ISTAT Report 2024: Poverty and Inequalities in Italy
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The latest ISTAT report on living conditions and family income (2023-2024) paints an alarming picture: rising poverty, inflation-depleted incomes and record inequalities. (1) This article analyses official data, highlighting the structural causes of the crisis and proposing solutions for a fairer economy.
1. Poverty and social exclusion: the emergency in Italy
1.1. 23,1% of Italians are at risk of poverty
In 2024, 13,5 million people (23,1% of the population) live in conditions of risk of poverty or social exclusion, up from 22,8% in 2023. This indicator includes:
- risk of monetary poverty (18,9%). Families with income below €12.363 per year (60% of the median);
- low work intensity (9,2%): households in which adults work less than 20% of the available time;
- severe material and social deprivation (4,6%). Inability to meet basic expenses.
1.2. Severe material and social deprivation
According to ISTAT, 2,7 million of Italians suffer from severe deprivationwith at least 7 of 13 indicators of family and/or individual difficulties, according to the criteria established by Eurostat:
- not being able to face unexpected expenses (e.g. urgent repairs);
- give up a week of annual vacation;
- delays in paying rent, bills or mortgages;
- do not eat proteins (meat, fish or alternatives) at least every two days;
- not heating the house adequately;
- not being able to afford a car;
- not being able to replace broken furniture;
- no internet connection at home.
- worn out clothes and the inability to buy new ones.
- less than two pairs of shoes in good condition;
- not being able to spend small sums on oneself;
- give up on out-of-home entertainment (cinema, restaurants).
- not being able to meet friends/family at least once a month.
1.3. Who suffers the most?
- Single parents: 32,1% at risk (+2,9% from 2023).
- Families with 3+ children: 34,8% (+2,8%).
- Elderly people alone: 29,5% (+2,3%).
- Noon: 39,2% at risk (vs. 11,2% in the North-East).
2. Free-falling incomes: inflation eats up wages
2.1. Real purchasing power
- Average family income: €37.511 gross per year (+4,2% nominal, but 1,6% real with inflation at 5,9%).
- Median income: €30.039 (50% of families earn less than €2.503 per month).
- Historical collapse: since 2007, real incomes have fallen by8,7% (-17,5% for self-employed workers).
2.2. Territorial disparities
- North-East: -4,6% real income (worst decline).
- South: median income lower than 28% compared to the North-East.
3. Record inequality: the richest 20% earn 5,5 times more
3.1. Shocking data on wealth distribution
- Rich-poor gap: the richest 20% earn 5,5 times higher compared to the poorest 20% (it was 5,3 in 2022).
- Gini index: climbed to 0,323 (0 = maximum equality), with peaks in the South (0,339). (2)
- Cause: precarious employment, welfare cuts, regressive taxation.
4. Precarious work = guaranteed poverty
4.1. One in ten employed people is 'working poor'
- 21% of workers earns less than €12.188/year (€1.015/month).
- Women: 26,6% low income (vs. 16,8% men).
- Foreigners: 35,2% (vs. 19,3% Italians).
- Most exploited sectors:
- personal services: 44,5% low paid.
– Temporary contracts: 46,6% low income (vs. 11,6% permanent).
4.2. Working poverty on the rise (10,3%)
- Migrants: 22,6% at risk (vs. 8,9% Italians).
- Single-income families: 20,1% (vs. 5,5% with 3+ recipients).
5. Housing emergency: rents and mortgages suffocate families
- 20% of families in rent spends up to 40% of income for the House.
- Capital income: -22,6% since 2007, but concentrated in the 10% richer.
6. What to do? Proposals for real change
- Guaranteed minimum income, with the support of social intervention measures to be financed also with dedicated EU funds, already available to Member States (e.g. ESF+, ERDF, InvestEU).
- Progressive taxation: tax large estates to address the social emergency with concrete tools.
- Universal welfare: basic income and free public services for the lowest income groups;
- Fight against precarious employment: support measures (e.g. tax credits) for the stabilization of contracts.
7. Provisional conclusions
Public investments must be dedicated to protection of society with respect to the real enemies of poverty and inequality, rather than to the defense military from imaginary enemies.
Égalité strongly opposes the plan 'Rearm Europe', which will worsen the problems mentioned above to the exclusive advantage of the financial oligarchies involved in the arms industry.
#Égalité, #PaceTerraDignità
Dario Dongo
Note
(1) ISTAT. In 2023, household income decreases in real terms. March 26, 2025 https://tinyurl.com/2s4yjnh3
(2) Concentration index of Gini: measure the degree of inequality of income distribution (a value of 0 indicates that all units receive the same income, a value of 1 indicates that the total income is received by only one unit). In the ISTAT report under consideration, the Gini index is calculated on an individual basis, attributing to each individual the equivalent net income of the family to which they belong. The index is calculated on the basis of the family net income without figurative and in-kind components.
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
