Persistent poverty in Scotland 2010-2024

4 Poverty exit and entry

People who are in persistent poverty stay below the poverty line for several years. But many people are in poverty only temporarily. More than a third of people in poverty move above the poverty line each year, exiting poverty. And a similar number of people who were not in poverty previously fall below the poverty line each year, newly entering poverty. Note that the share of those entering poverty is quite small, as it is a share of everyone previously not in poverty, which is a larger group.

The diagram below shows an example of the flows of individuals in and out of poverty each year. It uses the latest after-housing-costs estimates.

Poverty exit and entry estimates for Scotland are only available for all people, and not for individual age groups. However, the  Income Dynamics report includes estimates for children, working-age adults and pensioners in the UK overall. It also analyses what events are linked to poverty entry and exit, for example a change in earnings, or a change in household composition.

4.1 Exiting poverty

• Between 2020 and 2024, an average of 38% of people per year who had been in poverty (after housing costs) in the previous year exited poverty.

Table 1: Proportion of people exiting relative poverty, Scotland

Note[b] Break in time series

4.2 Entering Poverty

• Between 2020 and 2024, an average of 7% of people per year who hadn’t been in poverty (after housing costs) in the previous year entered poverty.

Table 2: Proportion of people entering relative poverty, Scotland

Note[b] Break in time series