27	🇸🇪 Sweden	21.4
28	🇳🇷 Nauru	21.3
29	🇧🇪 Belgium	20.0
30	🇩🇪 Germany	19.8
31	🇪🇸 Spain	18.5
32	🇳🇴 Norway	18.2
33	🇬🇦 Gabon	17.7
34	🇸🇲 San Marino	17.4
35	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	17.1
36	🇰🇳 Saint Kitts and Nevis	17.0
37	🇧🇸 Bahamas	16.8
38	🇧🇿 Belize	16.5
39	🇳🇱 Netherlands	16.2
40	🇺🇸 United States	15.2
41	🇨🇾 Cyprus	14.9
42	🇪🇪 Estonia	14.9
43	🇸🇮 Slovenia	14.9
44	🇲🇪 Montenegro	14.4
45	🇩🇰 Denmark	14.2
46	🇬🇷 Greece	14.2
47	🇲🇻 Maldives	14.2
48	🇫🇷 France	13.8
49	🇭🇷 Croatia	13.6
50	🇺🇦 Ukraine	13.4
51	🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea	13.2
52	🇩🇲 Dominica	12.7
53	🇧🇧 Barbados	12.5
54	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	12.2
55	🇱🇾 Libya	12.2
56	🇱🇻 Latvia	11.8
57	🇧🇾 Belarus	11.6
58	🇮🇹 Italy	11.0
59	🇩🇯 Djibouti	10.8
60	🇵🇹 Portugal	10.8
61	🇲🇾 Malaysia	10.7
62	🇵🇦 Panama	10.6
63	🇷🇸 Serbia	10.6
64	🇸🇨 Seychelles	10.2
65	🇰🇿 Kazakhstan	10.1
66	🇨🇿 Czechia	9.5
67	🇸🇭 Saint Helena	9.4
68	🇦🇲 Armenia	9.2
69	🇫🇮 Finland	9.2
70	🇨🇮 Côte d'Ivoire	9.0
71	🇲🇭 Marshall Islands	8.8
72	🇬🇲 Gambia	8.6
73	🇲🇰 North Macedonia	8.3
74	🇸🇷 Suriname	8.2
75	🇹🇷 Türkiye	8.1
76	🇨🇱 Chile	7.8
77	🇸🇸 South Sudan	7.7
78	🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago	7.5
79	🇭🇺 Hungary	7.1
80	🇧🇹 Bhutan	7.0
81	🇩🇴 Dominican Republic	6.5
82	🇬🇾 Guyana	6.5
83	🇹🇩 Chad	6.3
84	🇬🇩 Grenada	6.3
85	🇲🇩 Moldova	6.2
86	🇨🇬 Congo	6.1
87	🇱🇹 Lithuania	6.1
88	🇸🇰 Slovakia	5.9
89	🇨🇴 Colombia	5.8
90	🇵🇪 Peru	5.4
91	🇷🇺 Russia	5.3
92	🇵🇸 State of Palestine	5.0
93	Saint Vincent and Grenadines	4.8
94	🇸🇩 Sudan	4.8
95	🇺🇾 Uruguay	4.7
96	🇧🇼 Botswana	4.6
97	🇵🇱 Poland	4.5
98	🇱🇨 Saint Lucia	4.5
99	🇧🇬 Bulgaria	4.4
100	🇹🇭 Thailand	4.4
101	🇻🇪 Venezuela	4.4
102	🇦🇷 Argentina	4.3
103	🇮🇷 Iran	4.2
104	🇪🇨 Ecuador	4.1
105	🇿🇦 South Africa	4.1
106	🇺🇬 Uganda	4.1
107	🇲🇷 Mauritania	3.8
108	🇳🇦 Namibia	3.8
109	🇷🇼 Rwanda	3.6
110	🇸🇾 Syria	3.6
111	🇰🇷 South Korea	3.5
112	🇷🇴 Romania	3.4
113	🇹🇴 Tonga	3.4
114	🇺🇿 Uzbekistan	3.2
115	🇧🇫 Burkina Faso	3.1
116	🇨🇻 Cabo Verde	3.1
117	🇹🇬 Togo	3.0
118	🇧🇯 Benin	2.9
119	🇧🇮 Burundi	2.8
120	🇯🇵 Japan	2.8
121	🇸🇿 Eswatini	2.7
122	🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan	2.7
123	🇵🇾 Paraguay	2.6
124	🇹🇯 Tajikistan	2.6
125	🇹🇲 Turkmenistan	2.6
126	🇹🇻 Tuvalu	2.6
127	🇿🇼 Zimbabwe	2.6
128	🇰🇮 Kiribati	2.5
129	🇲🇺 Mauritius	2.3
130	🇨🇲 Cameroon	2.2
131	🇲🇱 Mali	2.2
132	🇦🇿 Azerbaijan	2.1
133	🇬🇪 Georgia	2.1
134	🇦🇴 Angola	1.8
135	🇨🇫 Central African Republic	1.8
136	🇰🇪 Kenya	1.8
137	🇼🇸 Samoa	1.8
138	🇦🇱 Albania	1.7
139	🇧🇩 Bangladesh	1.7
140	🇳🇬 Niger	1.7
141	🇵🇰 Pakistan	1.7
142	🇳🇵 Nepal	1.6
143	🇧🇴 Bolivia	1.5
144	🇫🇯 Fiji	1.5
145	🇬🇭 Ghana	1.5
146	🇸🇳 Senegal	1.5
147	🇰🇲 Comoros	1.4
148	🇱🇷 Liberia	1.3
149	🇲🇽 Mexico	1.3
150	🇿🇲 Zambia	1.2
151	🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina	1.1
152	🇨🇩 DR Congo	1.0
153	🇪🇬 Egypt	1.0
154	🇲🇿 Mozambique	1.0
155	🇻🇺 Vanuatu	1.0
156	🇾🇪 Yemen	1.0
157	🇪🇹 Ethiopia	0.9
158	🇲🇼 Malawi	0.9
159	🇬🇳 Guinea	0.8
160	🇮🇶 Iraq	0.8
161	🇯🇲 Jamaica	0.8
162	🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe	0.8
163	🇧🇷 Brazil	0.7
164	🇸🇻 El Salvador	0.7
165	🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau	0.7
166	Laos	0.7
167	🇹🇿 Tanzania	0.7
168	🇩🇿 Algeria	0.6
169	🇱🇸 Lesotho	0.6
170	🇲🇳 Mongolia	0.6
171	🇳🇮 Nicaragua	0.6
172	🇳🇬 Nigeria	0.6
173	🇸🇱 Sierra Leone	0.6
174	🇹🇱 Timor-Leste	0.6
175	🇰🇭 Cambodia	0.5
176	🇬🇹 Guatemala	0.5
177	🇹🇳 Tunisia	0.5
178	🇪🇷 Eritrea	0.4
179	🇭🇳 Honduras	0.4
180	🇸🇴 Somalia	0.4
181	🇮🇳 India	0.3
182	🇲🇦 Morocco	0.3
183	🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea	0.3
184	🇸🇧 Solomon Islands	0.3
185	🇻🇳 Vietnam	0.3
186	🇦🇫 Afghanistan	0.2
187	🇰🇵 North Korea	0.2
188	🇭🇹 Haiti	0.2
189	🇮🇩 Indonesia	0.2
190	🇱🇰 Sri Lanka	0.2
191	🇨🇳 China	0.1
192	🇲🇬 Madagascar	0.1
193	🇲🇲 Myanmar	0.1
194	🇵🇭 Philippines	0.1
195	🇨🇺 Cuba	0.0

In 2024, Qatar had the world’s highest share of foreign-born residents, with international migrants making up over three-quarters (76.7%) of its population.

Several Gulf states like Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait ranked at the top of the list, as their economies rely heavily on foreign labor, with migrants making up an overwhelming majority of their workforces.

These countries host higher proportions of international migrants largely due to the kafala system—a sponsorship-based labor framework that ties foreign workers to their employers—drawing million of people for low-wage jobs.

Several small European countries such as Monaco, Liechtenstein, and Andorra also have high shares of migrants, largely due to their small populations and roles as financial or tourism hubs.

U.S. is Still Home to the Most Migrants

By total population, the U.S. recorded the highest number of international migrants in 2024 at 52.4 million.

Mexico to the U.S. was the busiest migrant corridor in the world by far in 2024, with over 10 million people born in Mexico now residing in the United States.

Europe hosted more international migrants than any other region with 94 million in 2024, followed by Northern America—which includes the U.S., Bermuda, Canada, Greenland, and St. Pierre and Miquelon—at 61 million.

These two regions have long been top destinations for immigration over the past few decades.