EU classifies 1 percent of Swedes as 'poor'
Published: 4 Mar 13 10:17 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/46524/20130304/
One percent of Swedes live in material poverty, according to a new annual Eurostat review that lists Sweden as having the lowest poverty level in the EU.
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Not being able to cover an unforeseen expense, not being able to afford to eat meat, poultry or fish more than every other day. It also covers heating your home, having access to one week paid holiday a year, owning capital goods such as a washing machine or a car.
Sweden and Luxembourg have the EU's lowest proportion of citizens or residents living below the material poverty line - both at about 1 percent.
The EU average was 9 percent.
Bulgarians fare the worst, as 44 percent of its population are considered materially poor. Almost one in three Lithuanians also don't satisfy four of the nine material criteria outlined by Eurostat.
The EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions review is performed annually.
Across the EU, the unemployed fared the worse.
In Sweden, about 10 percent of job seekers live in material poverty, compared to the 1-percent national average.
The figure was much higher in other member states. On average, one in four of the unemployed in the EU lives in material poverty, while only one in ten of people who have found work do.
Ann Törnkvist
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If thinking you're having it poorly, you need to travel to eastern Europe and open your eyes. Over there many are still living in the ruin of the fallen Soviet Union.
Either Eurostat or the Swedish Red Cross is incompetent, and/or is deliberately misinforming us.
Those of us who live in Sweden and actually see Swedish children know the truth.
As mentioned on that discussion it is believed the stats could have come from a very questionable source, Swedish speakers only, on home phone lines only, during the day time only ..... Etc etc ..... All the sort of qualities of a survey which I highly doubt would be representational of "poor people".
Also this news is actually from the 3rd of December LAST YEAR LOL.
And the stats themselves are representational of 2 years ago LOL .....
Make of it what you will.
But I would urge anyone interested in real Swedish news to come to the forum.
I think the difference is the way of measuring poverty.
Probably Red Cross was focusing on need. Walk on the outskirts of Stockholm one of those very cold days (under -15) and you will find kids playing outside with sneakers. If you ask them they will deny being poor (everybody around is like them!), but there is no money at home to buy winter shoes, or fresh veggies, or after-school activities.
There is some people in very bad economical situation out there, living here is expensive, and they get pushed to misery.
I wonder one poverty line cross and hit swedes, I am sure only then we will react seriously about this. but how ? simple .. to ask the few immigrants and refugees who are working to leave and back home, so that swedes get job.
Seems the EU is always 'slamming' Sweden on a variety of items over which it outperforms most of Europe and the World.