Individual absolute poverty rate in Italy 2008-2019

In 2019, 7.7 percent of individuals in Italy were living below the poverty line. Compared to the previous year, the share of people living in absolute poverty experienced a decrease. However, the lowest rates were registered in the years from 2008 to 2012, when the real impact of the 2008 financial crisis was yet to be recorded. In Italy, around one fifth of the entire population was consistently at risk of poverty between 2011 and 2019.

Demographics of poverty

Some groups are suffering more than others from lack of money and resources. Data in fact suggest that male individuals are slightly more likely to experience absolute poverty than females. Moreover, the incidence rates of absolute poverty in households with more family nuclei and couples with three or more children are much higher than the general average.

Geography of poverty

Poverty in Italy also depends on where one lives. In the North East and in the Center of the country, in fact, around 6.5 percent of the population lived below the absolute poverty line in 2018. On the other hand, the incidence rate of absolute poverty in Sicily and Sardinia was almost double, 12 percent, with other regions in the South also recording alarming rates.