what is meant by absolute and relative poverty. what are the main causes of absolute poverty?

Absolute Poverty- Absolute poverty is the one which is expressed in terms of income needed to sustain the basic necessities of life such as food, clothing and shelter. Those who are not able to earn a minimum amount of income required for survival are known as absolute poor. 

Relative Poverty-  Relative poverty refers to the poverty of one set of people in relation to the other. In other words, it implies the poverty of one class in relation to other classes, regions or countries. The class of people having low standard of living are treated as poor in (in relative terms) comparison to the other class of people having high standard of living. 

The following are some of the causes of absolute poverty.

• Low levels of economic growth
• Low level of economic development
• Lower levels of literacy and skills
• High inflationary pressure
• High population
• Unemployment-
• Unequal distribution of income
• Social Factors such as the caste system, law of inheritance, rigid religious beliefs, etc.