Households below a Minimum Income Standard: 2008/09 to 2014/15

Donald Hirsch, Dr Laura Valadez and Matt Padley

This report shows how many people are living below an inadequate standard of living in the UK.

The Minimum Income Standard (MIS) is a benchmark of adequate income based on what the public think people need for a minimum acceptable living standard in the UK. This analysis monitors changes in the number of people in households with incomes below MIS, and the number below 75% of MIS, an indicator of poverty.

The analysis shows that:

  • between 2008/9 and 2014/5, the number of individuals below MIS rose by four million, from 15 million to 19 million (from 25 to 30% of the population)
  • there are 11 million people living far short of MIS, up from 9.1 million, who have incomes below 75% of the standard and are at high risk of being in poverty.
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