Primary poverty


Primary poverty is a categorization of poverty created by Seebohm Rowntree, that of the group of people who live below Rowntree's poverty line.
To live in primary poverty is to have insufficient income to meet one's basic needs.
According to his study in York 10% of the city’s population lived in primary poverty. Rowntree describes this group as consistently having "insufficient financial resources to obtain the minimum necessities for the maintenance of mere physical existence".
The poverty line shows points where an individual might find themselves above or below the 'poverty line'- an idea Seebohm Rowntree developed from Charles Booth, the poverty line Rowntree drew has the age of the individual along the bottom, showing main events in the persons life that would affect whether or not they were above or below the poverty line. These events include becoming married; their children beginning to earn; when the children leave home and marry; finally when the individual is above the age where they can work. The three main areas on the line where the individual is said to be below the poverty line are from the ages 515, 3040, and 65+.