For comparison, the figure was 25.4% in 2021, according to the statistical office. Married couples with children are now at the highest risk. The most acute situation is observed in families consisting of five or more members. In such cases, the statistical indicator stands at 38.1%, after an increase by almost 2% in one year.
Massimiliano Dona, the head of the National Union of Italian Consumers, called the data published by Istat on Monday "dramatic and shameful."
"This already alarming and explosive situation is doomed to worsen further in 2022 due to increased utility bills and high prices. In fact, skyrocketing inflation is an invisible tax that hits the poorest groups first and foremost. In this case, given the mandatory spending on electricity, gasoline, gas and food, this leads to the impoverishment of those who are already on the verge of poverty, turning them into beggars," Dona said.
Since the beginning of the year, member states of the European Union, including Italy, have been facing accelerating inflation, caused in part by Western sanctions against Russia over Ukraine. Most consumers consider inflation a top-priority problem, given the growing food and energy prices, and cuts into spending power.
In mid-June, Italy hit a new record of around 5.6 million citizens living in absolute poverty, breaking the 2020 COVID-19 high of over 1 million citizens, according to Istat. The situation has been rapidly deteriorating in the country since then due to the growing annual inflation rate that hit 36-year record high of 8.4% in August 2022.