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.

In 2023/24 approximately 3.9 million children in the United Kingdom were living in absolute poverty after housing costs were considered, with a further 6.9 million working-age adults living in this situation, 1.6 million pensioners, and 5,4 million families where someone is disabled.

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.

Between 2019 and 2023, people living in households in the Asian and ‘Other’ ethnic groups were most likely to be in persistent low income before and after housing costs

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

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.

In 2019, people from most ethnic minority groups were more likely than White British people to live in the most deprived neighbourhoods.

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.

This data comes from the US Census and is illustrated through margin of error, percent of those below the poverty line, and rank of states with the worst senior poverty.

This data originally comes from the US Census and is illustrated by margin of error, percent, and rank of families with related children below the poverty line.

Multidimensional Poverty Headcount Ratio: UNDP: % of total population data was reported at 3.800 % in 2015. Multidimensional Poverty Headcount Ratio: UNDP: % of total population data is updated yearly, averaging 3.800 % from Dec 2015 (Median) to 2015, with 1 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 3.800 % in 2015 and a record low of 3.800 % in 2015. Multidimensional Poverty Headcount Ratio: UNDP: % of total population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Brazil – Table BR.World Bank.WDI: Social: Poverty and Inequality. The multidimensional poverty headcount ratio (UNDP) is the percentage of a population living in poverty according to UNDPs multidimensional poverty index. The index includes three dimensions -- health, education, and living standards.;Alkire, S., Kanagaratnam, U., and Suppa, N. (2023). ‘The global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) 2023 country results and methodological note’, OPHI MPI Methodological Note 55, Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI), University of Oxford. (https://ophi.org.uk/mpi-methodological-note-55-2/);;

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.

Data on the percentage of people who are living under the poverty line in their respective country

In 2024/25, approximately 2.9 million emergency food parcels were distributed from Trussell Trust food banks in the United Kingdom, compared with 3.1 million in 2023/24. There has been a steep rise in food bank usage in the UK, with a threefold increase in the number of parcels distributed in 2023/24, compared with 2014/15. As of the most recent year, there were over 1,700 Trussell Trust food bank distribution centers in the UK, compared with 1,500 in 2018/19. Cost of Living crisis continues Since late 2021, UK households have had to grapple with a steep rise in the cost of living. This crisis appeared to have peaked in 2022, when around 90 percent of households were reporting monthly increases to their living costs, and inflation reached a 40-year high of 11.1 percent in October 2022. Although inflation subsequently came down and wages began to outpace inflation from 2023 onward, prices remain far higher than before the crisis began. Furthermore, the first half of 2025 has seen an uptick in inflation, which, although expected to subside towards the end of the year, has piled further misery on struggling UK households. Growing discontent with political mainstream After one year in power, the current Labour government is almost as unpopular as the Conservative government they replaced, which suffered one of their worst results in their history at the last election. To deal with the UK's precarious public finances without significant tax rises, Labour have attempted to make reforms to welfare, such as cutting the winter fuel allowances for all but the poorest pensioners. This cut in particular was so unpopular that Labour reinstated it for most pensioners, with further attempts at welfare reform also hitting a roadblock. These events, along with a stuttering economy, have seen Labour fall significantly at the polls, especially at the expense of the right-wing Reform Party, who have generally led the polls since the start of the year.

Percent of Children in Poverty (income below $19,806 for a family of two adults and two children in 2005) is the percentage of children under age 18 who live in families with incomes below 100 percent of the U.S. poverty threshold, as defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. The federal poverty definition consists of a series of thresholds based on family size and composition and is updated every year to account for inflation. In calendar year 2005, a family of two adults and two children fell in the poverty category if their annual income fell below $19,806. Poverty status is not determined for people living in group quarters, such as military barracks, prisons, and other institutional quarters, or for unrelated individuals under age 15 (such as foster children). The data are based on income received in the 12 months prior to the survey. SOURCE: * U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.

In 2020, approximately ** percent of male respondents in the United Kingdom* (U.K.) stated in a survey that at some point during the last 12 months, they did not eat because they could not afford it. Among females, this figure was ** percent. The base for the survey were all respondents who often/sometimes worried food would run out before they got money to buy more or the food that they bought didn't last and they didn't have money to buy more or couldn't afford to eat balanced meals.

In 2023/24 approximately 64,960 households in England were accepted for main homeless duties, whereby the relevant local authority deemed the applicant to be unintentionally homeless and eligible for assistance. Before 2018/19 the figures are noticeably higher than this, with over 56,000 main duty acceptances in 2017/18, although this is due to the introduction of other statutory homeless duties in 2018/19.

In 2024/25, over ******* people used a food bank in London, an when compared to the previous year. Food bank use in London has steadily climbed recently, with 108,370 users recorded in 2014/15.