Canada's Official Poverty Dashboard, February 2020
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Release date: February 24, 2020
Description: Canada's Official Poverty Dashboard, February 2020
Canada's Official Poverty Dashboard, February 2020
| Year | Rate |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 12.1 |
| 2016 | 10.6 |
| 2017 | 9.5 |
| 2018 | 8.7 |
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 Income Poverty (Persons with income below 75% of Canada's Official Poverty Line) |
4.6% | 5.1% | Down | -9.8% | 2017 to 2018 |
| 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 Insecurity (Households reporting Food Insecurity.) |
8.7% | 8.3% | Up | 4.8% | (2011-12) to (2017-18) |
| Opportunity and Inclusion | |||||
| Relative Low Income (Persons who had less than half the median after-tax income.) |
12.3% | 12.6% | Down | -2.4% | 2017 to 2018 |
| Bottom 40 Percent Income Share (Percentage of total after-tax income that went to those in the bottom 40% of the income distribution.) |
20.8% | 20.4% | Up | 2.0% | 2017 to 2018 |
| Youth Engagement (Persons aged 15-24 who were not in employment, education or training.) |
9.5% | 10.1% | Down | -5.9% | 2018 to 2019 |
| Literacy and Numeracy - Low Literacy (15 year olds) | 13.8% | 10.7% | Up | 29.0% | 2015 to 2018 |
| Literacy and Numeracy - Low Numeracy (15 year olds) | 16.3% | 14.4% | Up | 13.2% | 2015 to 2018 |
| Resilience and Security | |||||
| Median Hourly Wage - All | $24.04 | $23.53 | Up | 2.2% | 2018 to 2019 |
| Median Hourly Wage - Women | $22.00 | $21.92 | Up | 0.4% | 2018 to 2019 |
| Median Hourly Wage - Men | $26.00 | $25.49 | Up | 2.0% | 2018 to 2019 |
| Average Poverty Gap (For those living below the poverty line, the poverty gap ratio is the amount that the person’s disposable family income is below the poverty line, expressed as a percentage of the poverty line.) |
36.8% | 35.1% | Up | 4.8% | 2017 to 2018 |
| Asset Resilience (Persons who had enough savings to maintain well-being for three months.) |
51.2% | 46.2% | Up | 10.80% | 2005 to 2012 |
| Low Income Entry and Exit Rates - Entry Rates (All Canadians) | 4.1% | 3.9% | Up | 5.1% | (2015-16) to (2016-17 ) |
| Low Income Entry and Exit Rates - Exit Rates (Low-income Canadians) | 27.9% | 27.6% | Up | 1.1% | (2015-16) to (2016-17 ) |
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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