The risk of poverty for household members was defined on the basis of the low-income threshold (poverty line). The low-income threshold represents the same level of prosperity for all households. Starting point is the social security benefit for singles in 1979, when social security benefits had the highest purchasing power. For other types of households, the low-income threshold was established by applying a raising factor based upon actual extra costs of households with a different number of household members and a different composition. For the years after 1979, the low-income threshold was adjusted for price developments, facilitating comparison of data over time. Back to article