Top 10 poorest countries in the world

The world's poorest countries face serious economic and social problems. The ranking to know what they are made and released by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

There is an official score called the Human Development Index ( HDI ). The scale goes up to 1. In the latest reports released by the UN no country has reached the top mark. Norway came close enough to reach the dream of 0.995 points.

There are also those closed countries whose analysis of the data is not reliable or even done in the proper way given the amount of unreliable information. This is the case in countries such as Monaco, North Korea and South Sudan.

On the other side are the world's poorest countries like Niger and the Democratic Republic of Congo, both located on the African continent. Get to know the sad reality of the less developed nations of the planet.

The world's poorest countries

This classification takes into account the wealth of each nation, level of education, life expectancy, infant mortality and various other factors related to health and development.

The formula was created in the 1990s by two economists Mahbub ul Haq and Amartya Sem, a Pakistani and Indian, respectively.

List of the world's poorest countries

Niger

Niger is in West Africa and is the largest territorial nation in this African region, but 75% is made up of the Sahara Desert. This predominantly dry climate makes water scarcity one of the biggest problems in the area.

The capital and most populous city of Niger is Niamey, made up mostly of people who practice Islam and work on uranium ore, which holds a heavy weight in the country's exports. In the field of politics, Niger has gone through 3 periods of military rule. The population suffers from a lack of schools, sanitation, food, water, and social and health care.

HDI: 0.304 
Life expectancy at birth: 55.1 
Average years of schooling : 1.4 
Years of schooling expected : 4.9 
Gross income per capita: US $ 701

Democratic Republic of Congo

The Democratic Republic of Congo is in Central Africa . It is the second largest country on the continent, whose capital is Kinshasa. It is about 86 million inhabitants and is considered the 16th most populous country in the world.

Unfortunately, it is not only this fact that puts it in the world ranking, but the second poorest country on the planet. There are more than 200 ethnic groups that became independent of Belgium in the 1960s.

Incredibly, the Democratic Republic of Congo is one of the richest countries in natural resources, but this wealth does not generate well-being, citizenship and quality of life for its inhabitants, who suffer from hunger and poor conditions of survival .

HDI: 0.304 
Life expectancy at birth: 48.7 
Average years of schooling : 3.5 
Years of schooling expected: 8.5 
Gross income per capita: US $ 319

Mozambique

Mozambique, officially designated as Republic of Mozambique, is in the southeast of the African Continent. Its capital is Maputo. The country was colonized by the Portuguese until its independence in the 70's.

After that, there was a serious civil war that lasted from 1977 to 1992. It is a country very rich in natural resources, and although its GDP has grown in recent years, the HDI does not follow this rhythm and the country is a poorer third. world.

HDI : 0,327 
Life expectancy at birth: 50.7 
Average years of schooling: 1.2 
Years of schooling expected : 9.2 
Gross income per capita: US $ 906

Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso is an African country whose capital is Ouagadougou. The latest data shows that it has a little more than 15 million inhabitants. He spent many years dominated by France and in the 60s gained his independence.

Most people practice Islam and their extreme poverty leaves them in the top positions of the world's poorest countries. According to the United Nations Development Program, Burkina Faso has the lowest level of literacy in the world.

HDI : 0,343 
Life expectancy at birth: 55.9 
Average years of schooling: 1.3 
Years of schooling expected : 6.9 
Gross income per capita: US $ 1,202

Zimbabwe

The Republic of Zimbabwe is in South Africa , its capital is Harare and has about 16 million inhabitants. It was once a British colony until 1965, underwent internal wars for more than a decade and in 1980, managed to stay in peace for a few years.

Shortly thereafter, a dictatorial regime dominated the country and was responsible for numerous human rights abuses. Only in 2017, its dictator leader was arrested by the national army that struck. The economy is unstable and spreading a financial crisis that leaves the population even poorer.

HDI : 0,344 
Life expectancy at birth : 51.9 
Average years of schooling: 2.0 
Years of schooling expected : 7.5 

Gross income per capita : US $ 853

Eritrea

Eritrea is in the Horn of Africa . Its capital is Asmara and has a population of approximately 5 million inhabitants formed by 9 ethnic groups. Italy was with the country until the 1940s, which later passed into the hands of Ethiopia. The country only gained its independence in 1993, after a war of almost 30 years against Ethiopia. Despite independence there have never been any elections in the country.

The country is one of the 10 poorest in the world and lack education, sanitation and human rights are often disrespected. There is a huge suppression of the freedom both of the civilian population and of the press organs that, in fact, belong to the State.

HDI : 0.351 
Life expectancy at birth : 62.0 
Average years of schooling : 3.4 
Years of schooling expected: 4.6 
Gross income per capita : US $ 531

Central African Republic

The Republic of Central Africa or Central African Republic, as the name itself says, lies in the center of the continent . Its capital is Bangui.

It belonged to France from the late nineteenth century until 1960. However, the first elections only came in the 1990s and did not last long, because in 2004 the country went to war for political reasons. Since then, there have been numerous conflicts of an ethnic and religious nature that have decimated a large part of the population and place it as one of the poorest countries in the world.

HDI : 0.352 
Life expectancy at birth: 49.1 
Average years of schooling: 3.5 
Years of schooling expected : 6.8 
Gross income per capita : US $ 722

Burundi

When compared to the other countries already mentioned in this article, the Republic of Burundi is a small country that is also in Africa. It stands out on the world map because it is in its territory that is the source of the River Nile .

The capital of the Republic of Burundi is Bujumbura. Despite its small size, its poverty is great. The population does not have access to infrastructure, sanitation, employment, education and health.

HDI : 0.355 
Life expectancy at birth : 50.9 
Average years of schooling: 2.7 
Expected schooling: 11.3 

Gross income per capita: US $ 544

Sierra Leone

The Republic of Sierra Leone is in West Africa . It has about 5 million inhabitants, who live mostly in the capital, Freetown. This population is largely Muslim and is part of 16 ethnic groups.

The country passed through Portuguese hands and was much explored by the United Kingdom. Between the 1990s and the early 21st century, the country faced a terrible civil war, leaving it with even lower human development rates.

HDI : 0.359 
Life expectancy at birth : 48.1 
Average years of schooling : 3.3 
Years of schooling expected : 7.3 
Gross income per capita: US $ 881

Guinea Bissau

The Republic of Guinea-Bissau is in West Africa and has a population of 1.6 million people. Portugal colonized it until becoming independent in 1974. Most of the population is practicing Islam, but there is also a small share of other types of religion.

Its economy is fragile and there are virtually no commercial transactions, its GDP being one of the lowest, ranking it as one of the poorest countries in the world, according to the United Nations Development Program report.

HDI : 0.364 
Life expectancy at birth : 48.6 
Average years of schooling : 2.3 
Years of schooling expected : 9.5 
Gross income per capita : US $ 1,042

How to measure poverty in a country

The world's poorest countries, as well as the richest and middle-class, are ranked in a list of countries based on the Human Development Index, the HDI.

This index was created in 2014 and is part of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). The most current was announced in 2018, based on the survey conducted in the previous year of 2017.

The data are provided by almost all the countries that are part of the United Nations. Of the 193 members, 189 provide data to be analyzed by the Human Development Index, HDI, in addition to two other non-UN countries, but are also included in the study.