Current Poverty Statistics

There always seems to be a problem with information on poverty! When SPIU was formed in 1995, one of its’ goals was to work to overcome the dearth of information on poverty in Scotland.  Today, the challenge is making sense of the wide range of information that is available.

On these pages, we provide an annotated guide to some of the key current data sources on poverty in the UK and beyond.


We have organised our links into four groups.

  • The Poverty Site – the Number 1 source of information on poverty in the UK
  • Sources of UK Data
  • Sources of Scottish Data
  • Sources of International Data

The Poverty Site – the Number 1 source of information on poverty in the UK

An outstanding resource for anyone interested in poverty in the UK. Maintained by the New Policy Institute, with the support of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, the site monitors change in poverty and social exclusion in the UK through analysis of around 100 indicators. National summaries are presented for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Sources of general UK data


Sources of Scottish Data


Sources of International Data