The good news is that the average income of the population and the level of employment improved last year in Spain. The bad news is that they did not prevent the difficulties of the most disadvantaged groups from getting worse. According to data published this Monday by the INE, the percentage of people at risk of poverty increased last year by five tenths and reached 26.5% of the total, with worrying extremes among single-parent households or among the inhabitants of Ceuta.
To calculate the risk of poverty, the INE uses the Arope rate, referring to the population with at least one of three situations of deprivation. The first consists of being below 60% of the median family income; the second, being in a prolonged unemployment situation, and the third, having a severe material deficiency such as delaying payments or not being able to afford a vacation or eat meat, chicken or fish at least once every two days.
The current rate is now slightly higher than the pre-pandemic level, 26.2%. In 2014 it exceeded 30% and, since that moment, it had tended to decrease, until rising in 2020 and 2021 to 27.8%. It decreased in 2022, but in 2023 it has experienced an increase. In general terms, last year the indicators of employment and the relative poverty rate improved, but those of severe material deprivation worsened.
By autonomous community, the rate in Catalonia was 21.2% and in Madrid, 19.4%. The most critical situation occurs in Andalusia, with a percentage of 37.5%, which contrasts with the region with the best conditions, Euskadi, with 15.5%. In the autonomous city of Ceuta, 41.8% of the population is at risk of poverty and social exclusion, with one in five citizens suffering from severe material deprivation.
The INE survey also shows that, in Spain as a whole, the percentage of the population in a situation of severe material and social deprivation increased to 9%, compared to 7.7% a year earlier. The rate in both Catalonia and Madrid was similar, 8.9%.
The average income per person stood at 14,082 euros, although this figure, warns the INE, corresponds to the year 2022. It was 8.3% higher than the previous year and the year with the greatest progression since 2014, despite being characterized by a rebound in inflation that also triggered expenses.
When the Arope rate is analyzed in detail, the risk of poverty is seen beyond territorial aspects. The rate ranges from 36% among people with basic education to 13% among those with higher education. Furthermore, in households with a single adult and one or more children, it rises to 52%. It reaches 56% among the unemployed and is especially concentrated among non-EU emigrants, with percentages of 57%.
There are other details referring to the general population. 37.1% did not have the capacity to face unforeseen expenses, compared to 35.5% in 2022. In addition, 33.1% could not afford to go on vacation away from home for at least one week a year, four tenths less that in 2022.
