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.

Numbers and rates of income support claimants.

Income Support is intended to help people on low incomes who do not have to be available for employment. It can normally be claimed by people who are:

- aged 16 or over;

- not working or working under 16 hours per week (and/or with a partner working under 24 hours);

- not required to be available for full-time employment; and

- in receipt of insufficient income to meet prescribed needs.

The main types of people who receive it are lone parents, the long and short-term sick, people with disabilities and other special groups.

Rates are as a percentage of all people aged 16-64 from ONS mid-year estimates.

This dataset is based on 100% of claims so is not subject to any sampling error. In outputs figures are rounded to the nearest 10.

Data relate to a single point in time, the reference date, and provide a snapshot of claims at that point. The reference date is the last day of the month in question. Data are not seasonally adjusted so any comparisons should be made year on year.

Exercise caution when using time series as figures are affected by the introduction of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) in April 2003.

After August 2003 there was a sharp decline in the total number of claimants. This is due to the migration of most existing Minimum Income Guarantee claimants (1.8 million) to Pension Credit, which was introduced in October 2003.

Figures under 500 are subject to high sampling variation and should be used with caution.

- These figures are missing.

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