5. Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
DRC World’s Fifth-Poorest Country
Current International Dollars: 1,474 | View DRC’s GDP & Economic Data
Since gaining independence from Belgium in 1960, the DRC has suffered decades of rapacious dictatorship, political instability and constant violence, making it a regular in our rankings of the world’s poorest countries. Roughly three-quarters of the country’s 97 million population scrapes by on less than two dollars a day.
Yet the World Bank says the DRC has the resources and potential to become one of the richest countries in Africa and a growth-driver for the entire continent. The country is already the world’s largest producer of cobalt and Africa’s leading source of copper—essentials in the production of electric vehicles.
4. Somalia
Somalia, Fourth-Poorest Country in the World
Current International Dollars: 1,374 | View Somalia’s & Economic Data
This country of 17 million in the Horn of Africa never seems to catch a break: 2020 brought coronavirus, floods and an unprecedented infestation of locusts; then Russia’s blockade of Ukraine’s wheat exports helped fill Somali health facilities with severely malnourished children.
Today, Islamist insurgents are trying to overthrow the central government concurrent with the worst drought in four decades. With humanitarian agencies warning that about half of the population is in desperate need of assistance, Somalia is again near the top—or bottom—of our world’s poorest countries ranking.
3. Central African Republic (CAR)
World’s Third-Poorest Country Central African Republic
Current International Dollars: 1,127 | View CAR’s GDP & Economic Data
Rich in gold, oil, uranium and diamonds, the Central African Republic is a very wealthy country inhabited by very poor people and has been among the poorest countries in the world for the better part of a decade.
2. Burundi
Burundi Second Poorest Country in the World
Current International Dollars: 891 | View Burundi’s GDP & Economic Data
Tiny landlocked Burundi lacks natural resources and has been scarred by a 12-year civil war, contributing to its ranking of second-poorest country in the world.
With about 80% of Burundi’s roughly 13 million citizens relying on subsistence agriculture, food insecurity is almost twice as high as the average for sub-Saharan African countries.
Furthermore, access to water and sanitation remains very low and less than 5% of the population has electricity.
1. South Sudan
South Sudan World’s Poorest Country
Current International Dollars: 516 | View South Sudan’s GDP & Economic Data
The very poorest of the world’s poorest countries, South Sudan has been wracked by violence since its creation in 2011. Rich in oil reserves, the landlocked state of roughly 11 million represents a textbook example of the “resource curse,” whereby abundance fosters political and social divisions, inequality, corruption and warfare.
The majority of the population is employed in traditional agriculture, although violence and extreme climate events often prevent farmers from planting or harvesting crops.
