The Statistics on Income and Living Conditions survey revealed that during 2014, the monetary at-risk-of-poverty rate stood at 15.9 per cent. The at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion rate stood at 23.8 per cent, the National Statistics Office today.

The at-risk-of-poverty rate among persons aged below 18 years of age stood at 24.1 per cent. Concurrently, this rate stood at 16.9 per cent for persons aged 65 and over.

Persons living in single parent households were found to be more susceptible to being at-risk-of-poverty. In fact, 46.3 per cent of these persons had a national equivalised income (NEI) below the at-risk-of- poverty line. A significant difference between the at-risk-of-poverty rates exists between households with and without dependent children. Figures stood at 19.4 and 12.1 per cent respectively.

The average household gross income and the mean disposable income stood at €29,948 and €24,730 respectively. These figures were used for the computation of the median national equivalised income (NEI) and the monetary at-risk-of-poverty threshold. The latter rose by 5.7 per cent when compared to the previous year, reaching €7,672.

The survey showed that 65,987 persons living in private households, or 15.9 per cent, had an equivalised income below this threshold, and were considered to be at-risk-of-poverty. The S80/S20 ratio, which compares the earnings, in NEI, of the richest and poorest 20 per cent of the population, stood at 4.0.

The at-risk-of-poverty rate was found to decrease with increasing household work intensity. This rate ranged from 64.0 per cent among persons living in households with very low work intensity to 0.9 per cent for those in households with very high work intensity.

Over half of the surveyed population were living in households claiming that not all the household members could afford to pay for a one-week annual holiday away from home. In addition, 22.1 per cent could not afford to keep their home adequately warm in winter, while 24.7 per cent could not afford to face unexpected financial expenses. The severe material deprivation rate stood at 10.2 per cent.

The at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion indicator takes into account the at-risk-of-poverty rate, the severe material deprivation rate and the share of persons living in households with very low work intensity (see methodological notes). This indicator stood at 23.8 per cent in 2014.

Permalink: 24% of children under 18 were at-risk-of-poverty in 2014 – NSO