Editing Poverty threshold (section)

==National poverty lines==
[[File:Percent Poverty World Map.png|upright=1.35|right|thumb|2008 CIA World Factbook-based map showing the percentage of population by country living below that country's official poverty line]]
National estimates are based on population-weighted subgroup estimates from household surveys. Definitions of the poverty line do vary considerably among nations. For example, rich nations generally employ more generous standards of poverty than poor nations. Even among rich nations, the standards differ greatly. Thus, the numbers are not comparable among countries. Even when nations do use the same method, some issues may remain.<ref>"http://inequalitywatch.eu/spip.php?article99" Eurostat 2010</ref>

=== Poland ===
{{Main article|Poverty in Poland}}
According to [[Statistics Poland]], the proportion of the population living below the national [[extreme poverty]] (minimum subsistence) threshold was 4.2% {{As of|2019|lc=y}}. This is approximately 22% or 1.2 percentage points lower than the previous year. In the fourth quarter of 2019, for single-person households, this threshold was set at 614 [[Polish złoty|zł]] per month (~20.17 zł per day, equivalent to ~€4.71 or ~$5.21 per day at the time).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Żyra |first=Małgorzata |date=2020-06-30 |title=Zasięg ubóstwa ekonomicznego w Polsce w 2019 r. |trans-title=The extent of economic poverty in Poland in 2019 |url=https://stat.gov.pl/files/gfx/portalinformacyjny/pl/defaultaktualnosci/5487/14/7/1/zasieg_ubostwa_ekonomicznego_w_polsce_w_2019_r.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250401160225/https://stat.gov.pl/files/gfx/portalinformacyjny/pl/defaultaktualnosci/5487/14/7/1/zasieg_ubostwa_ekonomicznego_w_polsce_w_2019_r.pdf |archive-date=2025-04-01 |access-date=2025-04-01 |publisher=[[Statistics Poland]] |language=pl }}</ref>

===United Kingdom===
{{See also|Poverty in the United Kingdom}}
In the UK in 2006, "more than five million people&nbsp;– over a fifth (23 percent) of all employees&nbsp;– were paid less than £6.67 an hour". This value is based on a low pay rate of 60 percent of full-time median earnings, equivalent to a little over £12,000 a year for a 35-hour working week. In April 2006, a 35-hour week would have earned someone £9,191 a year&nbsp;– before tax or National Insurance".<ref>{{cite web |title=Working out of Poverty: A study of the low paid and the working poor |website=Institute for Public Policy Research |first1=Graeme |last1=Cooke |first2=Kayte |last2=Lawton |date=January 2008 |url=https://www.ippr.org/files/images/media/files/publication/2011/05/working_out_of_poverty_1616.pdf }}{{Dead link|date=May 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>[http://www.ippr.org.uk/pressreleases/?id=2965 IPPR Article: "Government must rescue 'forgotten million children' in poverty"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090825015655/http://www.ippr.org.uk/pressreleases/?id=2965 |date=25 August 2009 }}</ref>

In 2019, the [[Low Pay Commission]] estimated that about 7% of people employed in the UK were earning at or below the [[National Minimum Wage Act 1998|National Minimum Wage]].<ref name="BFD_2021">{{cite web |last1=Francis-Devine |first1=Brigid |title=National Minimum Wage Statistics: Research Briefing |url=https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-7735 |website=UK Parliament |publisher=House of Commons |access-date=24 January 2022 |date=2021}}</ref> In 2021, the [[Office for National Statistics]] found that 3.8% of jobs were paid below the National Minimum Wage, a decrease from 7.4% in 2020 but an increase from 1.4% in 2019.<ref name="ONS_2021">{{cite web |last1=White |first1=Nicola |title=Low and high pay in the UK: 2021 |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/bulletins/lowandhighpayuk/2021#national-minimum-wage-and-national-living-wage |publisher=Office for National Statistics |access-date=24 January 2022 |date=2021}}</ref> They note that this increase from 2019 to 2021 is connected to the [[COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom]].<ref name="ONS_2021"/> ''[[The Guardian (newspaper)|The Guardian]]'' reported in 2021 that "almost 5m jobs, or one in six nationally, pay below the real living wage".<ref name="Guardian_2021_PT">{{cite news |last1=Toynbee |first1=Polly |title=Levelling up? If anything, things are getting worse for the lowest paid in the UK |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/nov/16/levelling-up-lowest-paid-uk-job-vacancies-cost-of-living |access-date=24 January 2022 |work=The Guardian |date=16 November 2021}}</ref>

===India===
{{See also|Poverty in India}}
[[File:Indian states by poverty in percentage (1999-2000).png|thumb|Poverty rate map of India by prevalence in 2000, among its states and union territories|alt=India]]
India's official poverty level {{As of|2005|lc=yes}} is split according to rural versus urban thresholds. For urban dwellers, the poverty line is defined as living on less than 538.60 rupees (approximately US$12) per month, whereas for rural dwellers, it is defined as living on less than 356.35 rupees per month (approximately US$7.50)<ref name="POVERTY ESTIMATES FOR 2004-05">{{cite web |url=http://planningcommission.gov.in/news/prmar07.pdf |title=Poverty Estimates for 2004-05 |access-date=19 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120917001050/http://planningcommission.gov.in/news/prmar07.pdf |archive-date=17 September 2012 }}</ref> In 2019, the Indian government stated that 6.7% of its population is below its official poverty limit. As India is one of the fastest-growing economies in 2018, poverty is on the decline in the country, with close to 44 Indians escaping extreme poverty every minute, as per the [[World Poverty Clock]]. India lifted 271 million people out of poverty in a 10-year time period from 2005/06 to 2015/16.<ref>{{cite web|title = The start of a new poverty narrative| date=19 June 2018 |url = https://www.brookings.edu/blog/future-development/2018/06/19/the-start-of-a-new-poverty-narrative/}} Brookings Institution, June 2018</ref>

===Iran===
In 2008 Iran government report by central statistics had recommended 9.5 around million people living below poverty line.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/mena/millions-live-below-the-poverty-line-in-iran-1.506872 |title=Millions live below the poverty line in Iran |publisher=Thenationalnews.com |date=August 4, 2008 |access-date=2022-08-19}}</ref>
As of August 2022 the Iranian economy suffered the highest inflation in 75 years; official statistics put the poverty line at 10 million tomans ($500), while the 
minimum wage given in the same year has been 5 million toman.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://kayhanlife.com/news/kayhan/iranian-families-pushed-below-poverty-line-by-low-national-minimum-wage/ | title=Iranian Families Pushed Below Poverty Line by Low National Minimum Wage | date=30 January 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://en.radiofarda.com/a/iranian-workers-get-wage-increase/30544404.html |title=Iranian Workers Get A 'Humiliating' Wage Increase |publisher=En.radiofarda.com |date=2020-04-09 |access-date=2022-08-19}}</ref>

=== Singapore ===
Singapore has experienced strong economic growth over the last ten years{{when|date=August 2022}} and has consistently ranked among the world's top countries in terms of GDP per capita.

Inequality has however increased dramatically over the same time span, yet there is no official poverty line in the country. Given Singapore's high level of growth and prosperity, many believe that poverty does not exist in the country, or that domestic poverty is not comparable to global absolute poverty. Such a view persists for a selection of reasons, and since there is no official poverty line, there is no strong acknowledgement that it exists.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Donaldson |first1=John A. |last2=Loh |first2=Jacqueline |last3=Mudaliar |first3=Sanushka |last4=Kadir |first4=Mumtaz Md |last5=Wu |first5=Biqi |last6=Yeoh |first6=Lam Keong |title=Measuring Poverty in Singapore: Frameworks for Consideration |journal=Social Space |date=2013 |pages=58–66 |url=https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/lien_research/110/}}</ref>

Yet, Singapore is not considering establishing an official poverty line, with Minister for Social and Family Development Chan Chun Sing claiming it would fail to represent the magnitude and scope of problems faced by the poor. As a result, social benefits and aids aimed at the poor would be a missed opportunity for those living right above such a line.<ref>{{cite web|last=migration|date=2013-10-23|title=Why setting a poverty line may not be helpful: Minister Chan Chun Sing|url=https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/why-setting-a-poverty-line-may-not-be-helpful-minister-chan-chun-sing|access-date=2021-04-11|website=The Straits Times|language=en|archive-date=24 September 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240924033731/https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/why-setting-a-poverty-line-may-not-be-helpful-minister-chan-chun-sing|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===United States===
{{See also|Poverty in the United States}}
In the United States, the poverty thresholds are updated every year by Census Bureau. The threshold in the United States is updated and used for statistical purposes. The poverty guidelines are also used as an
eligibility criterion by Medicaid and a
number of other Federal programs.<ref name=HHS-pg/>

In 2020, in the United States, the poverty threshold for a single person under 65 was an annual income of $12,760, or about $35 per day. The threshold for a family group of four, including two children, was $26,200, about $72 per day.<ref name=HHS-pg>{{Cite journal|date=17 January 2020|title=Annual Update of the HHS Poverty Guidelines|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2020-01-17/pdf/2020-00858.pdf|journal=Federal Register|volume=85|page=3060|access-date=17 May 2020}}</ref> According to the US Census Bureau's American Community Survey 2018 One-year Estimates, 13.1% of Americans lived below the poverty line.<ref>{{cite web|title=2018 Poverty Rate in the United States|url=https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/interactive/2018-poverty-rate.html|access-date=2021-05-16|website=The United States Census Bureau|language=EN-US}}</ref>
Other estimates place the percentage of people living in poverty as low as only 1.1% in 2017.<ref>The authors of ''[[The Myth of American Inequality]]'' wrote, "Real income of the bottom quintile . . . grew more than 681% from 1967 to 2017. The percentage of people living in poverty fell from 32% in 1947 to 15% in 1967 to only 1.1% in 2017."[https://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2022/12/the-myth-of-american-income-inequality.html TaxProf Blog]</ref>

====Women and children====
Women and children find themselves impacted by poverty more often when a part of single mother families.<ref name=":1">{{cite web |url=https://cdn.americanprogressaction.org/wp-content/uploads/issues/2008/10/pdf/women_poverty.pdf |title=The Straight Facts on Women in Poverty |website=cdn.americanprogressaction.org |date=October 2008 |access-date=1 April 2019 |archive-date=9 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709091921/https://cdn.americanprogressaction.org/wp-content/uploads/issues/2008/10/pdf/women_poverty.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> The poverty rate of women has increasingly exceeded that of men's.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Handbook of the Sociology of Gender|pages=127–145|doi=10.1007/0-387-36218-5_7|chapter=The Feminization of Poverty|series=Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research|year=2006|last1=McLanahan|first1=Sara S.|last2=Kelly|first2=Erin L.|isbn=978-0-387-32460-9}}</ref> While the overall poverty rate is 12.3%, women poverty rate is 13.8% which is above the average and men are below the overall rate at 11.1%.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://talkpoverty.org/basics/|title=Basic Statistics|website=Talk Poverty|access-date=1 April 2019}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> Women and children (as single mother families) find themselves as a part of low class communities because they are 21.6% more likely to fall into poverty. However, extreme poverty, such as homelessness, disproportionately affects males to a high degree.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://endhomelessness.org/demographic-data-project-gender-and-individual-homelessness/ |title=Demographic Data Project: Gender and Individual Homelessness |website=endhomelessness.org |date=22 April 2014 |access-date=10 April 2020}}</ref>

====Racial minorities====
A minority group is defined as "a category of people who experience relative disadvantage as compared to members of a dominant social group."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://federalsafetynet.com/us-poverty-statistics.html |title=U.S. Poverty Statistics |website=federalsafetynet.com |access-date=10 April 2020 |archive-date=8 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170308044424/http://federalsafetynet.com/us-poverty-statistics.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Minorities are traditionally separated into the following groups: African Americans, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Asians, Pacific Islanders, and Hispanics.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://federalsafetynet.com/us-poverty-statistics.html|title=U.S. Poverty Statistics|website=federalsafteynet.com|access-date=23 March 2019|archive-date=8 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170308044424/http://federalsafetynet.com/us-poverty-statistics.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> According to US Poverty statistics, Black Americans&nbsp;– 21%, Foreign born non-citizens&nbsp;– 19%, Hispanic Americans&nbsp;– 18%, and adults with a disability&nbsp;– 25%.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://federalsafetynet.com/us-poverty-statistics.html|title=U.S Poverty Stats|access-date=23 March 2019|archive-date=8 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170308044424/http://federalsafetynet.com/us-poverty-statistics.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> This does not include all minority groups, but these groups alone account for 85% of people under the poverty line in the United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://federalsafetynet.com/us-poverty-statistics.html|title=U.S. Poverty Statistics|website=federalfasteynet.com|access-date=23 March 2019|archive-date=8 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170308044424/http://federalsafetynet.com/us-poverty-statistics.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Whites have a poverty rate of 8.7%; the poverty rate is more than double for Black and Hispanic Americans.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/united-states-population/|title=United States Population|website=worldpopulationreveiw.com|access-date=1 March 2019}}</ref>

====Impacts on education====
Living below the poverty threshold can have a major impact on a child's education.<ref name=":2">{{cite journal |last1=Engle |first1=Patrice L. |last2=Black |first2=Maureen M. |title=The Effect of Poverty on Child Development and Educational Outcomes |journal=Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences |date=25 July 2008 |volume=1136 |issue=1 |pages=243–256 |doi=10.1196/annals.1425.023 |pmid=18579886 |bibcode=2008NYASA1136..243E |s2cid=7576265 |url=https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=psycd_fac |doi-access=free }}</ref> The psychological stresses induced by poverty may affect a student's ability to perform well academically.<ref name=":2" /> In addition, the risk of poor health is more prevalent for those living in poverty.<ref name=":2" /> Health issues commonly affect the extent to which one can continue and fully take advantage of his or her education.<ref name=":2" /> Poor students in the United States are more likely to dropout of school at some point in their education.<ref name=":2" /> Research has also found that children living in poverty perform poorly academically and have lower graduation rates.<ref name=":2" /> Impoverished children also experience more disciplinary issues in school than others.<ref name=":2" />

Schools in impoverished communities usually do not receive much funding, which can also set their students apart from those living in more affluent neighborhoods.<ref name=":2" /> There is much dispute over whether upward mobility that brings a child out of poverty may or may not have a significant positive impact on his or her education; inadequate academic habits that form as early as preschool typically are unknown to improve despite changes in socioeconomic status.<ref name=":2" />

====Impacts on healthcare====
The nation's poverty threshold is issued by the Census Bureau.<ref name=":3">{{cite web|url=https://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty-guidelines|title=Poverty Guidelines|date=23 November 2015|website=ASPE|access-date=1 April 2019}}</ref> According to the Office of Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation the threshold is statistically relevant and can be a solid predictor of people in poverty.<ref name=":3" /> The reasoning for using [[Federal poverty level|Federal Poverty Level]] (FPL) is due to its action for distributive purposes under the direction of Health and Human Services. So FPL is a tool derived from the threshold but can be used to show eligibility for certain federal programs.<ref name=":3" /> Federal poverty levels have direct effects on individuals' healthcare. In the past years and into the present government, the use of the poverty threshold has consequences for such programs like [[Medicaid]] and the [[Children's Health Insurance Program]].<ref name=":4">{{cite web|url=https://www.healthcare.gov/glossary/federal-poverty-level-fpl/|title=Federal Poverty Level (FPL) - HealthCare.gov Glossary|website=HealthCare.gov|access-date=1 April 2019}}</ref> &nbsp;The benefits which different families are eligible for are contingent on FPL. The FPL, in turn, is calculated based on federal numbers from the previous year.<ref name=":4" />

The benefits and qualifications for federal programs are dependent on number of people on a plan and the income of the total group.<ref name=":4" /> For 2019, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services enumerate what the line is for different families. For a single person, the line is $12,490 and up to $43,430 for a family of 8, in the lower 48 states.<ref name=":3" /> Another issue is reduced-cost coverage. These reductions are based on income relative to FPL, and work in connection with public health services such as Medicaid.<ref name=":5">{{cite web|url=https://www.healthinsurance.org/obamacare/will-you-receive-an-obamacare-premium-subsidy/|title=Will you receive an Obamacare premium subsidy?|date=27 December 2018|website=healthinsurance.org|access-date=1 April 2019}}</ref> The divisions of FPL percentages are nominally, above 400%, below 138% and below 100% of the FPL.<ref name=":5" /> After the advent of the American Care Act, Medicaid was expanded on states bases.<ref name=":5" /> For example, enrolling in the ACA kept the benefits of Medicaid when the income was up to 138% of the FPL.<ref name=":5" />

====Poverty mobility and healthcare====
Health Affairs along with analysis by Georgetown found that public assistance does counteract poverty threats between 2010 and 2015.<ref name=":6">{{cite web|url=https://ccf.georgetown.edu/2018/03/08/research-update-medicaid-pulls-americans-out-of-poverty-updated-edition/|title=Research Update: Medicaid Pulls Americans Out Of Poverty, Updated Edition|date=8 March 2018|website=Center For Children and Families|access-date=1 April 2019}}</ref> In regards to Medicaid, [[child poverty]] is decreased by 5.3%, and Hispanic and Black poverty by 6.1% and 4.9% respectively.<ref name=":6" /> The reduction of family poverty also has the highest decrease with Medicaid over other public assistance programs.<ref name=":6" /> Expanding state Medicaid decreased the amount individuals paid by an average of $42, while it increased the costs to $326 for people not in expanded states. The same study analyzed showed 2.6 million people were kept out of poverty by the effects of Medicaid.<ref name=":6" /> From a 2013–2015 study, expansion states showed a smaller gap in health insurance between households making below $25,000 and above $75,000.<ref name=":7">{{cite journal |last1=Griffith |first1=Kevin |last2=Evans |first2=Leigh |last3=Bor |first3=Jacob |title=The Affordable Care Act Reduced Socioeconomic Disparities In Health Care Access |journal=Health Affairs |date=August 2017 |volume=36 |issue=8 |pages=1503–1510 |doi=10.1377/hlthaff.2017.0083 |pmid=28747321 |pmc=8087201 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Expansion also significantly reduced the gap of having a primary care physician between impoverished and higher income individuals.<ref name=":7" /> In terms of education level and employment, health insurance differences were also reduced.<ref name=":7" /> Non-expansion also showed poor residents went from a 22% chance of being uninsured to 66% from 2013 to 2015.<ref name=":7" />

====Poverty dynamics====
Living above or below the poverty threshold is not necessarily a position in which an individual remains static.<ref name=":8">{{cite journal |last1=Fullerton |first1=Don |last2=Rao |first2=Nirupama |title=The Lifecycle of the 47% |website=National Bureau of Economic Research |series=Working Paper Series |url=https://www.nber.org/papers/w22580 |date=August 2016 |doi=10.3386/w22580 |ssrn=2832584 |s2cid=157334511 |doi-access=free }}</ref> As many as one in three impoverished people were not poor at birth; rather, they descended into poverty over the course of their life.<ref name=":2"/> Additionally, a study which analyzed data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) found that nearly 40% of 20-year-olds received food stamps at some point before they turned 65.<ref name=":9">{{cite journal |last1=Grieger |first1=Lloyd D. |last2=Danziger |first2=Sheldon H. |title=Who Receives Food Stamps During Adulthood? Analyzing Repeatable Events With Incomplete Event Histories |journal=Demography |date=1 November 2011 |volume=48 |issue=4 |pages=1601–1614 |doi=10.1007/s13524-011-0056-x |pmid=21853399 |s2cid=45907852 |doi-access=free }}</ref> This indicates that many Americans will dip below the poverty line sometime during adulthood, but will not necessarily remain there for the rest of their life.<ref name=":9" /> Furthermore, 44% of individuals who are given transfer benefits (other than Social Security) in one year do not receive them the next.<ref name=":8" /> Over 90% of Americans who receive transfers from the government stop receiving them within 10 years, indicating that the population living below the poverty threshold is in flux and does not remain constant.<ref name=":8" />

====Cutoff issues====
Most experts and the public agree that the official poverty line in the United States is substantially lower than the actual cost of basic needs. In particular, a 2017 [[Urban Institute]] study found that 61% of non-elderly adults earning between 100 and 200% of the poverty line reported at least one material hardship, not [[Statistical significance|significantly]] different from those below the poverty line. The cause of the discrepancy is believed to be an outdated model of spending patterns based on actual spending in the year 1955; the number and proportion of material needs has risen substantially since then.

=====Variability=====
The US Census Bureau calculates the poverty line the same throughout the US regardless of the cost-of-living in a state or urban area. For instance, the cost-of-living in California, the most populous state, was 42% greater than the US average in 2010, while the cost-of-living in Texas, the second-most populous state, was 10% less than the US average.{{citation needed|date=October 2012}} In 2017, California had the highest poverty rate in the country when housing costs are factored in, a measure calculated by the Census Bureau known as "the supplemental poverty measure".<ref name=cen>{{cite news|title=Expensive homes make California poorest state|author=Matt Levin |page=C1 |date=2 October 2017|newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle}}</ref>

====Government transfers to alleviate poverty====
In addition to wage and salary income, investment income and government transfers such as [[Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program|SNAP]] (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps) and housing subsidies are included in a household's income. Studies measuring the differences between income before and after taxes and government transfers, have found that without social support programs, poverty would be roughly 30% to 40% higher than the official poverty line indicates.<ref name="Kenworthy">{{cite journal | last1=Kenworthy | first1=L | year = 1999 | title = Do social-welfare policies reduce poverty? A cross-national assessment | url = http://www.lisdatacenter.org/wps/liswps/188.pdf| journal = Social Forces | volume = 77 | issue = 3| pages = 1119–39 | doi = 10.1093/sf/77.3.1119 | hdl = 10419/160860 }}</ref><ref name="Bradley et al.">{{cite journal | last1=Bradley | first1= D | last2=Huber | first2=E | last3=Moller | first3=S. | last4=Nielson | first4=F | last5=Stephens | first5=JD | year = 2003 | title = Determinants of relative poverty in advanced capitalist democracies | jstor = 3088901 | journal = American Sociological Review | volume = 68 | issue = 3| pages = 22–51 | doi=10.2307/3088901}}</ref>