Poverty Policy
The Poverty Policy team (Central Policy Division) has responsibility for developing, co-ordinating and driving the Executive’s priorities for tackling poverty.
Poverty in Northern Ireland
The most recent statistics were published in The Northern Ireland Poverty and Income Inequality Report on 27 March 2025 for the period April 2023 to March 2024.
At that time around 331,000 (17%) people in Northern Ireland lived in relative income poverty (before housing costs). People are considered to be living in relative income poverty if the income of their household is less than 60% of the UK median household income.
15% of people (approx. 291,000) in Northern Ireland live in absolute poverty before housing costs. The causes of poverty are many and varied. People are considered to be in absolute income poverty if the income of their household is less than 60% of the UK median household income for 2010-11 (adjusted year on year for inflation).
Further information on the statistics can be found within the Family Resources Survey.
Poverty Strategy
Anti-Poverty Strategy
There is a statutory obligation in section 28E of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 for the Executive to “adopt strategy setting out how it proposes to tackle poverty, social exclusion and patterns of deprivation based on objective need”.
In line with New Decade New Approach, the Department is developing an Anti-Poverty Strategy which will contain effective and sustainable solutions to tackle poverty in all its forms for our communities right across Northern Ireland. The Strategy will aim to address poverty and the impacts of socio-economic disadvantage and set out the NI Executive’s commitment to a joined-up, long-term approach to addressing poverty.
The Executive Committee agreed a draft Anti-Poverty Strategy at its Executive meeting on 15 May 2025 and approval was given for the strategy to progress towards public consultation. The online public consultation launched on 17 June 2025 and will close on 19 September 2025. This public consultation provides an opportunity for all areas of society to comment on the draft Anti-Poverty Strategy and highlight any areas they feel could be strengthened further.
While the Department for Communities is leading on the Anti-Poverty Strategy, it remains an Executive Strategy and final decisions on the content and implementation of the Anti-Poverty Strategy will be subject to Executive agreement.
Statistics and research
Poverty statistics and research published by the Department can be found at the links below.
- Report from the Anti-Poverty Strategy Expert Advisory Panel
- Social Metrics Commission - Measuring Poverty 2020
- Universal Credit Statistics