Monetary poverty affected 25.7% of the population in the country, a rate that declined by 1.9 percentage points compared to 2024 (27.6%), meaning 567,000 people moved out of poverty, the
Monetary poverty in Peru stood at 27.5% in 2022 and rose to 29% in 2023, according to INEI figures.
However, it marked a turning point in 2024, when it declined to 27.6%, and maintained that trend in 2025, falling to 25.7%.
The entity's head, Gaspar Moran, specified that poverty declined by 1.4 percentage points in urban areas, falling from 24.8% in 2024 to 23.4% in 2025.
Meanwhile, poverty in rural areas reached 35.5%, down 3.8 percentage points from 2024 (39.3%).
He added that monthly per capita expenditure reached S/920 (about US$262) in 2025, up 2% from 2024 (S/903, about US$257); that is, spending per person increased by S/17 (about US$5).
Poverty line in Peru
Monetary poverty in the country is measured through spending on goods and services (as a proxy for permanent income).
In this sense, the population considered poor in Peru is that whose expenditure does not fully cover the cost of the Basic Consumption Basket, which includes both food and non-food items.
In 2025, the value of the basket reached S/462 (about US$132) per person and, for a four-member household, amounted to S/1,848 (about US$526).
"The population living in extreme poverty in the country is that which is unable to cover the value of the Basic Food Basket, which was estimated at S/260 (about US$74) per person; and for a four-member household it would amount to S/1,040 (about US$296)," the INEI head explained.
Regions
In 2025, the regions of Cajamarca (41%) and Loreto (40.1%) recorded the highest monetary poverty rates nationwide; they were followed by Puno (37.5%), Pasco (36.4%), and Huanuco (35.7%).
By contrast, the regions with the lowest poverty levels were Ica (4.5%), Madre de Dios (7.3%), and Moquegua (7.8%).
In 2025, the regions that reported the largest declines in poverty among the population were Tacna (-6.6 percentage points); Ucayali and Amazonas (-5.3 percentage points each); and Junin (-5.0 percentage points).
Extreme monetary poverty reached 4.7% of the population
The share of the population living in extreme poverty reached 4.7% in 2025, down 0.8 percentage points from 2024 (5.5%), meaning 258,000 people in the country moved out of extreme poverty.
In the year under review, the population living in extreme poverty totaled 1,614,000 people.
By place of residence, extreme poverty in rural areas declined 4.1 percentage points, from 15.5% (2024) to 11.4% (2025).
In other urban areas, it edged down 0.2 percentage points, from 3.0% to 2.8%. However, in Lima Metropolitan Area, extreme poverty rose by 0.3 percentage points, going from 3.3% (2024) to 3.6% (2025).
32.8% of the population is in a vulnerable condition
In 2025, 32.8% of the population is in a vulnerable condition.
It means they can cover the cost of a basic consumption basket but remain at risk of falling into poverty in the event of an adverse change in their economic situation. This result represents a 1.0-percentage-point increase.
Poor households by head-of-household characteristics
By educational attainment, 35.0% of the population in households whose head has primary education or less lives in poverty.
Among those with heads of household who completed secondary education, 27.1% are in poverty, while households led by individuals with higher education record a poverty rate of 11.3%.
By mother tongue, 30.4% of the population in households whose head speaks Quechua or Aymara is poor; this condition affects 46.2% of the population in households whose head has an Indigenous Amazonian mother tongue; and the share among households with Spanish-speaking heads reached 23.8%.
In households whose head works as a wage employee (employee or laborer), 20.9% of the population lives in poverty.
When the household head is self-employed, the poverty rate rises to 29.0%.
Profile of the population living in poverty
In 2025, 35.0% of the population living in poverty had access to water with adequate chlorine levels; among those in extreme poverty, this share was 20.8%.
Meanwhile, 57.0% of the poor population had access to sewerage through a public network, compared with only 36.7% among those in extreme poverty.
Regarding access to Information and Communication Technologies, 40.6% of poor households had internet access, while among those in extreme poverty the figure stood at 23.3%.
In 2025, informality was lower among the poor population (89.1%) compared to the extremely poor population (96.1%).
Regarding the use of digital wallets, 21.4% of the poor population used platforms such as Yape and Plin or others; among the extremely poor population, this share was only 9.4%.
Poverty Advisory Commission validates data published by INEI
The work of the National Institute of Statistics and Informatics (INEI) in measuring and estimating poverty is supported by the Poverty Estimation Advisory Commission and other related indicators in Peru.
The commission was created through Supreme Resolution No. 097-2010-PCM.
Among its functions is to assess and validate the methodology and the results of the estimates to ensure comparability of the indicators over time.
This working group is composed of representatives from the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), Ministry of Development and Social Inclusion (MIDIS), National Center for Food and Nutrition (CENAN), Central Reserve Bank (BCR), Roundtable for the Fight Against Poverty (MCLCP), Economic and Social Research Consortium (CIES), Group for the Analysis of Development (GRADE), Peruvian Studies Institute (IEP), Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (PUCP), and University of the Pacific (UP), as well as international organizations such as the World Bank (WB), Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD), and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), in addition to independent experts with recognized technical expertise.