Eurostat: 5 million people in Italy struggle with minimum spending, poverty risk rises for the elderly

In Italy, five million people have difficulties on minimum expenses, the risk of poverty among the elderly rises, as does the risk of poverty among people who work even if they work full-time: in 2024 the employed with an income below 60% of the national median income net of social transfers will be 9%, up from 8.7% in 2023. A percentage more than double that of Germany (3.7%). This is what emerges from the Eurostat tables published today, Sunday 27 April, according to which the risk of poverty in Italy in 2024 remains stable at 18.9% of the population, but decreases among minors and increases among the over-65s.

Material deprivation in Italy in 2024 dropped to 8.5 per cent of the population from 9.8 per cent in 2023, the lowest level since the beginning of the time series in 2015. This is about five million people. The indicator refers, Eurostat explains, to the inability to afford a number of specific goods, services or social activities that are considered by most people to be essential for an adequate quality of life. In practice, there are around five million people in our country who are unable to afford five of the 13 expenses contained in this indicator, such as having an adequately heated house, being able to take at least one week's holiday, coping with sudden expenses, being able to have a meal with protein at least every other day, having an internet connection, having at least two pairs of shoes, etc. In Germany material deprivation affects 11.4% of the population and in Spain 16%. Material deprivation drops from 8.4% to 7% for the over 65s and decreases from 11.1% to 10.5% among the under 18s. People in a situation of 'severe' material deprivation, i.e. with difficulties on at least seven out of 13 expenses, are about 2.7 million, down to 4.6% of the population in Italy. Specific material deprivation for the under 16s (being able to eat protein, vegetables and fresh fruit every day, having books, at least two pairs of shoes, inviting friends, etc.) is 11.7% in Italy, down from 13.5% in 2021.

The risk of poverty in Italy in 2024 remained stable at 18.9% of the population, but the percentage of those who have to rely on a disposable income after social transfers of less than 60% of the national median income decreases among minors and increases among the over-65s: this is what emerges from the Eurostat tables on the risk of poverty. According to Eurostat, the overall number of people in a situation of poverty in Italy is 11 million 92 thousand, 29 thousand less than in 2023 and at the lowest level since 2009. For younger people the percentage remains higher than for the elderly, but if for the under-18s the share of people at risk of poverty drops from 24.7% to 23.2% for the over-65s it increases from 16.9% to 17.6%. The number of children at risk of poverty in 2024 was 2 million 69 thousand, down 180 thousand from 2023, while the elderly at risk of poverty was 2 million 513 thousand, up 129 thousand. If we look at the population at risk of poverty or social exclusion, i.e. those who are in at least one of the conditions of difficulty such as monetary poverty, severe material deprivation or low work intensity, the share in 2024 is 23.1% of the population, up from 22.8% in 2023.

In Spain the percentage of full-time working poor is 9.6% while in Finland it is 2.2%. For those working part time, the percentage of those who are poor in Italy in 2024 is decreasing from 16.9% to 15.7%. In-work poverty rises in Italy especially for the self-employed, among whom 17.2% have incomes below 60% of the national median (it was 15.8% in 2023) while for employees the share rises to 8.4% from 8.3% previously. In Germany, the share of employed persons over 18 in a poverty situation decreased from 6.6% to 6.5% while in Spain it decreased from 11.3% to 11.2%.

Young people in Italy suffer from this condition above all: between the ages of 16 and 29, 11.8% of the employed are poor, while between the ages of 55 and 64, 9.3% are poor. The level of education counts in in-work poverty. Among workers with only compulsory schooling in Italy there is 18.2% of the employed poor (it was 17.7% in 2023) while the percentage plummets among university graduates, among whom only 4.5% have an income below 60% of the national median. But there is an important increase here, as the percentage was 3.6% in 2023. On the other hand, there is a slight decrease in poverty among those employed with a diploma, with 9.1% experiencing difficulties in 2024 compared to 9.2% in the previous year.