Poverty threshold

The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for the average adult. The cost of housing, such as the rent for an apartment, usually makes up the largest proportion of this estimate, so economists track the real estate market and other housing cost indicators as a major influence on the poverty line. Individual factors are often used to account for various circumstances, such as whether one is a parent, elderly, a child, married, disabled, etc. The poverty threshold may be adjusted annually. In practice, like the definition of poverty, the official or common understanding of the poverty line is significantly higher in developed countries than in developing countries.

In June 2025, the World Bank updated the International Poverty Line (IPL) to $3.00 per person per day in low-income countries (in PPP). It also updated the poverty line for lower-middle income countries to $4.20 per day in PPP, and for upper-middle income countries to $8.30 per day in PPP. Based on the $3.00/person/day standard, the percentage of the global population living in poverty fell from 47.1% in 1981 to 10.3% by 2024, according to World Bank estimates; this equates to 839 million people living in poverty in 2024.