ISTAT said Wednesday that more than two million families in Italy were living in conditions of absolute poverty in 2020, 7.7% of the total, up from 6.4% in 2019.
In terms of individuals, over 5.6 million people were in absolute poverty in Italy last year, 9.4% of the population, up from 7.7% the previous year, the national statistics agency said.
ISTAT said absolute poverty was at the highest levels in 2020, the year the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, since the start of the statistical series in 2005.
The number of people in absolute poverty includes 1.3 million minors, 13.5% of Italy's under-18s, an increase of over two percentage points from 11.4% in 2019.
The agency said 2.6 million households were living in relative poverty, 10.1%, compared to 11.4% in 2019.
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