People in low income households
Published
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- 1. Navigate toMain facts and figures section
- 2. Navigate toThings you need to know section
- 3. Navigate to By ethnicity section
- 4. Navigate to By ethnicity over time (before housing costs) section
- 5. Navigate to By ethnicity over time (after housing costs) section
- 6. Navigate to By ethnicity and age group (before housing costs) section
- 7. Navigate to By ethnicity and age group (after housing costs) section
- 8. Navigate toData sources section
- 9. Navigate toDownload the data section
1. Main facts and figures
- between April 2008 and March 2019, people in Pakistani and Bangladeshi households were consistently the most likely out of all ethnic groups to live in low income households
- people in White British households were consistently the least likely to live in low income households
- a household is in low income if it has less than 60% of the UK’s median income – in the year ending March 2019, a couple with no children were in low income if their income was under £16,100 a year before housing costs or £14,000 after housing costs
2. Things you need to know
What the data measures
This data shows the percentage of people living in households in low income in the UK.
Households are classed as being in low income if they live on less than 60% of the average (median) net disposable equivalised UK household income.
In the year ending March 2019, average annual household income was around £26,800 before housing costs and £23,300 after housing costs.
Therefore, a household made up of a couple with no children would be in low income with an annual household income of up to £16,100 before housing costs and £14,000 after housing costs.
Household income is the total income of the household before tax, National Insurance and other deductions. It includes the value of free school meals, free TV licences and other income-based entitlements.
The data measures income before and after housing costs have been paid. Housing costs include rent or mortgage payments and insurance.
The information relates to households of either one person or a group of people sharing cooking facilities and a living room or dining area. It must be their main or only home.
Percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number. Due to this, some figures may not add up to 100%.
Not included in the data
Percentages based on fewer than 100 responses are not shown. This is to protect people’s confidentiality.
The ethnic groups used in the data
The data uses the ethnic categories from the 2011 Census.
Data is aggregated for each of the Black, Mixed and Other ethnic groups, which means estimates are shown for these groups as a whole. Data is shown separately for White British and all other White people (‘White Other’ ethnic group).
Some households contain people from different ethnic backgrounds. The ethnicity assigned to the household is that of the head of the household (usually the person with the highest income). The data does not account for people of different ethnic backgrounds who live in the same household.
Methodology
Read the detailed methodology document (PDF opens in a new window or tab) for the data on this page.
Data for 3 years has been combined to make sure estimates are reliable. You can read more about combining multiple years of data and some of the issues involved.
Confidence intervals have not been worked out, so comparisons between ethnic groups may not be reliable.
Household income has been adjusted (or ‘equivalised’) to take into account the number of adults and children who live there.
The figures on this page are based on survey data. You can read more about:
- interpreting survey data
- how weighting is used to make survey results more representative of the whole population
In the data file
Download the data for figures for each 3-year period covered by this data analysed by ethnicity and age group.
3. By ethnicity
Ethnicity | Before Housing Costs | After Housing Costs |
---|---|---|
% | % | |
All | 17 | 22 |
Asian | 27 | 37 |
Bangladeshi | 31 | 53 |
Chinese | 27 | 34 |
Indian | 17 | 24 |
Pakistani | 40 | 46 |
Asian other | 25 | 41 |
Black | 27 | 42 |
Mixed | 19 | 34 |
White | 15 | 19 |
White British | 15 | 19 |
White other | 16 | 27 |
Other | 25 | 40 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity’ (CSV)
Summary of People in low income households By ethnicity Summary
The data shows that:
- people in Pakistani households were the most likely of all ethnic groups to be in low income before housing costs (40%)
- people in Bangladeshi households were the most likely of all ethnic groups to be in low income after housing costs (53%)
- people in White British households were the least likely to be in low income (15% before housing costs, and 19% after housing costs)
4. By ethnicity over time (before housing costs)
Ethnicity | 2008/09 to 2010/11 | 2009/10 to 2011/12 | 2010/11 to 2012/13 | 2011/12 to 2013/14 | 2012/13 to 2014/15 | 2013/14 to 2015/16 | 2014/15 to 2016/17 | 2015/16 to 2017/18 | 2016/17 to 2018/19 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
% | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | |
All | 17 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 17 |
Asian | 32 | 29 | 29 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 26 | 27 |
Bangladeshi | 51 | 42 | 41 | 35 | 38 | 39 | 35 | 33 | 31 |
Chinese | 21 | 26 | 32 | 31 | 23 | 21 | 21 | 26 | 27 |
Indian | 23 | 20 | 19 | 17 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 17 |
Pakistani | 45 | 44 | 42 | 39 | 38 | 38 | 40 | 39 | 40 |
Asian other | 22 | 23 | 23 | 21 | 20 | 18 | 18 | 21 | 25 |
Black | 29 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 23 | 25 | 25 | 27 | 27 |
Mixed | 22 | 23 | 20 | 19 | 15 | 19 | 20 | 24 | 19 |
White | 15 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 |
White British | 15 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 15 |
White other | 15 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 |
Other | 29 | 28 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 26 | 24 | 27 | 25 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity over time (before housing costs)’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity over time (before housing costs)’ (CSV)
Summary of People in low income households By ethnicity over time (before housing costs) Summary
The data shows that, before housing costs were paid:
- people in Pakistani or Bangladeshi households were consistently the most likely out of all ethnic groups to be in low income
- people in White British households were consistently the least likely to be in low income
- the percentage of people in Bangladeshi households in low income went down from 51% to 31%, the biggest decrease out of all ethnic groups
5. By ethnicity over time (after housing costs)
Ethnicity | 2008/09 to 2010/11 | 2009/10 to 2011/12 | 2010/11 to 2012/13 | 2011/12 to 2013/14 | 2012/13 to 2014/15 | 2013/14 to 2015/16 | 2014/15 to 2016/17 | 2015/16 to 2017/18 | 2016/17 to 2018/19 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
% | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | |
All | 22 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 22 | 22 | 22 |
Asian | 41 | 39 | 39 | 37 | 36 | 35 | 35 | 36 | 37 |
Bangladeshi | 63 | 53 | 57 | 52 | 52 | 50 | 49 | 50 | 53 |
Chinese | 31 | 40 | 46 | 49 | 38 | 35 | 29 | 33 | 34 |
Indian | 30 | 27 | 25 | 24 | 26 | 24 | 24 | 23 | 24 |
Pakistani | 52 | 52 | 48 | 46 | 44 | 46 | 48 | 46 | 46 |
Asian other | 41 | 41 | 42 | 38 | 35 | 32 | 33 | 38 | 41 |
Black | 42 | 39 | 39 | 41 | 40 | 40 | 42 | 42 | 42 |
Mixed | 36 | 40 | 38 | 34 | 26 | 29 | 32 | 36 | 34 |
White | 20 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 19 |
White British | 19 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 |
White other | 27 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 27 |
Other | 42 | 42 | 40 | 41 | 44 | 46 | 44 | 42 | 40 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity over time (after housing costs)’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity over time (after housing costs)’ (CSV)
Summary of People in low income households By ethnicity over time (after housing costs) Summary
The data shows that, after housing costs were paid:
- people in Bangladeshi and Pakistani households were consistently the most likely out of all ethnic groups to be in low income
- people in White British households were consistently the least likely to be in low income
- the percentage of people in Bangladeshi households in low income went down from 63% to 53%, the biggest decrease out of all ethnic groups
6. By ethnicity and age group (before housing costs)
Ethnicity | All | Children | Working-age | Pensioners |
---|---|---|---|---|
% | % | % | % | |
All | 17 | 21 | 15 | 18 |
Asian | 27 | 32 | 25 | 31 |
Bangladeshi | 31 | 41 | 27 | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable |
Chinese | 27 | 32 | 25 | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable |
Indian | 17 | 17 | 16 | 32 |
Pakistani | 40 | 45 | 36 | 45 |
Asian other | 25 | 27 | 24 | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable |
Black | 27 | 29 | 25 | 23 |
Mixed | 19 | 28 | 16 | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable |
White | 15 | 18 | 14 | 17 |
White British | 15 | 17 | 14 | 17 |
White other | 16 | 23 | 13 | 21 |
Other | 25 | 33 | 21 | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity and age group (before housing costs)’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity and age group (before housing costs)’ (CSV)
Summary of People in low income households By ethnicity and age group (before housing costs) Summary
Estimates are shown for the following age groups:
- children – under 16 years old, or 16 to 19 years old if they are living with their parents, in full-time education or training, and not married or in a civil partnership
- working age – 16 years old to State Pension age
- pensioner – State Pension age or over
The data shows that, before housing costs were paid:
- in every age group, people in Pakistani households were the most likely of all ethnic groups to be in low income – children (45%), working age people (36%) and pensioners (45%)
- Pensioners and children in White British households were the least likely to be in low income – both at 17%
- Working age people in White other households were the least likely to be in low income - at 13%
7. By ethnicity and age group (after housing costs)
Ethnicity | All | Children | Working-age | Pensioners |
---|---|---|---|---|
% | % | % | % | |
All | 22 | 30 | 21 | 16 |
Asian | 37 | 45 | 34 | 33 |
Bangladeshi | 53 | 67 | 47 | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable |
Chinese | 34 | 34 | 33 | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable |
Indian | 24 | 27 | 22 | 31 |
Pakistani | 46 | 53 | 43 | 48 |
Asian other | 41 | 50 | 37 | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable |
Black | 42 | 47 | 41 | 30 |
Mixed | 34 | 49 | 28 | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable |
White | 19 | 26 | 19 | 15 |
White British | 19 | 25 | 18 | 15 |
White other | 27 | 36 | 24 | 23 |
Other | 40 | 50 | 37 | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity and age group (after housing costs)’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity and age group (after housing costs)’ (CSV)
Summary of People in low income households By ethnicity and age group (after housing costs) Summary
Estimates are shown for the following age groups:
- children – under 16 years old, or 16 to 19 years old if they are living with their parents, in full-time education or training, and not married or in a civil partnership
- working age – 16 years old to State Pension age
- pensioner – State Pension age or over
The data shows that, after housing costs were paid:
- people in Bangladeshi households were the most likely out of all ethnic groups to be in low income among children (67%) and working age people (47%)
- among pensioners, people in Pakistani households were the most likely to be in low income (48%)
- in every age group, people in White British households were the least likely to be in low income – children (25%), working age people (18%) and pensioners (15%)
8. Data sources
Source
Households Below Average Income: 1994/95 to 2018/19
Type of data
Survey data
Type of statistic
National Statistics
Publisher
Department for Work and Pensions
Note on corrections or updates
Any 3-year estimates before the period from April 2012 to March 2015 may be different to the published Households Below Average Income tables due to a change in the ethnic groups shown.
Publication frequency
Yearly
Purpose of data source
Households Below Average Income is the main source of data about household income and inequality in the UK.
9. Download the data
This file contains the following: measure before housing costs, measure after housing costs, ethnicity, year, age group, value, geography