In 2014, 28.3% of the Italian resident population was at risk of poverty or social exclusion, in accordance with the definition adopted for the Europe 2020 Strategy. The indicator is the combination of the poverty risk (calculated on 2013 income), severe material deprivation and very low work intensity indicators. It corresponds to the share of population experimenting at least one of the above conditions.
Compared with 2013, the indicator was stable, as a consequence of the decrease of the share of population living in severely materially deprived households (from 12.3% to 11.6%); the share of people at risk of poverty remained stable (19.4%), while that of people living in very low work intensity households increased slightly (from 11.3% to 12.1%). The decrease of material deprivation, compared with 2013, is due to the reduction of the share of population in households which cannot afford to eat meat, fish or a protein equivalent every second day (from 13.9% to 12.6%), to pay unexpected expenses of 800 euros (from 40.2% to 38.8%) or to pass a week holiday away from home (from 51% to 49.5%). The severe deprivation indicator showed the highest decrease in the South and Islands, among single persons and couples without children (especially of elderly) and among couples with one child, also minor. The values were still high among single parents, members of households with three or more minors and other types of households; the latter also showed a further increase between 2013 and 2014 (from 15.9% to 20.2%).
The increase in very low work intensity concerned, in particular, people in households residing on the South and Islands (from 18.9% to 20.9%), or in large households: couples with children (from 8.3% to 9.7%), with minors (from 7.5% to 8.9%) and households with aggregate members (from 17.8% to 20.5%).
In Italy, half of the resident households perceived, in 2013, a net income not above 24,310 euro per year (about 2,026 euro per month); in the South and Islands 50% of households received less than 20,188 euro (about 1,682 euro per month). The households with three or more income receivers showed a median income almost three times higher than households with only one receiver (44,900 against 16,690 euros), while households with dependent work as main source of income had around 10,000 euros more than those mainly living on pensions or other public transfers (29,527 against 19,441).
Also in 2013, inequality measured by the Gini index (0.296 nationally) showed the highest value in the South and Islands (0.305), lower in the Centre (0.282) and in the North (0.269). 20% of the richest households received 37.5% of the total income, the poorest 20% only the 7.7%.
For information
Socio-demographic and environmental statistics directorate
Nicoletta Pannuzi
ph. +39 06 4673.4723
pannuzi@istat.it