Some 13.2 percent of Slovakia's population, or 715,000 people, were faced with the risk of poverty in 2012, the latest figures released by the Slovak Statistics Office (ŠÚ) August 27 show. This constitutes a rise of 0.2 percentage points on the year.
“Based on the latest findings, the poverty limit was at €4,156 per year, which equals €346 a month for single-member households," ŠÚ head Ľudmila Benkovičová told the TASR newswire. The figure rose by €31 per month on an annual basis. Not surprisingly, the highest degree of risk was observed among jobless people, measured at 44.6 percent. This was a rise of 2 percent on a yearly basis. Households with three or more dependent children or single-parent households were also included among the groups at highest risk.
Poverty among the working population decreased slightly, as 6.2 percent of working individuals faced the risk of poverty in 2012. The findings were extrapolated from data gathered from 6,000 households across Slovakia in April 2012.
Those living in the Prešov Region face the greatest risk of poverty, with the Statistics Office measuring the risk level in the region at 19.9 percent. Conversely, the figure was only 6.3 percent for people living in the Bratislava Region. The Nitra Region was second-worst, followed by the Banska Bystrica region, with the figures for both surpassing 15 percent. Four regions posted an annual rise in poverty risk, with Zilina positioned worst in this respect. In terms of the sexes, proportions were roughly equal. Children up to 18 years of age faced the greatest deal of risk (21.9 percent).
(Source: TASR)
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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