Madrid (EFE).- Spending on housing, inflation and little aid to families with children are hindering the recovery of households: more than 12.3 million people are at risk of poverty and social exclusion.
These are data from the study “The State of Poverty 2022” by the European Network to Fight Poverty and Social Exclusion in the Spanish State (EAPN-ES), which analyzes the relationship between poverty and social exclusion rates with elements such as housing, gender, age or the influence of habitat.
“The cost of housing, the gender gap and insufficient support for families with minors are key elements for the generation of poverty in Spain,” explained Carlos Susías, president of the network in the presentation this Tuesday of the research, on the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.
4 out of 5 people with high housing expenses are poor
The expenditure dedicated to housing among the poor population is equivalent to almost 40% of household income, an effort more than three times greater than that made by non-poor people (12.5%).
The study highlights that people in poverty have less access to property and, therefore, rent more. At the same time, renting, in addition to generating insecurity, is much more expensive than a mortgage and consumes a significant part of the available resources.
Four out of five people with high housing expenses were poor (79.1%). Furthermore, 12.7% of the population at risk of poverty resides in homes that are too small for their family size and almost one in three people in poverty cannot keep their home at an adequate temperature, twice as many as the rest of the population. .
Delays in payment of utility bills and mortgage or rent bills are almost four times higher among poor people than in the rest of the population (20.4%).
One third of the poor have a job
Although the social shield measures implemented in 2020, such as ERTE, managed to keep 1.5 million people out of poverty, the profile of poor people with employment is accentuated: almost a third (32.9%) of The poor population over 15 years of age have paid work.
The research also shows the increase in poverty situations in people with medium or high education: 42.9% in this situation have completed them and one in ten people with higher education is at risk of poverty. In absolute terms, 1.4 million poor people have higher education, a figure that has doubled since 2008 (674,000 people).
It includes the increase in people who cannot afford unforeseen expenses of a minimum of 800 euros (they are 35.5%); also, those who have difficulties making ends meet (47.8%); those who cannot afford to keep their home at an adequate temperature in winter (17.1%); and those who cannot afford a meal of meat, chicken or fish at least every two days (5.4% of the Spanish population).
Better data, but insufficient
Poverty and social exclusion indicators have experienced an improvement compared to 2021.
In Spain, in 2022, 26% of the population is at risk of poverty and social exclusion, 800,000 fewer people than a year before. The number of people in severe poverty has also been reduced by about 600,000 compared to 2021.
“Practically all indicators show a significant recovery in people’s living conditions and an almost complete return to the data prior to the economic crisis caused by Covid-19; all of this in one year, but it is still a structural problem,” Susías highlighted.
Women and children, poorer
27.2% of women and 24.8% of men were at risk of poverty and/or exclusion; The female poverty risk rate is 21.1%, 1.3 points higher than that of men (19.8%), which means half a million more poor women.
It also states that recovery policies do not reach both sexes equally: since 2015, social policies have resulted in half a million fewer poor men, while only 61,000 women have escaped poverty in the same period.
Families with dependent minors register the highest figures for all indicators, situations of vulnerability that translate into high figures of child poverty.
Almost 2.6 million minors are at risk of poverty and/or social exclusion, a third of the total (32.2%). Single-parent families bear the brunt, almost half (49.2%) are in that situation and almost all of them are households made up of a woman with dependent minors.
Without pensions or social protection, almost half would be poor
The analysis highlights “the enormous importance of the redistributive function of the Public Administration” for maintaining the quality of life of the entire population: if there were no public transfers (including pensions) almost half of the Spanish population would be in a situation of poverty.
The researchers highlight that mere economic growth is not enough to fight poverty and exclusion: 68 years of uninterrupted growth in GDP per capita would be needed to end poverty in Spain.
Spain is still far from the goal committed to the UN of reducing poverty to 11.1% in 2030.
North and south
The data show a Spain in two halves: the communities north of Madrid with the lowest poverty rates and those located to the south with high figures well above the national average.
The lowest rates when compared to the AROPE rate (being at risk of poverty, material deprivation or low intensity of employment) for 2022 are those of Navarra and the Basque Country, with 14.5% and 15.7% respectively. On the other hand, the highest are recorded in Extremadura and the Canary Islands, with 36.9% and 36.2%, respectively.
This poverty rate is 4.4 percentage points higher than the EU average and the fifth highest of all member countries. Above are only Romania, Bulgaria, Greece and Estonia.
Disability and poverty
30% of people with disabilities in AROPE compared to 22.7% in the rest of the population. They also have an average income per consumption unit that is 7.8% lower than the rest of the population.
In the workplace, 13.6% of employed people with disabilities are poor.
27% of people with disabilities experience difficulties or many difficulties in making ends meet (seven percentage points more than people without disabilities); 41% cannot afford unforeseen expenses of around 800 euros (32.1% among people without disabilities).
Poverty in cities and towns
15.9% of the Spanish population lives in rural areas, that is, just over 7.5 million people occupy 85% of the territory.
27.6% of the rural population is at risk of poverty and/or social exclusion, compared to 25.8% in urban areas.
2023-10-17 08:26:29
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