Greece ranks first in the eurozone and fourth among the 28 members of the European Union for the percentage of its citizens living on or below the poverty line, according to a new report.
The study, conducted by the Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE), found that just over a third (34.6 per cent) of Greeks – some 3,795,100 individuals – were living on less than 60 per cent of the national median income in 2013.
This percentage has risen steadily since 2010, when the country began implementing austerity measures, increasing from 27.6 per cent in 2010 to 27.7 per cent the following year, 31 per cent in 2012 and 34.6 per cent in 2013.
The publication of the study, which is based on Hellenic Statistical Authority (Elstat) data, coincided with the 40th anniversary of the effective ending of military rule in 1974.
Elstat’s data showed that the risk of poverty has increased significantly in Greece since 2010 and the percentage of relative poverty increased by 17.3 per cent, or 3.4 percentage points. In the same period, the poverty gap increased by 24.1 per cent and the risk of poverty and social exclusion by seven points, or 25.4 per cent.
In the European Union (EU), Bulgaria (49.3 per cent), Romania (41.7 per cent) and Latvia (36.2 per cent) have the highest percentages of people living in relative poverty.
Greece’s poverty rate also outstripped other EU countries that have entered austerity programs. In Ireland, the rate is 30 per cent, in Spain 28.2 per cent, in Cyprus 27.1 per cent and Portugal 25.3 per cent.
The five EU member-states with the lowest rates of poverty were the Netherlands (15 per cent), Czech Republic (15.4 per cent), Sweden (15.6 per cent), Finland (17.2 per cent) and Luxembourg (18.4 per cent).
The average poverty rate in the EU was 24.8 per cent and in the eurozone countries 23.3 per cent.
Source: enetenglish, ana-mpa