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Proportion of population living below the national poverty line, by sex and age

Indicator 1.2.1: Proportion of population living below the national poverty line, by sex and age

“Percentage of the population living in households at risk of poverty” data from EU-Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) is being used for international comparability. For the main UK data series on low income households see the Households below average income (HBAI) statistics.

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Percentage of people in households at risk of poverty

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This table provides metadata for the actual indicator available from UK statistics closest to the corresponding global SDG indicator. Please note that even when the global SDG indicator is fully available from UK statistics, this table should be consulted for information on national methodology and other UK-specific metadata information.

Indicator available Percentage of the population living in households at risk of poverty
Indicator description The percentage of people who are living in households which are deemed at risk of poverty in the national context. Monitoring national poverty is important for country-specific development agendas. National poverty lines are used to make more accurate estimates of poverty consistent with the country’s specific economic and social circumstances, and are not intended for international comparisons of poverty rates.
Geographical coverage United Kingdom
Unit of measurement Percentage (%)
Definitions Household income: The total disposable income of a household is calculated by adding together the personal income received by all of household members plus income received at household level. Missing income information is imputed.   Disposable household income includes i) All income from work (employee wages and self-employment earnings), ii) Private income from investment and property, iii) Transfers between households, iv) All social transfers received in cash including old-age pensions Note: Some of the income components are mandatory only from 2007: Imputed rent, Interest paid on mortgage, and v) Employer's social insurance contributions. From the 2007 year on, all countries have to supply gross income information.

The current definition of total household disposable income used for the calculation of EU-SILC based indicators excludes i) Imputed rent - i.e. money that one saves on full (market) rent by living in one's own accommodation or in accommodation rented at a price that is lower than the market rent, and ii) Non monetary income components, in particular value of goods produced for own consumption, social transfers in kind and non-cash employee income except company cars.

Equivalence scale: To take into account the impact of differences in household size and composition, the total disposable household income is "equivalised". The equivalised income attributed to each member of the household is calculated by dividing the total disposable income of the household by the equivalisation factor. Equivalisation factors can be determined in various ways. Eurostat applies an equivalisation factor calculated according to the OECD-modified scale first proposed in 1994 - which gives a weight of 1.0 to the first person aged 14 or more, a weight of 0.5 to other persons aged 14 or more and a weight of 0.3 to persons aged 0-13.

Household: A 'private household' means "a person living alone or a group of people who live together in the same private dwelling and share expenditures, including the joint provision of the essentials of living". EU-SILC implementing regulation number 1983/2003 on updated definitions, defines households in terms of sharing household expenses and (for non-permanent members) in terms of duration of stay and (for temporarily absent members) in terms of duration of absence. Definitions sourced from “Income and Living Conditions” Metadata (Eurostat).
Calculations No calculations were performed in the data acquisition of this indicator as appropriate data was readily available in the final format specified by this indicator. For insight into the details of potential calculations please refer to the original source metadata or source contact.
Other information
Data last updated 2018-04-04: see changes on GitHub opens in a new window
Metadata last updated 2018-05-31: see changes on GitHub opens in a new window

This table provides information on metadata for SDG indicators as defined by the UN Statistical Commission. Complete global metadata is provided by the UN Statistics Division.

Indicator name Proportion of population living below the national poverty line, by sex and age
Indicator number 1.2.1
Target name By 2030, reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions
Target number 1.2
Global indicator description Monitoring national poverty is important for country-specific development agendas. National poverty lines are used to make more accurate estimates of poverty consistent with the country’s specific economic and social circumstances, and are not intended for international comparisons of poverty rates.
UN designated tier 1
UN custodian agency World Bank (WB)
Link to UN metadata United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Metadata (PDF 98.2 KB) opens in a new window
Organisation Eurostat
Periodicity Annual
Earliest available data 2005
Geographical coverage United Kingdom
Link to data source At-risk-of-poverty rate by poverty threshold, age and sex - EU-SILC survey opens in a new window
Release date 19-12-2017
Next release TBC
Statistical classification Non-Official
Contact details
Other information