Relative poverty and the at-risk-of-poverty rate

Why a European poverty line moves with each country's income.

The EU at-risk-of-poverty rate counts people whose household income, adjusted for household size, is below 60% of their country's median. The threshold is different in every country and changes when incomes change.

It measures income inequality at the bottom, not hardship as such. Measures of material deprivation, such as being unable to keep the home warm, complement it.

The World Bank's poverty lines (for example $3.00 a day) are absolute: the same real amount in every country, converted with purchasing power parities.

Measures on this site

• At-risk-of-poverty rate (Eurostat)
• Severe material and social deprivation (Eurostat)
• Extreme poverty rate at $3.00 a day (2021 PPP) (World Bank)
• Gini coefficient of disposable income (Eurostat) (Eurostat)