Economy > Population below poverty line: Countries Compared

@ricky

It is a huge generalization to say that taxation is high in New Zealand due to many people on the dole. The unemployment rate in New Zealand is 6%. Considering the global economic crisis, this is not that high. Taxes are necessary to pay for public services, like health, education, infrastructure etc, not just social security.

The official United States government poverty guidelines for 2005 (see http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/05poverty.shtml) set the poverty level at US$9,570 for a single person in the lower 48 states and Washington, D.C. For each additional person, US$3,260 is added to the general poverty threshold. So the poverty level for a family of four would be US$19,350. <p>The minimum wage in the United States is US$5.15 an hour, which means that a family of four with both parents working full-time minimum-wage jobs would earn US$21,424 per year (assuming 40 hours worked per week). <p>The U.S. poverty threshold is greater than the GDP per capita in many other countries, but this doesn’t mean it's better to be poor in America than average somewhere else. Prices for the same goods vary greatly from country to country. To get an idea of where one country’s poor stand in relation to another’s, comparisons would have to be made in <a href= http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/eco_gdp_ppp_cap>purchasing power parity</a>.

The United States is commonly known as a country of immigrants, and it is a popular destination for those seeking a better life in a new country, but it doesn’t seem that it is the most popular destination for immigrants anymore. <p>Both the United Kingdom and Germany had a greater number of <a href= http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/imm_asy_see>asylum seekers</a> than the U.S. in 2001. <p>Denmark, Canada, Finland and Sweden all had higher <a href= http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/imm_asy_see_acc_rat>asylum-seekers acceptance rates</a>, and the U.S. has a lower <a href= http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/imm_for_pop>foreign population</a> than Luxembourg, New Zealand, Australia, Switzerland and Canada. <p>The <a href= http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/imm_net_mig_rat>net migration rate</a> for the U.S. was estimated to be 3.52 per 1,000 population in 2003, lower than 29 other countries. <p>However, the U.S. did lead the world in <a href= http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/imm_new_cit>new citizenships</a>, with 898,000. One also has to take into mind that the many illegal aliens who enter the United States, especially from Mexico, are not included in these statistics.

In response to <i>Jenna</i>:

<p>According to the Canadian council on social development, 16.2% of Canadians are living below the poverty line Including 14.6% of men and 17.7% of women. Those most affected by poverty include female-led sole parent families and single elderly people. One quarter of those living in poverty are children under 18 years of age. </p>

<p>Canada has no official definition of poverty with different organisations using different definitions. Poverty definitions include:
<ul>
<li>Households which spend 20 percentage points more of their income on Food, clothing and shelter than the average Canadian household. If the average Canadian household spends 50% of its income on these essentials, those who spend 70% or more are considered to be poor. </li>
<li>Statistics Canada low income measures.</li>
<li>The Cost of Living Guidelines developed by the Social Planning Council of B.C.</li>
</ul>
</p>

<p>Further information on poverty in Canada can be found on the <a href=http://www.ccsd.ca/facts.html>Canadian council on social development</a> web page.</p>

Hi Michelle, you can create a graph from the data on Denmark's <a href=http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/peo_pop&int=-1>total population</a> or <a href=http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/peo_pop_gro_rat&int=-1>population growth rate</a>. However, while you can see the graph online, in order to download or print it, you need to be a <a href=http://www.nationmaster.com/benefits_single.php>supporter</a>.

Hi Deedee, what specific aspect of the <a href=http://www.nationmaster.com/country/mv/Economy>Maldives economy</a> are you looking for? Graphs can be generated only on specific data.

Hi Rach, the <a href=http://www.nationmaster.com/country/kn>profile of Korea</a> will give you most of this information, and for more, follow the links.

Hi Vincent -- if you follow the link at the top of the chart to 'view all countries', you'll get the data for the developed countries. In the US, for example, about 12% of the population lives below the national poverty line; national definitions of 'poverty' varies between countries.

Hi Allan, apart from ranking countries by the proportion of the population below the poverty line (where the Philippines stands at 53rd, with 40% 'poor' as shown in this table), poverty levels in countries can be ranked by the proportion of people <a href=http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/eco_pop_und_1_a_day>living on less than USD1</a>, by <a href=http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/eco_gdp>total GDP</a> or <a href=http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/eco_gdp_cap>GDP per capita</a> or by <a href=http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/eco_gdp_ppp>GDP by purchasing power parity</a>, which measures the cost of the same good or service across countries. The more developed or wealthy a country, the more it is likely to charge for the identical products and services, principally because its labor and currency will command more. <p>The links here will show that the Philippines ranks relatively low in all these measurement categories.

The Maldives ranks 17 on the UNDP Human Poverty Index (HPI), which is calculated on two basic parameters ¾ population without sustainable access to an improved water source and the number of children who are underweight for their age. It ranks 84 on the <a href=/graph/eco_hum_dev_ind>Human Development Index</a>.

Criteria for assessment of poverty levels vary between nations, and statistics are not strictly comparable. However, the UNDP also has an incomplete list of populations with income levels below <a href=/graph/eco_pov_sha_of_all_poo_peo&int=-1>USD1</a> and USD2; but many nations either do not have this information or are reluctant to part with the estimates because of the politically sensitive nature of the data.

While Singapore and Barbados rank 6 and 1, respectively, on the HPI, do not have any citizens earning less than USD 1 or USD2, while Costa Rica, which ranks 4 on the HPI, has 22% living below the nationally defined poverty line, 9.5% earning less than USD2 and 2% less than USD1.

New Zealand does not have a poverty line for a reason - they do not want anyone to know how many people are actually living in poverty there. It's no secret though that many Kiwis leave because the wages are low and the taxes are high. The taxes are high because many people are on the dole.

Around 50 countries remain unaccounted for. I know places like Norway and Sweden show n/a on poverty on several sites. Anyone know about the others?

What effect has the last few years had on these statistics?


Charles King
http://www.8thsisterenergy.com

I love teedy bears and I think you should put them in your next advertisment for want ever your are doing.

Ian Graham
Staff Editor
9th March 2005 The official United States government poverty guidelines for 2005 (see http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/05poverty.shtml) set the poverty level at US$9,570 for a single person in the lower 48 states and Washington, D.C. For each additional person, US$3,260 is added to the general poverty threshold. So the poverty level for a family of four would be US$19,350.

The minimum wage in the United States is US$5.15 an hour, which means that a family of four with both parents working full-time minimum-wage jobs would earn US$21,424 per year (assuming 40 hours worked per week).

The U.S. poverty threshold is greater than the GDP per capita in many other countries, but this doesn’t mean it's better to be poor in America than average somewhere else. Prices for the same goods vary greatly from country to country. To get an idea of where one country’s poor stand in relation to another’s, comparisons would have to be made in purchasing power parity.

Some specialists argue that <a href="http://lowest-rate-loans.com/topics/mortgage-loans">mortgage loans</a> help a lot of people to live their own way, because they are able to feel free to buy needed goods. Furthermore, a lot of banks present auto loan for different persons.

Hi.

I am doing a speech in school on world poverty. I know that China does not share their economical status to others because they think that people will figure out secrets about their corrupt government. So, how do you know that these statistics on certain corrupt countries are true? My email is estherseim@sbcglobal.net. If you can answer my question, that would be great!

Thank You,

Esther Seim (12 years old)

What happened to Malta? Last I looked that was a sovereign nation... not in the table at all...

Is poverty line equates and similar to all countries?
I'm sure that "poor" in Liberia doesn't earn as much as "poor" in Taiwan. Even proprtionality may some times decieving.

Could a stat be put up of orphan rates per capita be added to the site? That would be great.

Could you please update your statistics,
Suriname's statistics have changed quite a bit for the better since 2002.

What percent population below poverty line.

Everyone needs to do something to help deal with all the poverty in the world. This wouldn't have happened if everyone was treated with equality.