- National Poverty Line
Headcount index
- The headcount index is the proportion of the population for whom consumption — or other measures of living standard — is less than the poverty line.
National Poverty Line
- The international poverty measure is used to assess and monitor poverty at the global level, but like other indicators it is not equally relevant in all regions because countries have different definitions of poverty. Measurements of poverty in countries are generally based on national poverty lines
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- National poverty lines are the official threshold (or thresholds) set by the national Government set for households of various compositions to allow for different family sizes. Where there are no official poverty lines, they may be defined as the level of income required to have only sufficient food or food plus other necessities for survival.
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- The advantage of this indicator is that it is specific to the country in which the data are collected and where the poverty line is established. While the one dollar a day poverty line helps in making international comparisons, national poverty lines are used to make more accurate estimates of poverty consistent with the characteristics and level of development of each country. The disadvantage is that there is no universally agreed poverty line, even in principle, and international compar- isons are not feasible
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- Shortcomings of the national poverty line
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- Dependent upon the quality of the national surveys.
- International comparisons are not feasible.
- Problems in comparing poverty measures within countries, especially for urban and rural differences
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- the WB implemented other measurements of poverty: the extreme poverty index, and the Poverty gap.
Sources: Indicators for Monitoring the Millennium Development Goals. United Nations, New York. 2003. PovcalNet. World Bank, 2016.
