Latest Poverty Statistics Published

Two poverty statistics publications were released by the Scottish Government recently. Poverty and income inequality in Scotland 2022-25 covers the period up to March 2025, presenting poverty rates for children, working-age adults and pensioners.

Methodological changes have been applied to the statistics in this report as the Department for Work and Pensions have linked the source data from the Family Resources Survey to administrative records on social security benefits. As a result, there have been revisions to previously published poverty rates back to 2021/22, and further revisions are planned as part of on-going development work. Users should therefore note that caution is needed when interpreting the statistics to assess trends over time.

The most recent three-year averages for 2022-25 show that:

Around 17 per cent of Scotland’s population (940,000 people) were living in relative poverty after housing costs. This was 15 per cent (840,000 people) before housing costs. Poverty rates for Scotland’s population have been broadly stable for around a decade.
Children are more likely to be in relative poverty: 21 per cent of children are in relative poverty after housing costs, compared to 13 per cent of pensioners and 18 per cent of working-age adults. Children in relative poverty are more likely to be in a working household; 75% of children in relative poverty have at least one person working in the household while 25% have no-one in household working.

The median household income before housing costs was £707 per week and after housing costs was £636. Prior to 2021/22, median incomes had increased slowly but steadily since the recession in 2008/09.

Persistent Poverty in Scotland 2010-24 presents statistics on people who live in relative poverty for at least three out of the last four years. The latest figures show that around one in ten people in Scotland (11 per cent) were in persistent poverty, after housing costs, between 2020 and 2024. Persistent poverty rates were highest for children (17 per cent), and lower for working-age adults (10 per cent) and pensioners (9 per cent).

Persistent poverty is an important measure because the longer someone is in poverty, the more it impacts on their health, well-being, and overall life chances. These impacts can affect an individual throughout their lifetime.