There are "two Italys" now, the pre-Covid one and the post-Covid one. The first had brought with it a slight improvement: in 2019 the number of families in absolute poverty had decreased compared to the previous year. In numbers, the families who could not afford the minimum expenses to lead an acceptable life were 1,7 million, equal to 4,6 million people. In percentage terms we are talking about 6,4% of total families (against 7% in 2018) and 7,7% of people (against 8,4% the year before). This was revealed by an Istat report which underlines how after four years of continuous increase the descent has come, although the levels were still higher (much higher) than “pre-crisis 2008-2009”.
These are figures that under normal conditions would have boded well for a better future. The problem is that the coronavirus may have called everything into question, above all because according to Bank of Italy the economic crisis deriving from the pandemic will hit above all the poorest classes, causing a reduction in income which for 20% of families with lower incomes will be twice as large as that suffered by those with higher incomes. Not only that, according to what was reported by Coldiretti "the coronavirus pandemic in recent months has caused the new poor to rise by over a million who in 2020 also need help to eat”.
ISTAT DATA ON ABSOLUTE POVERTY
Let's start with the Istat data. Going into the details of the report, the analysis by the National Institute of Statistics shows how "the decrease in absolute poverty is largely due to the improvement, in 2019, in the spending levels of less well-off families (in a situation of stagnation in consumption at national level)”, reads the study, which then explains: “The positive trend occurred in conjunction with the introduction of the Citizenship Income (which replaced the Inclusion Income) and involved, in the second half of 2019 , over a million families in difficulty”.
From a geographical point of view, the South is confirmed as the territory most in difficulty with 8,5% of families in absolute poverty in the South and 8,7% in the Islands. Higher percentages than those recorded in the North-West (5,8%), in the North-East (6%) and in the Center (4,5%). “For this reason, even if there are more families in the North than in the South (respectively 47,8% and 31,7% of the total), the number of poor families in the two divisions is substantially the same: 43,4% in the North and 42,2% in the South. The remaining 14,4% is found in the Center”, highlights Istat.
As far as individuals are concerned, however, over 2 million absolute poor (45,1% of the total) are resident in the North, against 1 million 860 thousand in the Northern regions (40,5%). This is also due to the greater presence of large families in the South among families in absolute poverty compared to the North.
FOREIGNERS AND MINORS
The data testify that in 2019 foreign citizens in absolute poverty were almost 1,4 million, 26,9% of the total against 5,9% of Italian citizens. The data on minors is heavy: last year there were 18 million and 1 thousand under 137s in absolute poverty (11,4% compared to 7,7% of individuals nationwide; 12,6% in 2018). Also in this case the highest incidence was recorded in the South (14,8%) and between the ages of 7 and 13 (12,9%) while for the other groups: 4-6 years (11,7 .0%), 3-9,7 years (14%) and 17-10,5 years (12,9%), the latter in particular an improvement compared to the previous year (XNUMX%).
In 2019, in total, families with minors who could not afford the minimum expenses amounted to 618 thousand (9,7%). "The greatest criticality for families with minors also emerges in terms of poverty intensity, with a value equal to 23,0% against 20,3% of the general figure. In addition to being more often poor, families with minors are also in conditions of more marked hardship”, writes Istat.
RELATIVE POVERTY
In 2019, there were just under 3 million (11,4%) families in relative poverty, for a total of 8,8 million individuals (14,7%). Stable numbers compared to the previous year. From a territorial point of view: in the North the incidence was equal to 6,8% with similar values both in the North-west and in the North-east (6,7% and 6,9% respectively) while in the South it reached 21,1, XNUMX%.
COLDIRETTI'S ESTIMATES
The improvement recorded in 2019 may have stopped due to the coronavirus pandemic that has hit Italy and the world. Indeed, according to Coldiretti estimates, Covid-19 would have caused the new poor to rise by over a million. The calculations come on the basis of people who have benefited from food aid with Fead funds distributed by charity associations. According to Coldiretti, there was "an increase of up to 40% in requests for help". "Among the new poor in 2020 - the association underlines again - there are those who have lost their jobs, small traders or artisans who have had to close, people employed in the informal sector who do not enjoy particular subsidies or public aid and have no savings set aside, as well as many temporary workers or workers with occasional activities". People who until now had never found themselves in poverty, but who due to "an unprecedented social emergency since the post-war period" have been forced to rely on solidarity initiatives to move forward.
