In 2022, 9.9 percent of all Canadians were living in low income. Between 2000 and 2022, the percentage of population with low income experienced a decrease, reaching the lowest value in 2020. The highest share of Canadians with low income was recorded in 2015, with 14.5 percent of the total population.

Low Income Measures

The low income measures (LIMs) were developed by Statistics Canada in the 1990s. They, along with the low income cut-offs (LICOs) and the market basket measure (MBM), were created in order to measure and track the low income population of Canada. With low income measures, individuals are classified as being in low income if their income falls below fifty percent of the median adjusted household income. The median income is adjusted in order to reflect the differing financial needs of households based on the number of its members. The low income measures are a useful tool to compare low income populations between countries as they do not rely on an arbitrary standard of what constitutes the threshold for poverty. Statistics Canada insists that the low income measures are not meant to be representative of a poverty rate. The department has no measure which they define as a measurement of poverty in Canada. Latest data and trends In 2022, around 2.1 million people were living in low income families in Canada. This figure has been fluctuating over the years, both in absolute numbers and in proportion over the total population. More women than men were living in low income families in 2022, though the number of men in low income has risen at twice the rate as that of women. One of the more drastic changes has been the rise in the number of single individuals living in low income, increasing by more than 60 percent since 2000.

Poverty and low-income statistics by visible minority group, Indigenous group and immigration status, Canada and provinces.

Historical dataset showing Canada poverty rate by year from 1971 to 2020.

Percent of Population Below the Poverty Level (5-year estimate) in Canadian County, OK was 8.60% in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Percent of Population Below the Poverty Level (5-year estimate) in Canadian County, OK reached a record high of 8.60 in January of 2023 and a record low of 7.00 in January of 2013. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Percent of Population Below the Poverty Level (5-year estimate) in Canadian County, OK - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on December of 2025.

Number of persons in low income, low income rate and average gap ratio by economic family type, annual.

Poverty and low-income statistics by disability status, age group, sex and economic family type, Canada, annual.

Poverty rate at $1.9 a day of Canada remained stable at 0.20 % over the last 3 years. Population below $1.9 a day is the percentage of the population living on less than $1.9 a day at 2005 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.

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.

CA: Number of People Pushed Below the $3.10: Poverty Line by Out-of-Pocket Health Care Expenditure: 2011 PPP data was reported at 10,000.000 Person in 2010. This records a decrease from the previous number of 12,000.000 Person for 2007. CA: Number of People Pushed Below the $3.10: Poverty Line by Out-of-Pocket Health Care Expenditure: 2011 PPP data is updated yearly, averaging 12,000.000 Person from Dec 1994 (Median) to 2010, with 5 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 16,000.000 Person in 1994 and a record low of 10,000.000 Person in 2010. CA: Number of People Pushed Below the $3.10: Poverty Line by Out-of-Pocket Health Care Expenditure: 2011 PPP data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Canada – Table CA.World Bank.WDI: Social: Poverty and Inequality. Number of people pushed below the $3.10 ($ 2011 PPP) poverty line by out-of-pocket health care expenditure; ; Wagstaff et al. Progress on Impoverishing Health Spending: Results for 122 Countries. A Retrospective Observational Study, Lancet Global Health 2017.; Sum;

Canada CA: Poverty Headcount Ratio at $1.90 a Day: 2011 PPP: % of Population data was reported at 0.200 % in 2017. This stayed constant from the previous number of 0.200 % for 2016. Canada CA: Poverty Headcount Ratio at $1.90 a Day: 2011 PPP: % of Population data is updated yearly, averaging 0.200 % from Dec 1971 (Median) to 2017, with 18 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2.200 % in 1971 and a record low of 0.200 % in 2017. Canada CA: Poverty Headcount Ratio at $1.90 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 Canada – Table CA.World Bank.WDI: Social: Poverty and Inequality. Poverty headcount ratio at $1.90 a day is the percentage of the population living on less than $1.90 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, 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 around 2000 household surveys across 169 countries. See the Poverty and Inequality Platform (PIP) for details (www.pip.worldbank.org).

Individual poverty status using Market Basket Measure (MBM) by visible minority groups, age, and gender.

Canada Proportion of Population Pushed Below the 60% Median Consumption Poverty Line By Out-of-Pocket Health Expenditure: % data was reported at 0.900 % in 2019. This records a decrease from the previous number of 1.200 % for 2017. Canada Proportion of Population Pushed Below the 60% Median Consumption Poverty Line By Out-of-Pocket Health Expenditure: % data is updated yearly, averaging 1.500 % from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2019, with 15 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.800 % in 2004 and a record low of 0.900 % in 2019. Canada Proportion of Population Pushed Below the 60% Median Consumption Poverty Line By Out-of-Pocket Health Expenditure: % data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Canada – Table CA.World Bank.WDI: Social: Poverty and Inequality. This indicator shows the fraction of a country’s population experiencing out-of-pocket health impoverishing expenditures, defined as expenditures without which the household they live in would have been above the 60% median consumption but because of the expenditures is below the poverty line. Out-of-pocket health expenditure is defined as any spending incurred by a household when any member uses a health good or service to receive any type of care (preventive, curative, rehabilitative, long-term or palliative care); provided by any type of provider; for any type of disease, illness or health condition; in any type of setting (outpatient, inpatient, at home).;Global Health Observatory. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2023. (https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/themes/topics/financial-protection);Weighted average;This indicator is related to Sustainable Development Goal 3.8.2 [https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/metadata/].

Market Basket Measure (MBM) thresholds for the reference family by MBM region and base year. Total thresholds as well as thresholds for the food, clothing, transportation, shelter and other expenses components are presented, in current and constant dollars, annual.

Low income statistics by age, sex and economic family type, annual.

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.

Canada CA: Proportion of Population Pushed Below the 50% Median Consumption Poverty Line By Out-of-Pocket Health Care Expenditure: % data was reported at 0.912 % in 2010. This records an increase from the previous number of 0.774 % for 2007. Canada CA: Proportion of Population Pushed Below the 50% Median Consumption Poverty Line By Out-of-Pocket Health Care Expenditure: % data is updated yearly, averaging 0.680 % from Dec 1994 (Median) to 2010, with 5 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 0.912 % in 2010 and a record low of 0.445 % in 2000. Canada CA: Proportion of Population Pushed Below the 50% Median Consumption Poverty Line By Out-of-Pocket Health Care Expenditure: % data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Canada – Table CA.World Bank.WDI: Social: Poverty and Inequality. Proportion of population pushed below the 50% median consumption poverty line by out-of-pocket health care expenditure, expressed as a percentage of a total population of a country; ; Wagstaff et al. Progress on Impoverishing Health Spending: Results for 122 Countries. A Retrospective Observational Study, Lancet Global Health 2017; Weighted Average;

In 2021, around 0.9 million people were living in low income families in Ontario. Ontario had the largest number of individuals living in low income households. Quebec and British Columbia followed with 504 thousand and 287 thousand, respectively.

In 2022, the number of persons under 18 years in economic families with low income in Canada was 888,000. Between 1976 and 2022, the figure dropped by 139,000, though the decline followed an uneven course rather than a steady trajectory.

Poverty and low-income statistics by disability status, age group, sex and economic family type, Canada, annual.

The percentage of persons in low income for all persons in British Columbia stood at 11.6 percent in 2022. Between 1976 and 2022, the percentage of persons in low income rose by 0.4 percentage points, though the increase followed an uneven trajectory rather than a consistent upward trend.