Poverty is defined as lacking the resources for a minimum standard of living. The poverty line is calculated based on the cost of minimum needs like food and shelter in a country. Poverty lines vary globally based on costs of living - the international poverty line is $1.90 per day. In Pakistan, official figures show the poverty rate declined from 64.3% in 2001 to 24.3% in 2015 according to the national poverty line.

2. Poverty
Poverty is defined as “a state or condition in which a person or community
lacks the financial resources and essentials to enjoy a minimum standard of
life and well-being that’s considered acceptable in society.
Poverty is pronounced deprivation in well-being and comprises many
dimensions.
It includes low incomes and the inability to acquire the basic goods and
services necessary for survival with dignity.
since 2015 ,theWorld Bank has defined extreme poverty as people living on
$1.90 0r less a day, measured using the international poverty line.
But extreme poverty is not only about low income; it is also about what
people can or cannot afford.

3. Poverty line
And how it
can be
calculated?
A poverty line , also called a poverty threshold, is the line below
which it is difficult , if not impossible, to afford basic needs.
The poverty line is determined in each country by adding up the
cost of meeting minimum needs, such as food and shelter.
Household incomes that are too low to afford minimum needs ,
such as food and shelter , are below the poverty line.
The income necessary to afford meeting minimum needs typically
sets the poverty line for a country. Poverty line can be compared
between countries.
The international poverty line is the standard poverty line for
measuring poverty globally.

4. Is the poverty
line same in
every country?
Poverty lines are not the same in all countries. In higher-income countries
,the cost of living is higher and so the poverty line is higher, too.
In 2017 , the World Bank announced new median poverty lines ,grouping
countries into low-income ,middle-income and high-income countries and
finding the median poverty line for those groups:
 $1.91 per person per day _ In 33 low-income countries.
 $3.21 per person per day _ In 32 lower-middle-income countries , such as
India and Philippines.
 $5.48 per person per day _ In 32 upper-middle-income countries , such as
Brazil and South Africa.
 $21.7 per person per day _ In 29 high-income countries.
o https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/poverty-rate-by-
country

5. International
Poverty line :
The international poverty line ,currently set at $1.90 a day , is the universal
standard for measuring global poverty . It helps measure the number of people
living in extreme poverty and helps compare poverty levels between
countries.
As the cost of living increases , poverty line increases too .Since 1990,the
international poverty line rose from $1 a day ,to $1.25 a day , and most
recently in 2015 to $1.90(305.88). This means that $1.90 is necessary to
buy what $1 could in 1990.
In addition to the lowest-income poverty line at $1.90,the world bank also
reports poverty rates using two new international poverty lines: a lower
middle-income line set at $3.20 /day (515.16 rupees) and an upper middle-
income line at 5.50 a day(885.44 rupees)
Billions of people around the world live in extreme poverty . Nearly 10% of The
world’s population .That’s nearly 700 million people living below the WORLD
BANK poverty line of $1.90 per day.

6. Continue….
 1970 The number of people living in extreme poverty peaked at
2.2billion.
 1981 The World Bank began collecting data on global poverty .Mostly
through household surveys ,found that 44% of the world lived in extreme
poverty.
 1990 The World Bank defined extreme poverty as people living on $1 or
less a day . Around 1.89 billion people , or nearly 36% of the world’s
population , lived in extreme poverty . Nearly half the population in
developing countries lived on less than $1.25 a day.
 2000 All 191 united nations member states signed the Millennium
Development Goals, eight goals to achieve by 2015,including reducing
extreme poverty rates _ then calculated as people living on less than $1 a
day _by half.

7. Continue…
 2008 The World Bank re-established the international poverty line as
people living on $1.25 a day , using 2005 prices for the cost of living. U.N.
leaders declared the secondU.N . Decade for Eradication of
Poverty from 2008 to 2017 ,expanding on the success of the first decade
and focusing on jobs and income generation as a way to combat poverty.
 2010 The Millennium Development Goal of reducing the 1990 extreme
poverty rates by half was achieved five years earlier than expected.
 2015 The World Bank raised the international poverty line from
$1.25 a day to $1.90 , based on 2011 prices for the cost of living . Also,
United Nations member states adopted the Sustainable Development
Goals , which include goals to end poverty and hunger in all their forms.
 2020 Global poverty is expected to rise for the first time in 20 years .The
COVID-19 pandemic threatens to push 88 million to 115 million
people into extreme poverty in 2020,with the total rising to as many as
150 million by 2021.

8. Poverty line in
UnitedStates
 In the U.S for a family a four , the poverty line is $26,200 a year.This
means that families who earn less than that families who earn less than
that cannot afford rent, food, or other basic needs
 For an individual in the U.S ,the poverty line is $12,760 a year, or $34.96
per day .This poverty guideline is calculated based on information from
the census bureau and is updated by evaluating recent price changes
using the consumer price index.

9. Poverty line in
Pakistan:
Of all 114 countries for which theWORLD BANK measures poverty indices
,Pakistan was amongst the top 15 showing largest annual average %age
point decline between 2000_2015.
According to the latest official figures , the poverty headcount ratio
declined from 29.5% in 2013-14 to 24.3% in 2015-16.Despite this ,by 2015
,around 50 million people still lived below the national poverty line.
• ESTIMATE
• 2007_08 17.2%
• 2011 12.4%
• 2013-14 29.5% which translates into 55 million people
• 2015-16 24.3%
• 64.3%in 2001 to 24.3% in 2015
Recent____________ 24%

10. Official figures
 %age of the population living below the national poverty line
year National urban Rural
1998-99 57.9 44.5 63.4
2001-02 64.3 50.0 70.2
2004-05 51.7 37.3 58.4
2005-06 50.4 36.6 57.4
2007-08 44.1 32.7 49.7
2010-11 36.8 26.2 42.1
2011-12 36.3 22.8 43.1

11. Continue..
2013-14 29.5 18.2 35.6
2015-16 24.3 13 31

12. Poverty Line in
Ajk:
Incidence (H) Intensity (A)
Overall 24.9% 46.3%
Rural 28.1% 46.3%
urban 3.1% 41.0%

13. INDICATORS
Poverty is looked through social indicators like:
Illiteracy level
Lack of general resistance due to malnutrition
Lack of access to health care
Lack of opportunities
Lack of access to safe drinking water
Lack of access to safe sanitation facilities