Submitted by a reader [Edited by FIRE-EARTH]
3.3 Million Australians live below poverty line*
One in seven Australians, or an estimated 3.3 million people, live below the international poverty line, according to a new report.
The above figure includes 603,000 children [figure represents pre-2011 statistics,] or one in 6 of all Australian kids, according to the report released by the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS).
The report is based on data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics Income and Expenditure surveys.
The poverty line is defined as 50 percent of median disposable income, or AU$400 ($346) for single adult and AU$841 per week for a couple with two children in 2012.
The report has found that more than a million Australians are living in “severe poverty.” More than 310,000 are children.
The Western Australia’s Curtin Economics Center defines severe poverty as a single person living on less than AU$130 each week, and a couple living on less than AU$260, after deducting housing costs.
“Tasmania’s poverty rate stands at 15.1 per cent,” according to a single-line report posted on http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-10-13/homeless/5809530.
Australian GDP 2014 estimate: AU$1.44 trillion
Per capita GDP: AU$61,137
Population in 2014: 23,488,231
*[NOTE: According to ACOSS Report, ” poverty is growing in Australia with an estimated 2.5 million people or 13.9% of all people living below the internationally accepted poverty line.” However, the population of Australia has grown from 21.5 million in 2011 to an estimated 23. 48 million in 2014. —Editor.]
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