Since the enlargement of the European Union to 25 countries in 2004 and then to 27 countries in 2007, this problem of ‘the meaning of the median’ has become more pressing. A relative income poverty line based on 50% of median incomes will inevitably struggle to reflect this new diversity. Figure 3 illustrates the problem. This shows, for example, that the 10 richest countries have poverty lines that are higher than the median incomes of the 10 poorest countries.