Istat: 5.4 million people in absolute poverty in 2025, accounting for 9.3 per cent

In 2025, it is estimated that there will be over 2.1 million households in absolute poverty, totalling 5.4 million individuals. This is reported by Istat, which highlights that, in percentage terms, the incidence of absolute poverty amongst households stands at 8.0 per cent, a slight decrease compared with 2024 (8.4 per cent), and 9.3 per cent amongst individuals (9.8 per cent in 2024).

The incidence of absolute poverty amongst households comprising only Italians stands at 5.9 per cent; it rises to 26.7 per cent amongst those with at least one foreign national, and reaches 29.4 per cent amongst households comprising exclusively foreign nationals.

Istat points out that the rate of relative poverty remains stable, standing at 10.8 per cent amongst households – down from 10.9 per cent in 2024 – and at 14.8 per cent amongst individuals (down from 14.9 per cent). There are over 2.8 million households living in relative poverty, totalling almost 8.7 million individuals. The incidence of absolute poverty has fallen significantly in the South, dropping from 10.5 per cent to 9.6 per cent, but has fallen across all regions, with the Centre recording the lowest percentage (down from 6.5 per cent to 6.3 per cent). In the South, there are 813,000 households living in poverty, followed by the North-West (568,000 households, 7.7 per cent) and the North-East (386,000 households, 7.4 per cent); the Centre continues to show the lowest figures in 2025 as well (338,000 households, 6.3 per cent). Among households living in absolute poverty, 38.6 per cent reside in the South (39.8 per cent in 2024), 45.3 per cent in the North (44.5 per cent in 2024) and the remaining 16.1 per cent in the Centre (15.7 per cent in 2024).

The incidence of absolute poverty decreases as as age increases, falling from 12.5 per cent amongst children (a total of 1,136,000), to 12.1 per cent amongst 18–34-year-olds (almost 1,198,000), to 8.9 per cent for those aged 35–64, and to 6.1 per cent amongst the over-65s (over 891,000). The intensity of absolute poverty – which measures, in percentage terms, by how much the average monthly expenditure of poor households falls below the poverty line (i.e. ‘how poor the poor are’) – remains stable at national level (18.5 per cent), in the North (18.2 per cent, with figures of 18.5 per cent in the North-West and 17.8 per cent in the North-East) and in the Centre (18.2 per cent), whilst in the South there has been a slight increase: estimates have risen to 19.0 per cent, up from 18.5 per cent in 2024.

The incidence of absolute poverty remains highest amongst households with a large number of members: it reaches 19.2 per cent amongst those with five or more members and 10.5 per cent amongst those with four, whilst it falls to 8.4 per cent – a figure that is still above the average – amongst three-member households. The incidence rates for single-parent households are above average, with more than one in ten (11.5 per cent) living in absolute poverty. The incidence of absolute poverty decreases as the educational attainment of the reference person increases: if the reference person has at least a upper secondary school leaving certificate, the incidence stands at 4.4 per cent; it is more than twice as high (11.9 per cent) if the reference person has, at most, a lower secondary school certificate, and rises further, to 12.3 per cent, for households in which the reference person has, at most, a primary school certificate.