I looked at the GDP per capita statistics for last year and was struck by how large the disparities are between countries. The poorest countries in the world in 2025 are mostly African nations. South Sudan tops the sad list with $251, Yemen is second with $417, followed by Burundi, the Central African Republic, and Malawi.

Interestingly, not only African nations are among the top 50 poorest countries. There are also Asian countries — Tajikistan ($1,432), Nepal ($1,458), East Timor ($1,491), Cambodia ($2,870), Bangladesh ($2,689). Even India, with its huge population, shows $2,878 per capita.

The poorest countries in the African region are the DRC ($743), Niger ($751), Somalia ($766), Nigeria ($807). But even among them, the range is significant. Looking at the end of the list — Kenya ($2,468), Ghana ($2,519), Haiti ($2,672).

These are 2025 data, and they show that economic development is distributed extremely unevenly. The poorest countries often face issues like conflicts, instability, and limited access to resources. It would be interesting to see how these indicators change in the coming years.