RELATIVE POVERTY LEVEL: The amount of income a person or family needs to purchase a relative amount of basic necessities of life. These basic necessities are identified relative to the current structure of society and the economy. For example, while a refrigerator would be a basic necessity for someone living in the our modern U.S. economy, it probably would not be consider a necessity for nomads of sub-Saharan Africa or aborigines of Australia. See also | poverty | income | living standard | poverty rate | poverty line | absolute poverty level | income distribution |
