What is poverty? Source: Commission on Proverty, HKSAR Government Labour and Welfare Bureau, HKSAR Government

Types of poverty 1. Poverty is having less than an objectively defined, absolute minimum. 2. Poverty is having less than the others in society, in relative terms. 3. Poverty is feeling you do not have enough to get along (subjective poverty). 1. 採用一個以客觀方法界定的絕對最起碼生活水平，未能達到這個水平的，便屬貧窮。 2. 相對來說，所擁有的及不上社會上其他人，便屬貧窮。 3. 自覺無法維持生計者，便屬貧窮 (主觀貧窮)。

Absolute poverty (絕對貧窮) 以絕對標準來界定貧窮的理論基礎是「僅足生存」的概念。換句話說，那些沒有足夠資源負擔若干被認定是維持生計必不可少的物品和服務，便被視為貧窮。 The absolutist approach to defining poverty follows the concept of minimum subsistence; that is, those with means inadequate to afford a bundle of goods and services that are regarded as essential to the physical need of an individual or a family are considered “poor”.

Absolute poverty (絕對貧窮) The limitation of this approach is that it focuses on physical needs rather than social needs. What to include in the bundle of “necessities” and how each component should be evaluated involve subjective judgment and are contentious. 這個標準的局限是它集中量度人的實際需要，而忽視一個人在社會上生活的需要。 如何認定那些物品和服務屬「必不可少」，每個項目如何評價，亦牽涉主觀判斷，因而備受爭議。

Relative poverty (相對貧窮) 人們如果缺乏資源享有社會上一般人的慣常生活方式，有相類的食用、活動、生活條件以及享受，便算是生活在相對貧窮中。 People are living in relative poverty when they lack the resources to obtain the type of diets, participate in the activities and have the living conditions and amenities which are customary in the societies to which they belong.

Relative poverty (相對貧窮) The usual measurement of relative poverty is a proportion of the median income in the society. The greatest merit of this approach is its relative simplicity in administration. 相對貧窮的量度方法，通常是採用社會上收入中位數的一個比率。以這個方法量度貧窮的最大好處是其簡單易行。

Relative poverty (相對貧窮) 不過，由於所量度的只是收入，並未能充份計及貧困人士的消費需要。例如，政府和非政府組織所提供非收入形式的福利項目，並無計算在內。同時，應採用社會上收入中位數的什麼比率(例如百分之五十，百分之六十)，亦無可避免涉及主觀判斷。 However, assessment based on income does not fully take into consideration the actual consumption needs of the poor. For instance, it does not take into account non-income benefits provided by the Government and other non-governmental organisations. The determination of the proportion of the median income (e.g. 50%, 60%) is also unavoidably arbitrary.

International comparison – World Bank The poverty line for regions in abject poverty is set at US$1 a day per person, US$2 for Latin America, US$4 for Eastern Europe, and US$14.4 for high-income economies, including HK. 各地區的貧窮線如下： 赤貧地區為每人每天1美元，拉丁美洲為每人每天2美元，而東歐各國則為4美元。 在高收入經濟體系中，包括香港，每人每天14.4美元。 約為每天112.3港元或 每月2920港元（26工作天）

There is no official poverty line in Hong Kong. Hong Kong poverty line There is no official poverty line in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong poverty line Since there is no consensus on the definition of poverty in Hong Kong, non-government researches usually adopt the concept of relative poverty, i.e. half the median household income, as the poverty benchmark. The percentage of population living below this poverty benchmark is regarded as the poverty rate.

Examples of poor people in HK - Persons unemployed for a long duration - Employed persons whose income is less than 50% of the median income - Recipients under the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme (CSSA) - Non-CSSA recipients whose household income falls below the CSSA assistance level