Poverty Line, Absolute and Relative Poverty and Causes of Poverty (ICSE Class 9 Economics)
Updated 18 October 2026 · Fact-checked
Poverty is the inability to obtain the minimum basic needs of life. The poverty line is the minimum income or consumption needed to meet them; in India it was first drawn on calorie intake, 2,400 calories per person per day in rural areas and 2,100 in urban areas. Absolute poverty means being below that fixed minimum; relative poverty means being much poorer than others in society. Causes include population growth, unemployment, low farm productivity, unequal distribution and illiteracy.
Absolute poverty means falling below the fixed poverty line; relative poverty is the gap to richer groups, even for a clerk above the line.
Illustration drawn for QuestionBuddy.
Understand Poverty Line, Absolute and Relative Poverty and Causes of Poverty
Poverty and the poverty line. Poverty is the situation in which a person or family cannot obtain the minimum basic needs of life: food, clothing, shelter, health care and education. The poverty line is the minimum level of income or consumption expenditure needed to meet these needs; people below it are called below the poverty line (BPL).
Calorie-based concept: the line was first drawn (by a Planning Commission task force in 1979) from the minimum food energy a person needs: 2,400 calories per person per day in rural areas and 2,100 in urban areas. The money needed to buy food of that energy plus a small amount for other basic needs was taken as the poverty line income. Rural people need more because their work is more physical. Poverty ratio = (Number of poor people / Total population) x 100.
Absolute poverty. Income or consumption is below the poverty line, so even minimum needs cannot be met; it is measured against a fixed minimum (a landless labourer's family that cannot afford enough food).
Relative poverty. A comparison of one group with others in the same society; a family may meet its basic needs and still be relatively poor (a clerk's family compared with a company director's). It shows inequality and exists in every society.
Differences: fixed standard versus comparison; absolute poverty can be ended, relative poverty remains while incomes are unequal.
Causes of poverty (any five).
1. Rapid growth of population: lowers per capita income and resources per person.
2. Unemployment and underemployment: people without enough work have little income.
3. Low productivity in agriculture: small holdings, old methods and dependence on the monsoon keep farm incomes low.
4. Unequal distribution of income and assets: land and wealth are concentrated, so the gains of growth do not reach the poor.
5. Illiteracy and lack of skills: only low-paid, insecure jobs.
6. Inflation: prices of food and essentials rise faster than incomes.
7. Slow and uneven growth and poor infrastructure in backward regions.
8. Social factors: caste, dowry, costly ceremonies and debt to moneylenders.
For each cause write the heading, the cause and its effect, ideally with an example.
Neighbouring topics: unemployment, its types and causes, and the programmes MGNREGA and IRDP are on the next page of this chapter.
Poverty Line, Absolute and Relative Poverty and Causes of Poverty: key facts
- Calorie norm
- Rural: 2,400 calories per person per day | urban: 2,100 calories per person per day
- First drawn in 1979 on calorie intake.
- Poverty ratio
- Poverty ratio = Number of poor / Total population x 100 | people below the poverty line
- A percentage.
- Absolute versus relative
- Absolute: below a fixed minimum | relative: poor compared with others
- Relative poverty shows inequality.
Poverty Line, Absolute and Relative Poverty and Causes of Poverty in real life
The idea, met in an everyday situation. Answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.
A family and the calorie norm
Suppose a rural family of 5 can buy food giving only 9,000 calories a day in total.
By how much does it fall short of the rural norm, and what does this show?
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Norm: 5 x 2,400 = 12,000 calories a day.
- Shortfall: 12,000 - 9,000 = 3,000 calories, which is 3,000 / 12,000 x 100 = 25 per cent of the need.
- The family cannot meet the minimum food need.
Answer: It falls short by 3,000 calories (25 per cent), so it is below the poverty line: absolute poverty.
Memory hook: Compare with the norm.
Tricks to remember Poverty Line, Absolute and Relative Poverty and Causes of Poverty
Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.
24 rural, 21 urban
2,400 calories for rural areas, 2,100 for urban areas.
Use it when: Calorie norm.
Absolute is a line, relative is a comparison
Absolute: below the fixed line. Relative: poorer than others.
Use it when: Types of poverty.
P-U-A-U-I
Population, Unemployment, Agriculture low, Unequal distribution, Illiteracy.
Use it when: Five causes.
Poverty Line, Absolute and Relative Poverty and Causes of Poverty: solved examples
Ordered from board level to HOTS. Try each one before you open the solution.
Example 1: Rural calorie norm · 1 mark · MCQBoard level
The poverty line in India was first drawn on a calorie intake for rural areas of:
(a) 2,100 (b) 2,400 (c) 3,000 (d) 1,800
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- The rural norm is 2,400 calories per person per day; the urban norm is 2,100.
Answer: (b) 2,400
Example 2: Poverty ratio · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
A village has 2,000 people, of whom 500 live below the poverty line. Find the poverty ratio. After a development programme 100 of them cross the line; find the new ratio.
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Poverty ratio = 500 / 2,000 x 100 = 25 per cent. (1 mark)
- New number of poor = 500 - 100 = 400. (1 mark)
- New ratio = 400 / 2,000 x 100 = 20 per cent. (1 mark)
Answer: 25 per cent and then 20 per cent
Example 3: Absolute or relative · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
Classify each as absolute or relative poverty: (i) a family that cannot afford two meals a day; (ii) a clerk's family with adequate food and housing whose income is one-tenth of that of the company director; (iii) a household whose food energy is below the rural norm.
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- (i) Absolute poverty: basic needs cannot be met. (1 mark)
- (ii) Relative poverty: needs are met but income is far below that of others. (1 mark)
- (iii) Absolute poverty: consumption is below the fixed poverty line norm. (1 mark)
Answer: (i) absolute (ii) relative (iii) absolute
Example 4: Case study: two families · 4 marks · Case-basedHOTS / competency
Family A is rural, has 5 members and gets food of only 9,000 calories in total a day. Family B lives in a town, has enough food and a rented house, but its income is far below that of most of its neighbours.
(i) Is Family A below the line? Show the calculation. (2)
(ii) What kind of poverty does Family B suffer? (1)
(iii) Why is the rural norm higher than the urban norm? (1)
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- (i) Norm = 5 x 2,400 = 12,000 calories; A gets 9,000, which is less, so A is below the poverty line (absolute poverty).
- (ii) Relative poverty: its needs are met but it is poor compared with others.
- (iii) Rural work is more physically demanding, so rural people need more food energy.
Answer: (i) yes, 9,000 < 12,000 (ii) relative poverty (iii) rural work is more physical
Example 5: Inflation and unemployment as causes · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
Explain how (i) inflation and (ii) unemployment can push families into poverty.
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Inflation: when prices of food and essentials rise faster than incomes, the poor can buy less and more families fall below the poverty line. (1 mark)
- Unemployment: people without work earn little or nothing and cannot meet basic needs. (1 mark)
- Underemployment and seasonal idleness add to the problem, and each cause also reduces savings. (1 mark)
Answer: See steps.
Where students lose marks in Poverty Line, Absolute and Relative Poverty and Causes of Poverty
The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.
Mistake: Mixing the calorie norms
Rural and urban are swapped.
Wrong working
Urban 2,400 and rural 2,100
Right working
Rural 2,400 and urban 2,100
Do this: Rural work needs more food.
Usually costs: 1 mark
Mistake: Defining relative poverty as absolute
The fixed line is used for both.
Wrong working
Relative poverty: below the poverty line
Right working
Relative poverty: poor compared with others
Do this: Use the word compared.
Usually costs: 1 mark
Mistake: Causes listed without effect
Only headings are written.
Wrong working
Population growth
Right working
Population growth lowers per capita income and resources per person
Do this: Give the effect.
Usually costs: 1 mark
Exam tips
- Quote the calorie norms exactly: 2,400 rural and 2,100 urban per person per day.
- Use one example for each type of poverty.
- Write five causes as heading, cause and effect.
- Write the formula for the poverty ratio before substituting.
Practice questions on Poverty Line, Absolute and Relative Poverty and Causes of Poverty
Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.
Q1 · 1 mark · MCQBoard level
Relative poverty is best described as:
(a) being below the calorie norm (b) being poor in comparison with others in society (c) having no income (d) a rural problem onlyHint
Think of comparison.
Answer
(b) being poor in comparison with others in society
Q2 · 2 marks · Very short answerBoard level
Why do rural people need more calories than urban people, according to the poverty-line norm?
Hint
Think of the work.
Answer
Rural work such as farming is more physically demanding, so they need more food energy.
Q3 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
In a town of 6,00,000 persons, 1,50,000 live below the poverty line. Find the poverty ratio. If 30,000 of them cross the line, find the new ratio.
Hint
Poor / population x 100.
Answer
1,50,000 / 6,00,000 x 100 = 25 per cent. Poor after = 1,20,000, so 1,20,000 / 6,00,000 x 100 = 20 per cent.
Q4 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
Explain any three causes of poverty in India with an effect of each.
Hint
Cause and effect.
Answer
Population growth lowers per capita income and resources; low productivity in agriculture keeps farm incomes low; illiteracy leaves people with only low-paid jobs (any three valid causes).
Q5 · 3 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency
"Unemployment causes poverty and poverty keeps people unemployed." Explain this link.
Hint
Think of education and income.
Answer
Without work a family has no income and cannot meet basic needs. A poor family cannot afford education or skills, so its members remain unemployable or find only low-paid work. The two reinforce each other.
Test your recall
Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.
1.Rural calorie norm?Show answer
2,400 calories per person per day.
2.Urban calorie norm?Show answer
2,100 calories per person per day.
3.What does BPL mean?Show answer
Below the poverty line.
4.Does relative poverty exist in rich countries?Show answer
Yes, wherever incomes are unequal.
5.Formula of the poverty ratio?Show answer
Number of poor / total population x 100
6.Name a social cause of poverty.Show answer
Caste, dowry or costly ceremonies.
Poverty Line, Absolute and Relative Poverty and Causes of Poverty: frequently asked questions
Who first drew the calorie-based line?
A Planning Commission task force in 1979, as on the chapter page.
Do later estimates include other needs?
Yes, later expert groups added education and health, but the syllabus asks for the calorie norm.
Is the poverty line the same for all states?
The chapter page gives only the rural and urban calorie norms; stick to them.