A total of 2,399,000 Portuguese people were at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2017, nonetheless down 196,000 on 2016, according to figures released on Monday by the INE.
The figures are from INE’s Survey on Living and Income Conditions, conducted in Portugal since 2004, through face-to-face interviews, targeting 14,052 families in 2017.
The questionnaire includes questions about the household as well as the personal characteristics of each member, in particular on the income of all members aged 16 or over.
Data is usually collected in the second quarter of each year.
The statistical indicator for the population at risk of poverty or social exclusion assesses risk of poverty based on severe material deprivation and very low per capita labour intensity.
The definitive results of the 2017 Living Conditions Survey confirm that 2.399 million people (or 23.3 percent of the population) are at risk of poverty or social exclusion, down by 196,000 on the previous year.
Of the total number of people in poverty or social exclusion, 18 percent (431,000) were under the age of 18, and 18.8 percent (451,000) were people aged 65 or over.
In 2017, 6.9 percent of residents lived in circumstances of severe material deprivation (708,000 people), 1.5 percentage points less than in 2016 and 2.7 percentage points less than in 2015.