The Poverty Line

What does being poor actually look like?

BY STEFEN CHOW AND LIN HUI-YI | FEBRUARY 27, 2012

 

 

What does it mean to be hungry and poor? With such divergence across countries as to what the "poverty line" means, we set out to visualize what poverty looks like by highlighting something that everyone can understand -- food. 

Starting from the oft-quoted $1 per person, per day U.N. figure, we attempted to calculate our own national figures, creating a visual portrayal of items found in a given country that could be bought by a person living at the poverty line. For developed countries, where there is relatively updated household consumption data, we focused on the average daily amount that a person at the poverty line would spend on food. For developing countries, we used the average amount that a person at the poverty line earns and spends each day. From Australia to Madagascar, from France to Nepal, here's what we found.

Above, 7.52 Australian dollars, or 8.02 U.S. dollars (as of Feb. 23), of avocados. 

Stefen Chow

7.52 Australian dollars of oranges.

Stefen Chow

7.52 Australian dollars of turkey wings.

Stefen Chow

3.28 Chinese yuan, or 0.52 U.S. dollars, of bok choy.

Stefen Chow

3.28 Chinese yuan of buns.

Stefen Chow

3.28 Chinese yuan of chicken breast.

Stefen Chow

5.60 euros, or 7.45 U.S. dollars, of French artichokes.

Stefen Chow

5.60 euros of French grapes.

Stefen Chow

5.60 euros of French croissants.

Stefen Chow

4.82 euros, or 6.41 U.S. dollars, of German bread.

Stefen Chow

4.82 euros of German gummy bears.

Stefen Chow

4.82 euros of German Brussels sprouts.

Stefen Chow

44.96 Hong Kong dollars, or 5.79 U.S. dollars, of apples.

Stefen Chow

44.96 Hong Kong dollars of fish.

Stefen Chow

44.96 Hong Kong dollars of dried noodles.

Stefen Chow

394 Japanese yen, or 4.91 U.S. dollars, of tuna.

Stefen Chow

394 Japanese yen of yam.

Stefen Chow

394 Japanese yen of nori snack and peanuts.

Stefen Chow

1,284 Malagasy ariary, or 0.58 U.S. dollars, of cucumbers from Madagascar.

Stefen Chow

1,284 Malagasy ariary of garlic.

Stefen Chow

1,284 Malagasy ariary of dried fish.

Stefen Chow

32.88 Nepali rupees, or 0.41 U.S. dollars, of Nescafé instant coffee.

Stefen Chow

32.88 Nepali rupees of lentils.

Stefen Chow  

32.88 Nepali rupees of buffalo meat.

Stefen Chow

52.87 Thai baht, or 1.74 U.S. dollars, of lemon grass.

Stefen Chow

52.87 Thai baht of instant noodles. 

Stefen Chow

52.87 Thai baht of fried fish.

Stefen Chow

 

Stefen Chow is a photographer based in Beijing and Singapore. 

Lin Hui-Yi is an economist by training and a market research professional based in Beijing.