Between 2018 and 2022, people in households in the ‘other’, Asian and black ethnic groups were the most likely to be in persistent low income, both before and after housing costs, out of all ethnic groups.

As of 2023/24 approximately 11.6 million people were living in relative poverty in the United Kingdom, with that number increasing to over 14.2 million when housing costs are considered.

The figures presented here are from the End Child Poverty Coalition are based on tax credit data, used to estimate the percentage of children on low incomes in local authorities, parliamentary constituencies and wards across the UK. They also use national trends in worklessness to estimate recent changes in the number of children who are in poverty because their parents have lost their jobs, to update the local tax credit data which is more than two years old. This is not a direct measure of exactly how many children are in poverty on the official definition, but is based on the closest to an equivalent measure we have of local levels of child poverty. The data have been adjusted to produce figures compatible with the measures derived from the national survey of income, showing how many children live in households with below 60 per cent of median income. Specifically, the adjustments ensure that the total reported level of child poverty, before and after housing costs, is similar when adding up all the local figures as the official national totals. Thus, the local data gives an idea of the relative poverty levels in different areas, but are adjusted to estimate what these actual levels would be if they could be measured on the same basis as the national household income survey. The local data starts by classifying children in poverty if they live in families in receipt of out of work benefits or in receipt of in-work tax credits where their reported family income is less than 60 per cent of median income. This indicator, compiled officially as a local estimate of child poverty, has been reported for August 2011 by HMRC. However, on its own it is provides an inaccurate picture of actual child poverty, considerably overstating the numbers in out-of-work poverty and understating the numbers in working poverty. While these factors may balance out overall, they can seriously misrepresent the overall trend where working and non-working poverty change in different ways, as well as misrepresenting local differences where working poverty is relatively more important in some areas than others. Therefore, the figures include an upward adjustment in the in-work figure and a downward adjustment in the out-of-work figure. The adjustments are made separately to for AHC and BHC estimates, in each case according to how the total of the local estimates compare to the actual national measure. Figures are then updated, taking into account Labour Force Survey data on the number of children in non-working households for the final quarter of 2013. Additional metadata: - Licence: http://reference.data.gov.uk/id/open-government-licence

United Kingdom UK: Poverty Headcount Ratio at National Poverty Lines: % of Population data was reported at 18.600 % in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 17.000 % for 2016. United Kingdom UK: Poverty Headcount Ratio at National Poverty Lines: % of Population data is updated yearly, averaging 17.800 % from Dec 2016 (Median) to 2017, with 2 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 18.600 % in 2017 and a record low of 17.000 % in 2016. United Kingdom UK: Poverty Headcount Ratio at National Poverty Lines: % of Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.World Bank.WDI: Social: Poverty and Inequality. National poverty headcount ratio is the percentage of the population living below the national poverty line(s). National estimates are based on population-weighted subgroup estimates from household surveys. For economies for which the data are from EU-SILC, the reported year is the income reference year, which is the year before the survey year.;World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are compiled from official government sources or are computed by World Bank staff using national (i.e. country–specific) poverty lines.;;This series only includes estimates that to the best of our knowledge are reasonably comparable over time for a country. Due to differences in estimation methodologies and poverty lines, estimates should not be compared across countries.

Among the OECD countries, Costa Rica had the highest share of children living in poverty, reaching **** percent in 2022. Türkiye followed with a share of ***percent of children living in poverty, while **** percent of children in Spain, Chile, and the United States did the same. On the other hand, only ***** percent of children in Finland were living in poverty.

Out of all OECD countries, Cost Rica had the highest poverty rate as of 2022, at over 20 percent. The country with the second highest poverty rate was the United States, with 18 percent. On the other end of the scale, Czechia had the lowest poverty rate at 6.4 percent, followed by Denmark.

The significance of the OECD

The OECD, or the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, was founded in 1948 and is made up of 38 member countries. It seeks to improve the economic and social well-being of countries and their populations. The OECD looks at issues that impact people’s everyday lives and proposes policies that can help to improve the quality of life.

Poverty in the United States

In 2022, there were nearly 38 million people living below the poverty line in the U.S.. About one fourth of the Native American population lived in poverty in 2022, the most out of any ethnicity. In addition, the rate was higher among young women than young men. It is clear that poverty in the United States is a complex, multi-faceted issue that affects millions of people and is even more complex to solve.

The StatXplore Children in low-income families' local area statistics (CiLIF) provides information on the number of children living in Relative low income by local area across the United Kingdom.The summary Statistical Release and tables which also show the proportions of children living in low income families are available here: Children in low income families: local area statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)Statistics on the number of children (by age) in low income families by financial year are published on Stat-Xplore. Figures are calibrated to the Households Below Average Income (HBAI) survey regional estimates of children in low income but provide more granular local area information not available from the HBAI, for example by Local Authority, Westminster Parliamentary Constituency and Ward.

Relative low-income is defined as a family in low income Before Housing Costs (BHC) in the reference year. A family must have claimed Child Benefit and at least one other household benefit (Universal Credit, tax credits, or Housing Benefit) at any point in the year to be classed as low income in these statistics. Gross income measure is Before Housing Costs (BHC) and includes contributions from earnings, state support and pensions.

Between April 2008 and March 2024, households from the Pakistani and Bangladeshi ethnic groups were the most likely to live in low income out of all ethnic groups, before and after housing costs.

In 2023, the around 11.1 percent of the population was living below the national poverty line in the United States. Poverty in the United StatesAs shown in the statistic above, the poverty rate among all people living in the United States has shifted within the last 15 years. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) defines poverty as follows: “Absolute poverty measures poverty in relation to the amount of money necessary to meet basic needs such as food, clothing, and shelter. The concept of absolute poverty is not concerned with broader quality of life issues or with the overall level of inequality in society.” The poverty rate in the United States varies widely across different ethnic groups. American Indians and Alaska Natives are the ethnic group with the most people living in poverty in 2022, with about 25 percent of the population earning an income below the poverty line. In comparison to that, only 8.6 percent of the White (non-Hispanic) population and the Asian population were living below the poverty line in 2022. Children are one of the most poverty endangered population groups in the U.S. between 1990 and 2022. Child poverty peaked in 1993 with 22.7 percent of children living in poverty in that year in the United States. Between 2000 and 2010, the child poverty rate in the United States was increasing every year; however,this rate was down to 15 percent in 2022. The number of people living in poverty in the U.S. varies from state to state. Compared to California, where about 4.44 million people were living in poverty in 2022, the state of Minnesota had about 429,000 people living in poverty.

United Kingdom UK: Poverty Headcount Ratio at $5.50 a Day: 2011 PPP: % of Population data was reported at 0.700 % in 2015. This records an increase from the previous number of 0.500 % for 2014. United Kingdom UK: Poverty Headcount Ratio at $5.50 a Day: 2011 PPP: % of Population data is updated yearly, averaging 0.700 % from Dec 2004 (Median) to 2015, with 12 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.200 % in 2004 and a record low of 0.400 % in 2012. United Kingdom UK: Poverty Headcount Ratio at $5.50 a Day: 2011 PPP: % of Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s UK – Table UK.World Bank: Poverty. Poverty headcount ratio at $5.50 a day is the percentage of the population living on less than $5.50 a day at 2011 international prices. As a result of revisions in PPP exchange rates, poverty rates for individual countries cannot be compared with poverty rates reported in earlier editions.; ; World Bank, Development Research Group. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income economies are from the Luxembourg Income Study database. For more information and methodology, please see PovcalNet (http://iresearch.worldbank.org/PovcalNet/index.htm).; ; The World Bank’s internationally comparable poverty monitoring database now draws on income or detailed consumption data from more than one thousand six hundred household surveys across 164 countries in six regions and 25 other high income countries (industrialized economies). While income distribution data are published for all countries with data available, poverty data are published for low- and middle-income countries and countries eligible to receive loans from the World Bank (such as Chile) and recently graduated countries (such as Estonia) only. The aggregated numbers for low- and middle-income countries correspond to the totals of 6 regions in PovcalNet, which include low- and middle-income countries and countries eligible to receive loans from the World Bank (such as Chile) and recently graduated countries (such as Estonia). See PovcalNet (http://iresearch.worldbank.org/PovcalNet/WhatIsNew.aspx) for definitions of geographical regions and industrialized countries.

Pan London financial capability data to support Local Authorities Child Poverty Needs Assessments, updated in April 2011 with 2010 data.

This data is designed to help local authorities improve their understanding of the areas within their borough where low financial capability is most likely to exist. This could be useful to child poverty needs assessments, and subsequent work to develop and target support services for residents within their borough.

Supporting Documents

Technical information about the datasets is available in the readme.txt file.

A support note prepared by MAS and CPU is available to advise local authorities on using the data in Child Poverty Needs Assessments.

Profiles of the data categories are available in the Pen Portraits report and details of the underlying model used by Experian are available in Technical Model report.

Further Information

https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/londondatastore-upload/mas_web_graphic.jpg" alt="money advice service logo" />

For more information on the Money Advice Service (formerly the Consumer Financial Education Body): http://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk

For more information on Child Poverty Unit: http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/
families/childpoverty

For details of the Experian model:
http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/thoresen_review_index.htm

Approximately **** percent of individuals in the United Kingdom were defined as living with relative income in 2023/24, after housing costs were considered, with **** percent of people considered as being low-income before housing costs.

3 year based data, i.e. 2007-10 refers to 2007-2010. In 2020-21, there was a reduced sample size due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The data used for both the 2018-22 and 2019-23 figures actually covers 4 years, but the 2020-21 data is omitted.

United Kingdom UK: Proportion of People Living Below 50 Percent Of Median Income: % data was reported at 11.700 % in 2021. This records an increase from the previous number of 11.500 % for 2020. United Kingdom UK: Proportion of People Living Below 50 Percent Of Median Income: % data is updated yearly, averaging 11.600 % from Dec 1968 (Median) to 2021, with 54 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 13.700 % in 1993 and a record low of 4.500 % in 1968. United Kingdom UK: Proportion of People Living Below 50 Percent Of Median Income: % data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.World Bank.WDI: Social: Poverty and Inequality. The percentage of people in the population who live in households whose per capita income or consumption is below half of the median income or consumption per capita. The median is measured at 2017 Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) using the Poverty and Inequality Platform (http://www.pip.worldbank.org). For some countries, medians are not reported due to grouped and/or confidential data. The reference year is the year in which the underlying household survey data was collected. In cases for which the data collection period bridged two calendar years, the first year in which data were collected is reported.;World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income economies are mostly from the Luxembourg Income Study database. For more information and methodology, please see http://pip.worldbank.org.;;The World Bank’s internationally comparable poverty monitoring database now draws on income or detailed consumption data from more than 2000 household surveys across 169 countries. See the Poverty and Inequality Platform (PIP) for details (www.pip.worldbank.org).

The assumptions, methods and findings of dynamic poverty research are in general found to be a simplified and decontextualized version, rather than a misrepresentation of, the qualitative findings. Time formed an important part of the experience of poverty for children. It was not possible to fully match together exits from poverty with perceived improvements in circumstances, and entries into poverty with perceived deteriorations in circumstances, though this was partly due to limited recall and lack of contemporaneous knowledge. Nor were these changes clearly placed in time by respondents, in terms of duration and timing. Although most respondents did not explicitly engage with the idea of poverty as a personal experience, poverty-like accounts of disadvantage and difference were found in the accounts of all respondents. Thus, there is evidence for and against the way child poverty is currently measured, which is one of the issues tackled by the present research. This research project presents an analysis of the correspondence or lack of correspondence between qualitative and quantitative research on child poverty as a temporal experience. Qualitative research on poverty has not generally been informed by the insights of dynamic research, which investigates duration, timing and transitions, among other temporal topics. It is not known how far the measure of child poverty used by the government corresponds to differences in children’s experiences. Qualitative and quantitative methods have not generally been combined in social policy research on poverty, which limits the explanatory power of both, a gap this research attempted to fill. Data collection comprises semi-structured life history interviews(one-off face-to-face), conducted with thirty-21 year olds in Britain with experience of child poverty in the period 1997-2001. These were analysed alongside secondary analysis of the British Household Panel Survey (1991-2005). The qualitative respondents lived in households which took part in the survey, so there is a direct link between the two methods. Interview respondents were recruited from the UK component of the European Community Household Panel (1997-2001), part of the British Household Panel Survey. Therefore, the interviews are a one-off follow-up to the longitudinal study.

This shows fuel poor households as a proportion of all households in the geographical area (modelled) using the Low Income Low Energy Efficiency (LILEE) measure. Since 2021 (2019 data) the LILEE indicator considers a household to be fuel poor if: it is living in a property with an energy efficiency rating of band D, E, F or G as determined by the most up-to-date Fuel Poverty Energy Efficiency Rating (FPEER) methodologyits disposable income (income after housing costs (AHC) and energy needs) would be below the poverty line. The Government is interested in the amount of energy people need to consume to have a warm, well-lit home, with hot water for everyday use, and the running of appliances. Therefore, fuel poverty is measured based on required energy bills rather than actual spending. This ensures that those households who have low energy bills simply because they actively limit their use of energy at home, Fuel poverty statistics are based on data from the English Housing Survey (EHS). Estimates of fuel poverty at the regional level are taken from the main fuel poverty statistics. Estimates at the sub-regional level should only be used to look at general trends and identify areas of particularly high or low fuel poverty. They should not be used to identify trends over time.Data is Powered by LG Inform Plus and automatically checked for new data on the 3rd of each month.