Update | 1.3 million Hongkongers live in poverty, government says, but offers no solution

Hong Kong - one of the wealthiest places in the world - has acknowledged for the first time that it has a sizeable poverty problem by declaring that 1.31 million of its citizens are officially poor.

The number of people who fall below the new government-set poverty line falls to 1.01 million after welfare payments such as Comprehensive Social Security Assistance are factored in.

Speaking at a special summit on poverty yesterday, chief executive Leung Chun-ying said he would "not be afraid to take tough decisions'' to address the issue, as comprehensive statistics detailing the extent and nature of poverty in 21st century Hong Kong revealed for the first time that:

• 19.6 per cent of the city's population can now be classified as poor, or 15.2 per cent if regular cash welfare payments are included;

• More than half of those who fall under the poverty line have one or more full-time worker in their households;

• One in three elderly people - approximately 296,600 - are poor;

• One in five children - 208,800 youngsters - are poor; and

• 235,600 people on CSSA welfare still fall below the poverty line.

A one-person household with less than HK$3,600 per month will be considered poor, under 2012 statistics. For two-person households, the amount is HK$7,700 and HK$14,300 for four-person households.

In line with the household income measurement used by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, assets and debts are not counted.

Compared to places such as Britain, the US, France and Korea, who use the same formula, before welfare payments are taken into account, the city ranks favourably, with 19.6 per cent of its population falling below the poverty line. Only in Korea is it lower, at 17.3 per cent.

However, Hong Kong does not rank so well after welfare payments come into the equation, with only the US (17.4 per cent) topping the 15.2 per cent of the city's population who remain under the poverty line.

Despite mapping out the extent of the problem, no new initiatives or policies to tackle it were announced yesterday, sparking criticism.