Italy's relative poverty rate climbed in 2021: statistics

Rome (Italy), June 16: A total of 11.1 percent of Italy's households were classified as in relative poverty in 2021, up from 10.1 percent a year earlier, the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) said Wednesday.
There were 2.9 million households suffering from relative poverty, an increase from 2.6 million, the statistics office said.
The term "relative poverty" refers to families or individuals who live on an income less than half that of average households in an area.
ISTAT figures also showed that more than 1.9 million Italian households were in absolute poverty in 2021, accounting for 7.5 percent of all households, down from 7.7 percent in 2020.
In 2006, the percentage of Italian households living in absolute poverty was just 3.5 percent, according to ISTAT data.
The term "absolute poverty" refers to a state where a family or individual lacks access to healthy food, adequate housing, electricity, education and clean water.
Source: Xinhua