Collection
Poverty and income inequality statistics
Collection of statistics and analysis relating to poverty, household income, and income inequality.
Introduction
This page contains statistics and analysis related to poverty, income inequality and household income overall.
Other pages can be found here:
- Child poverty analysis (including statistics)
- Wealth statistics
- Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation
- Equality evidence
- Other Scottish Government statistics
Latest statistics
The main poverty report contains the latest offical poverty, child poverty, and income inequality statistics for Scotland, as well as poverty rates broken down by a range of equality characteristics. Data for this report comes from the Family Resources Survey.
The persistent poverty report contains the latest official statistics on persistent poverty. Someone is in persistent poverty if they have been in relative poverty for at least three out of the last four years. Data for this report comes from the Understanding Society Survey.
Additional poverty analysis is available on a range of subgroups of the population under Further analysis below.
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Poverty and Income Inequality in Scotland 2017-20
The report includes statistics on child poverty, pensioner poverty, poverty for equality groups, and income inequality. These estimates are used to monitor progress in reducing poverty and income inequality.
- Persistent poverty in Scotland 2010 to 2019
Additional statistics
Alongside the main annual poverty publication, we publish supplementary poverty and severe poverty estimates for a wide range of household and individual characteristics. The sections below include these, as well as additional analysis related to poverty and income inequality published throughout the year.
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Additional poverty analysis 2022
Additional analysis of poverty and household income published in 2022.
- Additional poverty analysis 2021
- Additional poverty analysis 2020
- Additional poverty analysis 2019
- Additional poverty analysis 2018
- Additional child poverty analysis 2021
- Additional child poverty analysis 2020
- Additional child poverty analysis 2019
- Additional child poverty analysis 2018
Local statistics
The main poverty data source, the Family Resources Survey, provides information at national level only. The information presented in this section is based on alternative sources and is not directly comparable with the official poverty estimates presented in Poverty and Income Inequality in Scotland annual publication.
Local child poverty statistics
Local child poverty statistics can be found on the child poverty statistics pages:
Small area income estimates
The Scottish Government commissioned Heriot-Watt University in association with David Simmonds Consultancy to model local level household income estimates for 2014. The results of this work include the number of households in income bands along with a measure of relative poverty at a datazone level.
The estimates were primarily produced for housing affordability purposes. As such they are based on gross income. This is different from the usual measures of income and poverty which are based on net income. This measure should therefore be considered an approximate estimate only, but may be of interest for local level poverty related analysis.
- Small Area Income Estimates (2017)
Scottish Household Survey
Detailed analysis undertaken in 2020 concluded that the Scottish Household Survey (SHS) measures household income accurately enough to produce income deciles and identify households who are in relative poverty before housing costs, with some caveats concerning benefit recipients including pensioners. This will enable SHS data users to provide their measures of interest broken down by income decile or poverty status.
In-depth analysis
- Working poverty
- Distributional analysis
- Poverty reduction and inclusive growth (2018)
- Poverty in Perspective: a typology of poverty in Scotland (2017)
- Cost of living (2017)
- The drivers of poverty (2017)
- Public attitudes to poverty in Scotland (2017)
- Poverty in Scotland booklet (2015)
Housing and fuel poverty:
- Rent affordability in the affordable housing sector: literature review (2019)
- Home Energy Scotland Homecare pilot: evaluation (2019)
- Fuel poverty and extreme fuel poverty: estimates (2019)
- Fuel Poverty Strategy for Scotland: consultation analysis (2018)
Food insecurity
The 2019 Scottish Health Survey showed that 9% of adults experienced food insecurity in the preceding 12 months, defined as worrying about running out of food due to lack of money or other resources. From March 2019 onwards, food insecurity is also measured in the UK-wide Family Resources Survey, with the first data published in the poverty report.
Find out about our Good Food Nation policy.
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Scottish Health Survey 2019: summary report
Key finding from the Scottish Health Survey 2019 report.
- Fair Food Transformation Fund: independent review
- Dignity: Ending Hunger Together in Scotland
Previous publications
- Poverty and Income Inequality in Scotland 2016-19
- Poverty and Income Inequality in Scotland 2015-18
- Poverty and Income Inequality in Scotland 2014-17
- Poverty and Income Inequality in Scotland 2015/16
- Poverty and Income Inequality in Scotland 2014/15
- Poverty and Income Inequality in Scotland 2013/14
- Poverty and Income Inequality in Scotland 2012/13
- Poverty and Income Inequality in Scotland 2011/12
- Poverty and Income Inequality in Scotland 2010/11
- Persistent Poverty in Scotland 2010-2018
- Persistent Poverty in Scotland 2010-2017
- Persistent Poverty in Scotland 2010-2016
- Persistent Poverty in Scotland 2010-2015
Measuring poverty
The documents below explain the terminology, definitions and methodology used to calculate the official poverty and household income measures. They also include information on uncertainty around some of the key poverty estimates, and alternative data sources for poverty measurement.
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Poverty in Scotland: methodology
Details on how poverty in Scotland is measured.
- Poverty measurement methodology: summary
- Poverty statistics: confidence intervals