Not by everybody in New Zealand: see the definition at the New Zealand Council of Christian Social Services: 60% of the median household disposable income after

Not by everybody in New Zealand: see the definition at the New Zealand Council of Christian Social Services: 60% of the median household disposable income after housing costs. Based on that definition, the poverty rate in 1984 was 9%, rose to 22% in 2004, rose even more in the global recession, and has fallen since to 15% in 2016. See their site "Facts about Poverty in New Zealand" http://nzccss.org.nz/work/poverty/facts-about-poverty/ http://nzccss.org.nz/work/poverty/facts-about-poverty/ Note that I am an American who found that site after one DDG search, and have no idea whether it's full of BS or fully factual. The incomes they state for the poverty line (after housing), based on current exchange rates, were about 20K for a family of 4 (2 adults) and 14K for a one parent, one child household.