Poverty rate is the ratio of the population whose income falls below the poverty line.
The poverty line is taken as half the median household income of the total population. The population affected is broken down by broad age groups: child poverty (0-17 years old), working-age poverty (18-65 years old) and elderly poverty (66 year-olds or more). Note that countries with the same poverty rates may differ in terms of the relative income-level of the poor.
This indicator is measured as a ratio of the population.