One in four German families live below poverty line

[Aptrgangr]

One in four German families live below poverty line

Published: 20 Apr 08 13:36 CET

The number of German families facing destitution is rising, as one out of every four households live below the poverty line, according to a new survey.

At least 26 percent of Germans do not earn enough money to sufficiently support themselves, a significant rise from 13.5 percent in 2003, German magazine Der Spiegel reports in its latest issue.

The survey conducted by the Sozio-ökonomische Panel, or Social Economic Board of Germany, studied the income of specific households between 1984 and 2007, and showed that every fifth German earns less than half of an average citizen's income.

The German employment ministry made no comment on the figures this weekend, but a spokeswoman said an official report on standards of living will be carried out and presented later this year. Ministers will then discuss the rise in poverty across the country.

The first official German employment and income survey was conducted in 2000, and again in March 2005. Results showed that a total of 11 million Germans were poverty stricken at the end of 2003.

The Local - One in four German families live below poverty line

[Kernunnos]

Time to send back home a lot of Turks ....

[Menydh]

It was one out of five Spaniards (20%) in 2006, according to these newspapers:
Uno de cada cinco españoles vive por debajo del umbral de la pobreza- elEconomista.
Casi el 20% de la población residente en España vive por debajo del umbral pobreza | elmundo.es

Around 10.1% in 2004, according to the UN.

I've found a 13.1% in Italy, for 2005. 12.9% for 2006.

Any idea on how this is measured? Income : Price Index?

[Sergius]

According to the OECD: 60% of median income equivalised family (household) income.