More than 5.7 million Italians — about 9.8% of the population — were living in absolute poverty in 2024, according to the latest figures from Istat, Italy’s national statistics institute. The report also counts 2.2 million households affected, roughly 8.4% of all families, a figure largely unchanged from 2023.
Poverty remains most widespread in southern Italy, where 10.5% of families (over 886,000 households) live below the threshold. The North-West follows at 8.1%, the North-East at 7.6%, and the Centre records the lowest rate at 6.5%. Nearly 40% of poor families live in the South, 44.5% in the North, and 15.7% in central regions.
On an individual level, poverty rates remain steady nationwide except in the islands, where they rose sharply to 13.4%, up from 11.9% in 2023.
Among minors, absolute poverty reaches 13.8% — nearly 1.3 million children and adolescents — the highest rate recorded since 2014. The incidence stands at 11.7% among 18- to 34-year-olds, 9.5% among adults aged 35-64, and 6.4% among those over 65, or roughly 918,000 elderly people.