MILAN: One in 10 people in Italy lived in poverty in 2024, a study released Tuesday by the national institute of statistics showed, with large families and immigrant households particularly affected.

The figure of 5.7 million people, encompassing 2.2 million households and accounting for 9.8 percent of the population, was stable for the preceding two years but rose significantly over the past decade, the Istat study said.

The study defined “absolute poverty” as an inability to pay for essential goods and services. The monthly threshold in Rome in 2023 for a young couple with one child, for example, was 1,568 euros (about $1,800).

Based on a comparable European standard, 13.6 million Italians were living at risk of poverty or social exclusion — 23 percent of the population.

By that wider standard Italy was above the European average of 21 percent for 2024, according to Eurostat — worse off than the some of its western European neighbours but better than countries such as Greece with nearly 27 percent.

Foreign residents in Italy were disproportionately likely to live below the poverty threshold, accounting for 35 percent of households composed only of foreign nationals, compared to six percent for all-Italian households.