Canada's Official Poverty Dashboard
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Release date: July 18, 2019
Description: Canada's Official Poverty Dashboard
Canada's Official Poverty Dashboard
| Year | Rate |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 12.1 |
| 2016 | 10.6 |
| 2017 | 9.5 |
The Official Poverty Line for Canada, along with the Dashboard of 12 Indicators to track progress on poverty reduction for Canadians and their households.
| Indicator | Most Recent Value | Previous Value | Trend | Percentage Change | Reference Periods |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dignity | |||||
| Deep Poverty (Persons with income below 75% of Canada's Official Poverty Line) |
5.1% | 5.4% | Down | -5.6% | 2016 to 2017 |
| Unmet Housing Needs and Chronic Homelessness (Unmet housing needs) |
12.7% | 12.5% | Up | 1.6% | 2011 to 2016 |
| Unmet Health Needs (Persons 12 years and older reporting not receiving health care when they felt they needed it.) |
11.2% | 12.5% | Down | -10.4% | (2000-01) to 2014 |
| Food Security (Households reporting Food Insecurity.) |
8.3% | 7.7% | Up | 7.8% | (2007-08) to (2011-12) |
| Opportunity and Inclusion | |||||
| Relative Low Income (Persons who had less than half the median after-tax income.) |
12.7% | 13.0% | Down | -2.3% | 2016 to 2017 |
| Bottom 40 Percent Income Share (Percentage of total after-tax income that went to those in the bottom 40% of the income distribution.) |
20.4% | 20.6% | Down | -1.0% | 2016 to 2017 |
| Youth Engagement (Persons aged 15-24 who were not in employment, education or training.) |
9.0% | 10.2% | Down | -11.8% | 2015 to 2016 |
| Literacy and Numeracy - Low Literacy (15 year olds) | 10.7% | 10.9% | Down | -1.8% | 2012 to 2015 |
| Literacy and Numeracy - Low Numeracy (15 year olds) | 14.4% | 13.8% | Up | 4.3% | 2012 to 2015 |
| Resilience and Security | |||||
| Median Hourly Wage - All | $23.08 | $23.14 | Down | -0.3% | 2017 to 2018 |
| Median Hourly Wage - Women | $21.50 | $21.48 | Up | 0.1% | 2017 to 2018 |
| Median Hourly Wage - Men | $25.00 | $25.48 | Down | -1.9% | 2017 to 2018 |
| Average Poverty Gap (Canadians who lived in families with incomes below Canada's Official Poverty Line.) |
35.1% | 34.1% | Up | 2.9% | 2016 to 2017 |
| Asset Resilience (Persons who had enough savings to maintain well-being for three months.) |
51.2% | 46.2% | Down | 10.8% | 2005 to 2012 |
| Poverty Entry and Exit Rates - Entry Rates (All Canadians) | 3.9% | 4.1% | Down | -4.9% | (2014-15) to (2015-16 ) |
| Poverty Entry and Exit Rates - Exit Rates (Low-income Canadians) | 27.6% | 27.5% | Up | 0.4% | (2014-15) to (2015-16 ) |
As new data are made available, Canada's Official Poverty Dashboard will be updated.
Note: The concepts and dimensions of poverty are defined in further detail in Opportunity for All – Canada's First Poverty Reduction Strategy, available for download at canada.ca/publicentre-ESDC.
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