European Interest

More Swedes at risk of poverty

Flickr/Miguel Virkkunen Carvalho/CC BY 2.0
Scenic view of Stockholm's Slussen area in Södermalm, one of the central districts of the city.

An increasing number of Swedes is at risk of poverty, according to the findings of a new survey released by Statistics Sweden on February 16.

The research shows the number of people at risk of living in poverty in Sweden has risen from 13% in 2008, to 16% in 2016, according to EU’s definition.

As reported by The Local, however, the in-work-poverty rate [the working poor, people who are employed but still fall below the threshold] has remained at a relatively stable level of 7% in recent years.

“In Sweden, it is more common that young people, single parents with children and foreign-born people have a low income despite being in work,” Statistics Sweden said.

According to the EU, a person is at risk of living in poverty if the disposable income per consumption unit in a household is below 60% of the national median value.

In 2016, the median income among Swedish singles was 172,000 kronor per year, while cohabiting parents with children was 275,000 kronor per year.

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