Most countries have their own national poverty lines, which set a threshold for poverty based on local context. In many countries this is explicitly a relative measure, set at a proportion of the average income of the country, emphasising the importance of understanding how poverty relates to inequality and the distribution of outcomes and opportunities in a society. While inequality between countries has fallen in recent decades, as relatively low income countries have grown faster than higher income countries, inequality within many countries has increased.
Disaggregating the data on poverty within countries helps to identify particular individuals and groups more likely to live in poverty and the associated discrimination and exclusion they face. In many countries this includes women, children and persons with disabilities, as well as other locally relevant identities based on which people face inequalities.
