In 2023, 22.8% of the Italian population is at risk of poverty or social exclusion: a decreasing value compared to 2022 (24.4%) compared to a reduction in the share of the population at risk of poverty, which stands at 18.9% (from 20.1% the previous year), and a slight increase in the population in conditions of serious material and social deprivation (4.7% compared to 4.5%). This was revealed by Istat in the latest survey on the living conditions and income of families.
The decline in the incidence of people at risk of poverty is linked to the contribution of all the family support measures, such as the single universal allowance for children, one-off bonuses to counteract the increase in energy costs and the changes that have occurred in taxation, underlines the Institute of Statistics.
The Calabria alarm
At a regional level, a reduction in the risk of poverty or social exclusion is observed in particular in Piedmont, Liguria, Emilia Romagna, and Campania, due to the decrease in all three indicators (risk of poverty, severe deprivation and low work intensity). Furthermore, Istat notes, the risk of poverty or social exclusion decreases in Lombardy with a marked reduction of individuals in families with low work intensity but with an increase in serious deprivation. In Calabria, however, the three indicators worsen and, above all, severe deprivation increases. In 2023, the incidence of the risk of poverty or social exclusion is reduced for all family types and in particular for individuals living in families with four members (21.8% compared to 24.8% in 2022) and for couples with two children (20.6% compared to 23.4% in 2022) and with one child (19% compared to 21.3%) who benefited from the new universal single allowance for children. However, for large families, the number of individuals in conditions of low work intensity increases, in particular they increase if there are five or more members (6.6% compared to 5.1% the previous year) and in the case of couples with three or more children (6% compared to 3.5% the previous year), presumably due to greater difficulty in reconciling work and care activities. Furthermore, the study warns, the risk of poverty or social exclusion remains high for those who can mainly rely on income from pensions and/or public transfers (31.6%) although decreasing compared to 2022 (34.2%), while decreases for those who live in families where the main source of income is employment (15.8% compared to 17.2% in 2022). The risk of poverty or social exclusion worsens for those whose main source is income from self-employment (22.3% compared to 19.9% in 2022), due to the widening of the gap between income levels of this type of recipients, with income growth in the upper tail of the distribution. Finally, the risk of poverty or social exclusion is reduced for individuals in families with only Italians and increases slightly for members of families with at least one foreign citizen (40.1% compared to 39.6% in 2022).
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