Greece’s poverty rate has soared according to a recent Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) report.
From 11 per cent in 2007, Greece’s poverty rate has climbed to 32 per cent in 2013, with 20 per cent of children and young people living below the poverty line.
The richest 10 per cent controls 25 per cent of disposable income against the share of 2 per cent that is controlled by the poorest 10 per cent.
Across the OECD’s members, the richest 10 per cent of the population has an income that is 10 times higher than the income of the poorest tenth of the population.
The biggest inequalities were recorded in the USA, Israel, Turkey, Mexico and Chile, while the best balance is seen in Denmark, Slovenia, Slovakia and Norway.
In the period from 2007 to 2011 almost all OECD member-states saw their household income stay unchanged or drop slightly, especially in the countries mostly hurt by the financial crisis.
In Greece, however, the decline came to 8 per cent, against just over 3.5 per cent in Spain, Ireland and Iceland.
That, in fact, only shows one side of the reality. The income of the poorest 10 per cent in Spain declined by 13 per cent in that period, against a reduction of just 1.5 per cent for the richest tenth of the population. According to recent OECD reports, the increase in income inequalities in the long run tends to hamper long-term growth.
The OECD stressed that it is fundamental to sustainable development for inequalities to be reduced through the creation of quality jobs, the increased participation of women in labour and the levelling of salaries made by men and women in the same jobs.
Source: Kathimerini