ECONOMY

Three in ten Greeks facing poverty risk

Thirty-one percent of the Greek population was at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2011, according to a report released by Eurostat on Tuesday. According to the report’s figures, the percentage of Greeks at risk of poverty was above that of the European Union average which stood at 24.2 percent.

The report also pointed to 30.4 percent of children under the age of 18 being at risk of poverty or social exclusion, compared to the EU’s average of 27 percent. In the 18 to 64 years old age group the percentage reached 31.7 percent, compared to 24.3 in the EU, while in the senior citizen category the figure stood at 29.3 percent, compared to the EU average of 20.5 percent.

Education was a pivotal factor when determining the risk of poverty the report showed: Children whose parents had a low level of education faced a 50.2 percent risk of poverty, compared to the 49.2 percent average in the European Union.

Children whose parents had a medium level of education had a 28.7 percent poverty risk, compared to the EU average of 22.4 percent, while children whose parents had acquired a high level of education faced a 7.9 percentage of risk of poverty, compared to the EU’s 7.5 percent.

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