Poverty is understood in many senses. The main understandings of the term include:

• Descriptions of material need, typically including the necessities of daily living, like (food, clothing, shelter, and health care). Poverty in this sense may be understood as the deprivation of essential goods and services.
• Descriptions of social need, such as social exclusion, dependency, and the ability to participate in society. This would include education and information. Social exclusion is usually distinguished from poverty, as it encompasses political and moral issues, and is not restrained to the sphere of economics.
• Describing a lack of sufficient income and wealth. The meaning of "sufficient" varies widely across the different political and economic parts of the world.