Poorest Countries by GDP per Capita (2026)
Burundi has the lowest GDP per capita at just $219. These countries face significant economic challenges including limited infrastructure, political instability, and restricted access to global markets.
| Rank | Country | GDP/Capita |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Burundi | $219 |
| 2 |  Afghanistan | $414 |
| 3 |  Central African Republic | $516 |
| 4 |  Malawi | $523 |
| 5 |  Madagascar | $545 |
| 6 |  Somalia | $630 |
| 7 |  Yemen | $634 |
| 8 |  DR Congo | $649 |
| 9 |  Mozambique | $657 |
| 10 |  Eritrea | $689 |
| 11 |  Niger | $735 |
| 12 |  Sierra Leone | $807 |
| 13 |  Liberia | $852 |
| 14 |  Gambia | $871 |
| 15 |  Chad | $962 |
| 16 |  Lesotho | $972 |
| 17 |  Burkina Faso | $982 |
| 18 |  Sudan | $985 |
| 19 |  Rwanda | $1,000 |
| 20 |  Guinea-Bissau | $1,008 |
| 21 |  Syria | $1,052 |
| 22 |  Uganda | $1,078 |
| 23 |  South Sudan | $1,080 |
| 24 |  Nigeria | $1,084 |
| 25 |  Mali | $1,095 |
| 26 |  Togo | $1,119 |
| 27 |  Ethiopia | $1,134 |
| 28 |  Tanzania | $1,187 |
| 29 |  Zambia | $1,187 |
| 30 |  Timor-Leste | $1,332 |
| 31 |  Tajikistan | $1,341 |
| 32 |  Myanmar | $1,359 |
| 33 |  Nepal | $1,447 |
| 34 |  Pakistan | $1,479 |
| 35 |  Benin | $1,485 |
| 36 |  Comoros | $1,663 |
| 37 |  Guinea | $1,695 |
| 38 |  Senegal | $1,773 |
| 39 |  Cameroon | $1,830 |
| 40 |  Solomon Islands | $1,934 |
| 41 |  Mauritania | $2,110 |
| 42 |  Laos | $2,124 |
| 43 |  Kenya | $2,132 |
| 44 |  Haiti | $2,143 |
| 45 |  Kiribati | $2,289 |
| 46 |  Ghana | $2,391 |
| 47 |  Kyrgyzstan | $2,420 |
| 48 |  Republic of the Congo | $2,482 |
| 49 |  Zimbabwe | $2,497 |
| 50 |  Palestine | $2,592 |
| 51 |  Bangladesh | $2,593 |
| 52 |  Cambodia | $2,628 |
| 53 |  Angola | $2,666 |
| 54 |  India | $2,695 |
| 55 |  Ivory Coast | $2,728 |
| 56 |  Nicaragua | $2,848 |
| 57 |  Papua New Guinea | $3,007 |
| 58 |  Uzbekistan | $3,162 |
| 59 |  Egypt | $3,338 |
| 60 |  Vanuatu | $3,411 |
| 61 |  Honduras | $3,426 |
| 62 |  Lebanon | $3,478 |
| 63 |  São Tomé and Príncipe | $3,491 |
| 64 |  Djibouti | $3,553 |
| 65 |  Bhutan | $3,831 |
| 66 |  Eswatini | $3,910 |
| 67 |  Philippines | $3,985 |
| 68 |  Morocco | $4,153 |
| 69 |  Micronesia | $4,166 |
| 70 |  Tunisia | $4,181 |
| 71 |  Venezuela | $4,218 |
| 72 |  Namibia | $4,413 |
| 73 |  Bolivia | $4,421 |
| 74 |  Sri Lanka | $4,516 |
| 75 |  Jordan | $4,618 |
| 76 |  Vietnam | $4,717 |
| 77 |  Indonesia | $4,925 |
| 78 |  Iran | $5,190 |
| 79 |  Cape Verde | $5,192 |
| 80 |  Ukraine | $5,389 |
| 81 |  Samoa | $5,393 |
| 82 |  El Salvador | $5,580 |
| 83 |  Tonga | $5,652 |
| 84 |  Algeria | $5,753 |
| 85 |  Iraq | $6,074 |
| 86 |  Guatemala | $6,150 |
| 87 |  South Africa | $6,267 |
| 88 |  Tuvalu | $6,345 |
| 89 |  Paraguay | $6,416 |
| 90 |  Fiji | $6,426 |
| 91 |  Libya | $6,569 |
| 92 |  Equatorial Guinea | $6,745 |
| 93 |  Mongolia | $6,751 |
| 94 |  Turkmenistan | $6,857 |
| 95 |  Ecuador | $6,875 |
| 96 |  Suriname | $6,962 |
| 97 |  Kosovo | $7,023 |
| 98 |  Azerbaijan | $7,284 |
| 99 |  Thailand | $7,347 |
| 100 |  Moldova | $7,576 |
| 101 |  Belize | $7,681 |
| 102 |  Botswana | $7,696 |
| 103 |  Marshall Islands | $7,726 |
| 104 |  Jamaica | $7,754 |
| 105 |  Colombia | $7,919 |
| 106 |  Gabon | $8,230 |
| 107 |  Belarus | $8,318 |
| 108 |  Peru | $8,452 |
| 109 |  Armenia | $8,556 |
| 110 |  Georgia | $9,241 |
| 111 |  North Macedonia | $9,292 |
| 112 |  Bosnia and Herzegovina | $9,359 |
| 113 |  Cuba | $9,605 |
| 114 |  Brazil | $10,311 |
| 115 |  Dominica | $10,405 |
| 116 |  Dominican Republic | $10,876 |
| 117 |  Albania | $11,378 |
| 118 |  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | $11,501 |
| 119 |  Grenada | $11,705 |
| 120 |  Malaysia | $11,874 |
| 121 |  Mauritius | $11,991 |
| 122 |  Montenegro | $13,263 |
| 123 |  China | $13,303 |
| 124 |  Maldives | $13,379 |
| 125 |  Nauru | $13,609 |
| 126 |  Serbia | $13,679 |
| 127 |  Argentina | $13,970 |
| 128 |  Kazakhstan | $14,155 |
| 129 |  Saint Lucia | $14,182 |
| 130 |  Mexico | $14,186 |
| 131 |  Russia | $14,889 |
| 132 |  Palau | $15,611 |
| 133 |  Turkey | $15,893 |
| 134 |  Chile | $16,710 |
| 135 |  Bulgaria | $17,596 |
| 136 |  Seychelles | $17,859 |
| 137 |  American Samoa | $18,017 |
| 138 |  Costa Rica | $18,587 |
| 139 |  Trinidad and Tobago | $18,733 |
| 140 |  Panama | $19,161 |
| 141 |  Romania | $20,080 |
| 142 |  Oman | $20,285 |
| 143 |  Saint Martin | $21,668 |
| 144 |  French Polynesia | $22,440 |
| 145 |  Curaçao | $22,833 |
| 146 |  Hungary | $23,292 |
| 147 |  Latvia | $23,409 |
| 148 |  Antigua and Barbuda | $23,542 |
| 149 |  Northern Mariana Islands | $23,786 |
| 150 |  Uruguay | $23,907 |
| 151 |  Saint Kitts and Nevis | $23,961 |
| 152 |  Croatia | $24,050 |
| 153 |  Greece | $24,626 |
| 154 |  Poland | $25,104 |
| 155 |  Slovakia | $25,993 |
| 156 |  Barbados | $26,545 |
| 157 |  New Caledonia | $29,213 |
| 158 |  Portugal | $29,292 |
| 159 |  Lithuania | $29,384 |
| 160 |  Bahrain | $29,654 |
| 161 |  Guyana | $29,675 |
| 162 |  Estonia | $31,428 |
| 163 |  Czechia | $31,823 |
| 164 |  Japan | $32,487 |
| 165 |  Kuwait | $32,718 |
| 166 |  Brunei | $33,153 |
| 167 |  Slovenia | $34,301 |
| 168 |  Saudi Arabia | $35,122 |
| 169 |  Spain | $35,327 |
| 170 |  South Korea | $36,239 |
| 171 |  Turks and Caicos Islands | $37,507 |
| 172 |  Cyprus | $38,674 |
| 173 |  Puerto Rico | $39,344 |
| 174 |  Bahamas | $39,455 |
| 175 |  Aruba | $39,499 |
| 176 |  Italy | $40,385 |
| 177 |  Sint Maarten | $41,473 |
| 178 |  Guam | $41,833 |
| 179 |  Malta | $43,899 |
| 180 |  United States Virgin Islands | $44,321 |
| 181 |  France | $46,103 |
| 182 |  New Zealand | $49,205 |
| 183 |  Andorra | $49,304 |
| 184 |  United Arab Emirates | $50,274 |
| 185 |  Finland | $53,150 |
| 186 |  United Kingdom | $53,246 |
| 187 |  Hong Kong | $54,075 |
| 188 |  Israel | $54,177 |
| 189 |  Canada | $54,340 |
| 190 |  Germany | $56,104 |
| 191 |  Belgium | $56,615 |
| 192 |  Sweden | $57,117 |
| 193 |  Austria | $58,269 |
| 194 |  Greenland | $58,499 |
| 195 |  San Marino | $59,880 |
| 196 |  Australia | $64,604 |
| 197 |  Netherlands | $67,520 |
| 198 |  Denmark | $71,026 |
| 199 |  Macau | $72,005 |
| 200 |  Faroe Islands | $74,120 |
| 201 |  Qatar | $76,689 |
| 202 |  United States | $84,534 |
| 203 |  Iceland | $86,041 |
| 204 |  Norway | $86,785 |
| 205 |  Isle of Man | $88,329 |
| 206 |  Singapore | $90,674 |
| 207 |  Cayman Islands | $99,144 |
| 208 |  Switzerland | $103,998 |
| 209 |  Ireland | $112,895 |
| 210 |  Luxembourg | $137,782 |
| 211 |  Bermuda | $142,855 |
| 212 |  Liechtenstein | $206,781 |
| 213 |  Monaco | $288,001 |
What Challenges Do the Poorest Countries Face?
Burundi has the lowest GDP per capita at $219, less than 1% of the global average of $22,547.
The poorest countries tend to share several characteristics: economies dependent on subsistence agriculture, limited industrial development, weak institutions, and often histories of conflict or instability. Geographic disadvantages — being landlocked, having limited natural resources — further compound these challenges.
Breaking the Cycle of Poverty
Low GDP per capita correlates strongly with other development challenges: shorter life expectancy, higher infant mortality, lower literacy, and less internet access. Breaking out of this cycle requires sustained investment in education, healthcare, infrastructure, and institutional development.
GDP per capita has limitations as a welfare measure. It excludes informal economic activity, which is substantial in many developing countries, and does not capture subsistence production or non-monetary aspects of wellbeing.