US Trends

which is the poorest country in the world

The country most widely cited as the poorest country in the world right now is South Sudan , when measured by GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power (GDP‑PPP).

Quick Scoop

  • South Sudan’s GDP‑PPP per capita is reported at about 455 US dollars, placing it at the very bottom of global income rankings.
  • The country faces a combination of prolonged civil conflict, heavy dependence on oil, severe food insecurity, and weak infrastructure, all of which drag down incomes.
  • Other countries that also frequently appear near the bottom of “poorest countries” lists include Burundi, Malawi, Central African Republic, Niger, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, depending on the exact metric and year used.

Why “poorest” is not so simple

When people ask “which is the poorest country in the world,” they usually mean:

  • GDP per capita in purchasing power parity terms (GDP‑PPP per person), which adjusts for price levels between countries.
  • Sometimes, they also look at extreme poverty rates , conflict intensity, or human development indicators like health and education, which can shift rankings a bit even among already very poor countries.

Most recent rankings using GDP‑PPP per capita line up with South Sudan at the bottom, followed closely by countries such as Burundi and Central African Republic.

In short: on current data, South Sudan is generally considered the poorest country in the world by income per person, but it sits in a small group of extremely poor, fragile states that all face overlapping crises.

Information gathered from public data available on the internet and portrayed here.