According to the UN Human Poverty Index - an indication of the standard of living in rich countries - Australia ranked 14th out of 18 nations, ahead of only Britain, the US, Ireland and Italy, in 2004.
The 2009 revision is as follows:
Human Poverty Index
selected OECD countries - updated 2009
| Poverty Rate | Country |
| 29.80% | Italy |
| 28.10% | Mexico |
| 15.90% | Ireland |
| 15.20% | United States |
| 14.60% | United Kingdom |
| 13.20% | Hungary |
| 12.80% | Poland |
| 12.50% | Greece |
| 12.40% | Spain |
| 12.40% | Slovakia |
| 12.20% | Belgium |
| 12.00% | Australia |
| 11.60% | Japan |
| 11.20% | Canada |
| 11.20% | Luxembourg |
| 11.20% | Czech Republic |
| 11.00% | France |
| 11.00% | Austria |
| 10.60% | Switzerland |
| 10.10% | Germany |
| 7.90% | Finland |
| 7.70% | Denmark |
| 7.40% | Netherlands |
| 6.60% | Norway |
| 6.00% | Sweden |
Source: http://data.un.org
Poverty Line
The international poverty line is a line set at half of the country’s median disposable income.
Median Disposable Income
2005-06, Median disposable household income per year was $56,900 source: abs.gov.au meaning that the poverty line in 2005-06 was $547 per week disposable income per household.
This was the latest figure shown by official statistics. However, looking at wage growth from 2006 to 2009, the average wages have risen by 16.3%, meaning that:
The poverty line for 2008-09 should now be about $636 per week, disposable income, or about $39,000 per year gross.
Disposable income = Total income less tax.
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