Not everything is rosy for foreigners in Italy. And the situation has gotten even worse during the pandemic.
According to figures released this Wednesday (15) by the National Statistics Institute (Istat), 1,6 million foreigners, or 32,4% of immigrants, live in situation of absolute poverty. An increase of 3,1 points compared to 2020.
Also according to the agency, Italy ended 2021 with 1,9 million families and 5,6 million people, 9,4% of the national population, in this condition due to the covid-19 pandemic.
As a result, the absolute poverty rate in Italy remains at the peak of the historical series started in 2005.
According to the organization, these statistics are in line with data from 2020, in which the poverty rate grew by almost two points.
Considering only minors, 1,4 million people are in absolute poverty, which represents 14,2% of the population in this age group.
One of the causes of this scenario is the growth in inflation, which closed 2021 at 1,9%, a value well above the average of previous years in the country.
For two-person families, absolute poverty fell from 5,7% to 5,0% of the total; for families of three, from 8,5% to 7,1%.
However, for families with four and five members, the rates rose from 11,3% to 11,6% and from 20,7% to 22,6%, respectively.
How absolute poverty is measured
To calculate the indices, Istat defines the monetary value, in current prices, of the “set of goods and services considered essential for a family”, and this figure varies according to the size of the nucleus, the age of its components and the place of residence.
A family is considered to be in a situation of “absolute poverty” when it has a monthly income lower than the cost of this basic basket of goods and services.
For a nucleus made up of two adults and two teenage children and residing in a metropolitan area in northern Italy, for example, the absolute poverty rate is 1.801,28 Euros (considering the family's total income), which is equivalent to R$9,6 at the current price.
For a family with identical composition, but living in a small town in the south, the absolute poverty threshold is an income of 1.334,32 Euros (R$7,1 thousand). (With information from Ansa Brasil)
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