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Poorest Countries with Exceptions

Most of the poorest countries of the world are in Africa or Oceania. Name the poorest countries that are NOT in those continents.
2023. Purchasing power parity. More info here.
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: April 23, 2023
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First submittedNovember 25, 2015
Times taken88,965
Average score80.0%
Rating4.51
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Per Capita
Continent
Country
1,588
Asia
North Korea
2,042
Asia
Yemen
2,459
Asia
Afghanistan
2,794
Asia
Syria
3,248
North America
Haiti
3,637
Asia
East Timor
5,101
Asia
Nepal
5,132
Asia
Myanmar
5,293
Asia
Tajikistan
6,092
Asia
Cambodia
Per Capita
Continent
Country
6,250
Asia
Kyrgyzstan
6,836
Asia
Pakistan
7,228
North America
Honduras
7,601
North America
Nicaragua
8,028
South America
Venezuela
8,663
Asia
Bangladesh
9,073
Asia
India
9,801
Asia
Laos
10,308
Asia
Uzbekistan
10,327
South America
Bolivia
+56
Level 48
Dec 6, 2015
Good quiz. I really like this one
+5
Level 18
Jan 18, 2017
not really
+3
Level 46
Mar 30, 2020
It was a decent quiz. I got 17/20 so I am unhappy. I have seen poor countries and most are African. NO AFRICAN COUNTRIES IS RIDICULOUS!
+127
Level 63
Sep 15, 2020
someone didn't care nor read the instructions.
+5
Level 50
Jul 18, 2022
someone didn’t care to pay attention in school or grammar, he/she means that he/she thinks that no African nations are ridiculous because that’s where most poor countries are
+23
Level 57
Apr 25, 2023
What are you even talking about @YouLoveEagle?
+12
Level 76
May 3, 2023
Judging by that sentence structure, clearly you didn't, either.
+17
Level 65
Dec 6, 2015
Surprised Moldova was on this list, never knew they were so poor

Can probably blame it on the Soviet Union

+33
Level 56
Dec 9, 2015
Already in the USSR, the Western regions were richer than Siberia and Central Asia. Some countries (e.g. Estonia, Russia, Kazakhstan) have been able to rebuild their economy after independence. The ones that haven't (e.g. Moldova, Ukraine, Tajikistan), have had an unstable political situation and now are poorer than during the Cold War.
+7
Level 61
Oct 24, 2016
I mostly learned about Moldova from having a college roommate from there for a while (I wound up with a LOT of East European housemates over the three years I lived in a student rental...). I knew where it was on the map, and that was about it (that impressed him enough as it was!), and he was happy to tell me about how poor it was, but conversely how much cheaper everything was there too. Being landlocked and formerly a part of the USSR certainly didn't help it. :P Also, the guy was trilingual from growing up there, he spoke fluent Romanian, Russian AND English and spoke decent French too. DAMN was I jealous.
+2
Level 54
Jan 24, 2020
Hello 2015! 2020 here, welcome Molova!
+7
Level 76
Jul 21, 2020
Can probably blame it on post-Soviet gangster capitalism.
+5
Level 57
Jan 23, 2021
Its the country with the least tourists in Europe. Bald and Bankrupt did a decent video going there, but as usual it was riddled with his annoying Soviet fetish and degrading of the people that live there
+1
Level 55
Jun 13, 2023
I haven't seen the video you're talking about but it makes me sad to hear that that guy talked about the people in Moldova in a degrading way. We went there a few years ago and all the people we interacted with were lovely. Of course there aren't big, flashy tourist attractions but there's still enough to see and experience.
+3
Level 72
Apr 25, 2021
never seen that video or any of his but jeez that guy sounds like a word I'm not allowed to say on jetpunk
+13
Level 57
Dec 6, 2015
Next up - Richest outside Europe & North America?
+18
Level 70
Sep 25, 2016
Good idea, but most countries in North America aren't exactly rich.
+6
Level 82
Mar 17, 2018
Reless already made that quiz
+3
Level 69
Dec 29, 2015
What about East Timor?
+6
Level 69
Jul 9, 2016
It seems to me Seba is correct! East Timor is in Asia, not Oceania, and certainly fits the financial criteria.
+1
Level 74
Oct 16, 2017
Indeed, the latest data would include East Timor; we could also have the Palestine debate, but let's save that for another day and just include East Timor. :)
+4
Level 77
Jan 9, 2020
No, East Timor is in Oceania. Discuss.
+6
Level 71
Apr 20, 2016
Surprised that Pakistan is listed as 11th poorest nation in this list when it is listed 10th greatest Armaments Importer 2015.... it's all a matter of priorities.
+1
Level 27
Jul 3, 2020
Its because one of their provinces has tribal people, and those millions of people just move around and dont accept gov aid, the rest of the nation is relatively stable
+2
Level 63
Apr 23, 2023
"The rest of it is relatively stable compared to the least stable part of it"
+6
Level 72
May 9, 2017
Sigh! Try two of the former Soviet "Stans" and they aren't in it so give up on them and move along. Sure enough the other three are the three answers I missed.
+1
Level 3
Jul 28, 2017
Wrong wrong wrong Malawi should be on there.quizzmaster your

wrong correct me if I'm wrong???

+20
Level 46
Oct 16, 2017
Evers15, first of all read the title and the directions for this quiz. If you're so good at geography and you can't figure that out I'm going to crack up XD. NO AFRICAN COUNTRIES
+2
Level 26
Nov 11, 2017
It's not all cracked up to be
+3
Level 59
Apr 25, 2021
You're wrong. There, you're corrected!
+1
Level 3
Jul 28, 2017
And I know everything about geography (capitals countries poorest countries in the world!!!!
+22
Level 73
Mar 14, 2019
And apparently know nothing about reading directions or humility.
+3
Level 3
Jul 28, 2017
Sorry I missed punctuation
+17
Level 77
Feb 5, 2018
You also missed the instructions at the beginning of the quiz.
+1
Level 45
Jan 1, 2018
Got 11/20 but the only reasons I got the Stans is because most of them are dictatorships, so I thought "Lets give it a shot"
+1
Level 44
Mar 17, 2018
lol I did too, cause well no Africa.. no countries in Europe saveone I knew... ;)
+7
Level 71
Apr 25, 2021
It's a common misconception to assume that dictatorships correlate with poverty. Keep in mind that Saudi Arabia is both incredibly autocratic and incredibly wealthy, and that South Korea and Singapore had incredible developmental successes under dictators.

Political instability and corruption correlate better with poverty than just autocracy. China is a very stable dictatorship; India is a pretty unstable democracy. It's pretty clear which one is doing better now economically. I'm not endorsing dictatorship of course, I just want to point this out.

+4
Level 77
Feb 5, 2018
It's amazing that no matter how many quizzes I do, I NEVER see Suriname or Guyana on any of them. I could have sworn that one of them would be a shoe-in for this one.
+1
Level 44
Mar 17, 2018
if you ask me both those are poorer than many of the countries on this list. Moldova and Burma/Myannamr are both really poor as well.
+2
Level 82
Mar 17, 2018
Moldova and Myanmar make the list. The poorest country in South America is Bolivia. Guyana is the 2nd poorest. But both are less poor than India.
+1
Level 27
Jul 3, 2020
Why india isnt on the list, its certainly the poorest i think
+4
Level 56
Jul 21, 2020
@furqanahmad Is that what they teach you in Pakistani Madrasas? India is certainly not the poorest. Infact it is is far better than any of the countries in South Asia.
+5
Level 82
Sep 15, 2020
India only barely avoids inclusion on this list. Pretty dirt poor country. It's just not the lowest of the low. And actually if you take away the PPP adjustment then it's poorer than Honduras, Vietnam, Laos, Moldova and Bolivia.
+4
Level 55
Apr 25, 2021
@Kalbahamut, but the Indian Economy is the fastest growing in the world. It has also declined in Poverty by 16 percent.
+2
Level 82
Apr 26, 2021
but now it's on the list
+2
Level 37
Jul 22, 2018
Suriname and Guyana, while not rich by any stretch of the imagination, have bauxite and other minerals which keep them more or less afloat.
+1
Level 63
Sep 20, 2023
this didn't age well
+1
Level 56
Jul 17, 2019
Guyana and Suriname have quite low population density and quite high Hindu population. You might want to look for quizzes like that.
+1
Level 62
Mar 17, 2018
Can't believeI forgot Uzbekistan. I even tried all other Stans, but I guess I forgot this one.
+1
Level 45
Mar 17, 2018
I got 19 out of 20. Spelled Kyrgyzstan wrong. Dang it.
+3
Level 75
Mar 20, 2018
I know how that country should be spelled, but it usually takes me several times to make my fingers type it correctly. It always takes up time for me. When I'm Queen of the World, I'll change the name to Kystan. :)
+3
Level 71
May 20, 2019
I think you spelt 'Kystan' incorrectly.
+4
Level 65
Jul 17, 2019
And Kastan, Uzstan, Tustan*, Tastan and Afstan, (and perhaps Azjan)

*you could argue turkstan

plus then I would also say kyrstan

+2
Level 39
Mar 17, 2018
My economics textbook is all wrong...Bhutan is poorer than India in it.
+1
Level 18
Mar 17, 2018
20/20 easy quiz 3:03 left
+1
Level 61
Mar 17, 2018
I forgot Haiti!!!
+1
Level 44
Mar 19, 2018
expected kosovo, lebanon or more carribean islands (like st. lucia and stuff)
+1
Level 31
Mar 19, 2018
east timor is in oceania isnt it?
+3
Level 44
Mar 20, 2018
it went independent from indonesia, and indonesia is asian.

the only oceanian country from those islands between the asian continent and stralia is papua new guinea.

+1
Level 64
Mar 19, 2018
East Timor with 2 seconds left! H-U-N-D-O!!!
+1
Level 73
Mar 20, 2018
Forgot Afghanistan!!! 😭😭😭
+2
Level 37
Jul 22, 2018
Surprised to see Syria and Yemen on this list. Don't they have oil like their Saudi and Omani neighbors?
+7
Level 82
May 8, 2019
They both have some but not as much as their neighbors; corruption, political turmoil and civil war have kept their resources from being fully exploited.
+2
Level 67
Oct 18, 2018
Would have thought Bolivia would be poorer than moldova
+1
Level 68
Jul 17, 2019
Well I forgot Syria. I was sure I had covered the globe!
+2
Level 65
Jul 17, 2019
A map would be very nice with this one, to see how things are distributed over the world.
+2
Level 67
Jul 17, 2019
In the last 15 seconds I got Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan, I did not know I could type that fast!
+2
Level 88
Jul 17, 2019
I don't want to start another whole Cyprus thing...but isn't East Timor generally considered to be part of Oceania, much like Papua New Guinea is?
+1
Level 40
Jul 17, 2019
It depends where you draw the line
+1
Level 77
Jan 9, 2020
North of Timor, obviously.
+1
Level 63
Sep 20, 2023
No? It's generally considered to be in Asia.
+1
Level 40
Jul 17, 2019
Moldova? Huh? Well ok I guess xD
+2
Level 82
May 28, 2020
They haven't earned the title poorest country in Europe for nothing.
+1
Level 41
Jun 23, 2020
I can't believe Malawi isn't on this list.
+7
Level 67
Jul 21, 2020
Probably because this quiz is about countries that are NOT in Africa and Oceania.
+1
Level 60
Jul 21, 2020
Surprised to see Uzbekistan but not India
+1
Level 64
Jun 5, 2023
The quiz has been updated.
+1
Level 82
Apr 15, 2021
It amazes me how dirt poor the former Soviet republics of Central Asia are (with the exception of Kazakhstan). I mean, they were part of a superpower until not so long ago and yet they make this list - a list the likes of Iraq and Vietnam miss out on.
+1
Level 84
Apr 16, 2021
Every superpower had areas that were not as modern or prosperous, especially one as huge and wide ranging as the USSR.

And you realize the soviet communist/socialist system itself is to blame for leaving those areas high and dry once the USSR broke up? It's not by coincidence that there is a ton of corruption and poor governance, and very little in the way of proper support for entrepreneurship there.

+3
Level 67
Apr 25, 2021
The Soviet -stans are landlocked and lack natural resources. Given that, they'd need some kind of innovative production economy to compete, which usually requires a government that is most interested in serving its people. The governments in this area tend to be autocratic and corrupt, with a primary interest in maintaining power and quelling dissent. You add in the facts that these countries were born of the Soviet economic system and they have many tribal citizens uninterested in economic might, and you've got a recipe for poverty.
+1
Level 77
Apr 16, 2021
expected Iraq to be here, but turns out they're at 11,000+, close to Iran
+1
Level 27
Apr 25, 2021
Cuba is not on the list ? You could have knocked me over with a feather !
+1
Level 27
Apr 25, 2021
Add a map.
+5
Level 65
Apr 25, 2021
Why? It is completely unnecessary.
+1
Level 68
Apr 25, 2021
i forgot india -_-
+1
Level 33
Apr 25, 2021
i missed uzbekistan
+3
Level 67
Apr 26, 2021
North Korea is the wealthiest and most prosperous nation in the world. This whole list is suspect.
+5
Level 58
Oct 31, 2021
At least one family seems to be doing pretty well there
+1
Level 57
Jun 24, 2022
I started tackling Asia first then kinda got in the zone and forgot this rest included other continents, then I nearly ran out of time scanning Asia for the 5th time for the countries I missed...
+3
Level 53
Aug 8, 2022
I bet Sri Lanka would make the list now (August 2022).
+2
Level 71
Jun 13, 2023
It's 2023 now and it's not on the list. I'm surprised actually.
+1
Level 67
Apr 23, 2023
2:27
+1
Level 55
Jun 13, 2023
Got everything but #1