Data – Poverty and Inequality

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Main Topic

Poverty

Headline charts

Poverty lines by family type

Percentage of all people in poverty from 1999 – 2023

People in poverty & poverty gaps

Trends in the poverty gap as a percentage of poverty line, 1999-00 to 2017-18

Trends in poverty, all people, 1999-00 to 2017-18

Trends in poverty – children, 1999-00 to 2017-18

Community attitudes towards “government policies have caused some people to experience poverty”

Demographic distribution of community attitudes towards “government policies have caused some people to experience poverty”

Number of people in poverty by age in 2019-20, and change in poverty

Poverty gaps

Percentage of children in poverty from 1999-2019

Trends in household disposable incomes, 1999-00 to 2017-18

Who is affected?

Poverty among JobSeeker recipients with and without COVID income supports (% of all people in poverty)

Financial stress among social security recipients and all people (2020)

Rate of poverty by gender of household reference person (% of all people)

Profile of poverty by age (% of people in poverty)

Profile of poverty among children

Rate of poverty among children

Rate of poverty by age (% of people)

Summary of government assistance available for migrants and refugees

Number of people in poverty by location in 2019-20, and change in poverty

Rate of poverty by location in 2019-20, and change in poverty

Poverty in income support households (2019-20 compared with previous years – % of people)

Poverty by main household income (2019-20 compared with previous years – % of people)

Poverty by age and family type (2019-20 compared with previous years, % of people)

Change in number of single and couple parents employed through 2020 (December 2019 = 0%)

Number of people in poverty in 2019-20 by housing tenure, and change in poverty

Number of adults in poverty in 2019-20 by country of birth, and change in poverty

Number of people in poverty by labour force status of main income-earner in 2019-20, and change in poverty

Number of adults in poverty by disability status in 2019-20, and change in poverty

Rate of poverty by labour force status of main income-earner in 2019-20, and change in poverty

Average poverty gap for ‘income support households’, by payment type ($pw)

Rate of poverty by social security payment received by ‘income support households’ in 2019-20, and change in poverty

Average poverty gap by main source of income ($pw)

Number of people in poverty by main household income source in 2019-20, and change in poverty

Number of people in poverty by family type in 2019-20, and change in poverty

Number of people in poverty by gender in 2019-20, and change in poverty

Number of children in poverty in 2019-20, and change in child poverty

Rates of poverty and number of people in poverty in 2019-20, and changes in poverty after COVID income supports were introduced

Social security rate structure

Profile of poverty by gender of household reference person

Rate of poverty by gender (% of men and women)

Profile of poverty by gender

Rate of poverty by family type

Profile of poverty by family type (% of households in poverty)

Rate of poverty by main income source

Profile of poverty by main income source

Rate of poverty by income support payment

Profile of poverty by income support payment

Poverty gaps by income support payment

Rate of poverty by labour force status

Profile of poverty by labour force status

Rate of poverty among adults with disability

Profile of poverty among adults with disability

Rate of poverty by country of birth

Profile of poverty by country of birth

Profile of poverty by housing tenure

Rate of poverty by location

Rate of poverty by state/territory of residence

Comparison of selected income support payments and poverty lines, 2015-16 and 2017-18

Poverty rates among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, by region, in 2016

Comparison of income support payment rates and poverty lines

Rate of poverty by housing tenure

Trends

Trends in the poverty gap

How has it changed?

Comparison of poverty trend and SDG target path

Poverty with and without COVID income supports

NAB financial stress index, 2014 to June 2021

Comparison of income support payments with wages ($2026)

Financial stress in recession and recovery (2020)

Fiscal stimulus

Unemployment rate and effective unemployment rate

Comparison of poverty rates measured before and after housing costs

Trends in housing costs by income support payment

Median equivalised housing costs by family type and age (1999-2015)

Trends in household disposable incomes, 1999-00 to 2017-18

Trends in poverty gaps among people in sole parent income support households

Trends in poverty among sole parents in income support households

Trends in sole parents receiving different payments

Trends in poverty among sole parents

Trends in poverty among unemployed people

Trends in poverty gaps among older people

Trends in poverty among older people

Trends in single pension rate and poverty line

Average poverty gaps among people in income support households

Average poverty gaps among people in income support households by percentage

Trends in poverty rates by income support payment

Trends in the poverty gap

Trends in poverty rates by family type and age

Trends in income support payments compared with wages

How does Australia compare?

Poverty rates in OECD countries

Poverty

Community attitudes

Community attitudes towards “poverty is a problem that can be solved with the right systems and policies”

Demographic distribution of community attitudes towards “poverty is a problem that can be solved with the right systems and policies”

Community attitudes towards “I would be able to live on the current rate of unemployment payment”

Demographic distribution of community attitudes towards “people would be able to live on the current rate of unemployment payment”

Community attitudes towards “unemployment payments should be enough for people to be able to see the doctor when they need”

Demographic distribution of community attitudes towards “unemployment payments should be enough for people to be able to see the doctor when they need”

Community attitudes towards “unemployment payments should be enough so that people don’t have to skip meals”

Demographic distribution of community attitudes towards “unemployment payments should be enough so that people don’t have to skip meals”

Demographic distribution of community attitudes towards ‘people can find themselves needing unemployment payments “through no fault of their own”‘

Community attitudes towards ‘people can find themselves needing unemployment payments “through no fault of their own”‘

Demographic distribution of community attitudes towards “people who receive unemployment payments do not deserve to live in poverty”

Community attitudes towards “people who receive unemployment payments do not deserve to live in poverty”

Demographic distribution of community attitudes towards “Australia should be a country that looks after those in need”

Community attitudes towards “Australia should be a country that looks after those in need”

Demographic distribution of community attitudes towards “nobody deserves to live in poverty”

Community attitudes towards “nobody deserves to live in poverty”

Demographic distribution of community attitudes towards “people can experience poverty through no fault of their own”

Community attitudes towards “people can experience poverty through no fault of their own”

Community attitudes towards “Incomes at the top are too high”

Demographic distribution of community attitudes towards “Incomes at the top are too high”

Community attitudes towards “incomes at the bottom are too low”

Demographic distribution of community attitudes towards “incomes at the bottom are too low”

Community attitudes towards “the gap between the wealthy and those in poverty is too great and should be reduced”

Demographic distribution of community attitudes towards “the gap between the wealthy and those in poverty is too great and should be reduced”

Inequality

Income inequality

Who is affected?

Profile of each income group by gender of household reference person

Profile of wealth of each wealth group

Change in number of workers employed by occupation (000s)

Income distribution of people in households by age

Population by main source of household income

Share of people with different characteristics in the lowest and highest 20% income groups

Average household incomes for different income groups

Australia’s population by age

Income distribution of people in households by gender

Australia’s population by family type

Income distribution of people by family type

Australia’s population by country of birth

Income distribution by country of birth

Profile of each income group by family type

Profile of each income group by country of birth of adults

Income distribution of people by State/Territory

Income distribution of people by capital city

Income distribution of people outside capital cities

Australia’s population by labour force status

Income distribution of people in households by labour force status of household reference person

Profile of each income group by labour force status of household reference person

Income distribution of people in households by main income source

Profile of each income group by main source of household income

Population in households where the head receives income support (2016)

Income distribution of people in households by income support status of household head (2016)

Income inequality

Trends

Impact of past recessions on household after-tax incomes

Income inequality

How has it changed?

Average changes in hours worked and household incomes during COVID-19

Changes in employment, hours and wages by percentage from March to June 2020

Income inequality

How does Australia compare?

Income inequality

Components of income

Distribution of income by source (percentage of all income)

Main income source of each income group

Labour force status of household reference person in each income group

Average weekly before-tax investment and other income

Average weekly gross household income from wages

Average weekly before-tax income from income support payments

Income inequality

Inequality

Average annual change in disposable income during COVID-19

Income inequality

Community attitudes

Community attitudes towards “Incomes at the top are too high”

Demographic distribution of community attitudes towards “Incomes at the top are too high”

Community attitudes towards “incomes at the bottom are too low”

Demographic distribution of community attitudes towards “incomes at the bottom are too low”

Wealth inequality

Headline charts

Average wealth per adult in 2020

Average wealth of households by age, as a percentage of the average wealth of all (%)

Share of wealth held by households ranked by wealth (% in 2021)

Wealth inequality (Gini coefficient)

Share of all wealth held by 131 billionaires compared with low-wealth groups (%)

Proportion of median income required to pay the median rent (%)

Average wealth of 131 billionaires compared with the top 1% of households ($m)

Concentration and share of overall wealth, by asset type, from 2018 to 2021

Cumulative growth in superannuation assets

Average net wealth, by wealth group

Trends in average wealth by wealth group

Shares of national wealth by wealth group

Wealth inequality

Who is affected?

Profile of wealth of each wealth group

Wealth inequality

Trends

Trends in wealth inequality (Gini coefficient) by asset type

Wealth inequality

How does Australia compare?

Share of indebted households with debt-to-annual income ratio above three

Wealth inequality

Components of wealth

Profile of wealth holdings of wealth groups

Wealth distribution among income groups

Wealth inequality

Housing & homelessness

Proportion of median income required to pay a typical mortgage on a recently purchased home (%)

Health

Who is affected?

Mental health conditions by weekly equivalised household income

Heart, stroke and vascular diseases, diabetes and arthritis by main income source

Heart, stroke and vascular diseases, diabetes and arthritis by SEIFA

Heart, stroke and vascular diseases, diabetes and arthritis and diabetes by labour force status group

Heart, stroke and vascular diseases, diabetes and arthritis by income group

Good self-assessed health by weekly equivalised household income

Premature deaths – male and female, by socioeconomic status

Health

Community attitudes

COVID-19

Headline charts

Change in household income (as a % of after-tax income in June 2019)

COVID-19

Who is affected?

Change in number of workers employed by occupation (000s)

COVID-19

Trends

Impact of past recessions on household after-tax incomes

COVID-19

How has it changed?

Average changes in hours worked and household incomes during COVID-19

COVID-19

Components of income

Distribution of income by source (percentage of all income)

COVID-19

Inequality

Increase in real net household wealth per capita

Average annual change in disposable income during COVID-19

COVID-19

COVID

Net saving per capita

COVID-19

Housing & homelessness

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