Measuring Poverty

In total there are three different ways of measuring poverty all of which are valid and they all vary in terms of one's interpretation of what poverty actually means.

• Income: Although poverty is not just money, this is possibly the most widely used system for measuring poverty. Household income is easy to collect and gives a fair representation of the difference between the rich and the poor. The World bank suggests that you live in poverty if you earn less than $1.25 per day. In the UK it is said that if you earn less than £15900 per year you are relatively poor. 
• Consumption: Some would argue that this gives an overall better impression of what poverty really means, as it relates back to wealth and not just incomes. However with this figure, an exact value cannot been given as the poverty line. 
• Well-being: Although this may be vague, it is still valid as it is based on their quality of life and standard of living. However it does not give a perfect impression on where the poverty line lies in the UK.