“To comply, we should have 10.2 million people, however we have 12.3 million”, as shown in the report ‘The state of poverty in the autonomous communities’
Spain should have 2.1 million fewer people in a situation of poverty and social exclusion for the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (ODS), according to the Report ‘The State of Poverty in the Autonomous Communities’, prepared by the European Network for the Fight against Poverty and Social Exclusion in the Spanish State (EAPN-ES).
“To comply, we should have 10.2 million people in AROPE, however we have 12.3 million, we are exceeded by 2.1 million”, warned the head of EAPN-ES Research, Juan Carlos Llano, this Monday, during the presentation of the study, at the headquarters of the ONCE Foundation in Madrid.
Despite this data, the report highlights that poverty and social exclusion fell in all the autonomous communities in 2022 compared to the previous year. In all, there were 12.3 million people in this situation, 26% of the population, 800,000 people less than the previous year.
However, the improvement is still “insufficient”, according to EAPN-ES, as the country is “still far” from meeting the objectives set out in the Agenda which, in its target 1.2, establishes that by 2030 “the proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions must have been reduced by at least half “. In the case of Spain, this means that in 2030 there should be a maximum of 6.6 million people at risk of poverty or exclusion.
In addition, the report finds that there is an “enormous” inequality gap between the northern and southern regions of Spain. The data reflects a division of Spain into “two halves” and, although it notes “a process of reduction” in territorial inequality since 2016, it points out that “it is still very insufficient” since the AROPE and Severe Material and Social Deprivation (PMSS) The highest regional rates multiply by 2.5 and 3, respectively, the lowest.
Specifically, the report highlights that, in 2022, in the southern regions, that is, Extremadura, Castilla-La Mancha, Valencian Community, Murcia, Andalusia, the Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla, the AROPE rate reached 33.1% of the resident population (close to 5.5 million people), a figure that drops to almost 20.5% (6.8 million people) for those who live in the northern half from the country.
Regarding severe poverty, that is, people who live in households with income less than 6,725 euros per consumption unit per year (560 euros per month), in 2022 there were a total of 4.2 million people in this situation in Spain, that is, 8.9% of the population.
With respect to the regions, the severe poverty rate decreased in the last year in the vast majority of Autonomous Communities, except in Navarre, Basque Country and Castilla y León. Despite the improvement, in some regions the rate of severe poverty affects more than a tenth of its population: Andalusia (14.4%), the Canary Islands (13.2%), Murcia (11.6%) and Extremadura (10.2%).
Based on the indicator of severe material and social deprivation, the study shows that five communities have seen their situation deteriorate: Navarra, Castilla-La Mancha, Extremadura, Galicia and Andalusia. However, despite the general improvement, the north-south “gap” remains.
For example, regarding the ability to keep the home at an adequate temperature, in 2022, 17.1% of the national population was in this situation, compared to 14.3% in 2021 and 10.9% in 2020. All the autonomous communities with the exception of Aragon, the Region of Murcia and La Rioja have worsened their situation, being Extremadura and Andalusia those with higher figures, with 23.1% and 21%, respectively.
A similar trend can be seen in the indicator of people who cannot afford vacations for at least one week a year. Despite the improvements in Andalusia, the Canary Islands and the Region of Murcia, these CCAAs have, along with Extremadura, the highest percentages: 45.4%, 40.2%, 42.3% and 42%.
The report also assesses the value of the actual poverty risk rate and that which would exist in a society without State action. Thus, the study shows that, if there were no public transfer to householdsnor those that correspond to pensions, 44.5% of the Spanish population would be at risk of poverty, some 11.3 million more poor people than are actually registered.
In terms of the poverty risk rate, EAPN-ES highlights that in Cantabria, the Balearic Islands, Galicia, the Canary Islands, Extremadura and the Basque Country, transfers reduce between 30% and 39% the value that the poverty rate would have if they were not those contributions existed; while in the Community of Madrid, Castilla y León, La Rioja, Region of Murcia, Castilla-La Mancha, Aragon and Andalusia, transfers reduce it between 21% and 25%.
They are not going to buy a yacht
In this sense, the president of EAPN Spain and EAPN Europe, Carlos Susías, has encouraged all political parties to pursue economic development policies and allocate money for social protection. “These are incomes that go directly to commerce or to the local economy, it does not stay with families, it is not going to buy a yacht or an account in Switzerland, it goes to the local economy and helps economic growth”, he highlighted. Susiah.
Despite this “worrying” reality, EAPN-ES regrets that in the electoral campaign for the next regional and municipal elections “very little” is being spoken of the problems of the most vulnerable people.
In any case, from EAPN-ES they are optimistic about the reduction of poverty indicators because, as has been specified Juan Carlos Llano, “In one year, in one fell swoop, 12 years have been recovered” in such a way that people who were in a situation of severe poverty have become in a situation of poverty, and those who were in poverty have come out of it.
Along these lines, Carlos Susías has pointed out that they are seeing that “there is a chance that poverty will start to decline below the peak it had reached with Covid-19″.