Two million Poles still below poverty line

photo - PR

Poland's Central Statistical Office (GUS) says that though slightly fewer Polish citizens are living in extreme poverty than two years ago, more people are becoming dependent on benefits.

According to GUS, the number of households that cannot cover the costs of their essential day-to-day needs has fallen from 28 to 26 percent since 2009.

The 2011 “Diagnosis of Society” survey underlines that single-parent families and families with three or more children are most at risk of falling beneath the poverty line.

Eurostat found in a report released in 2010 that 17 percent of EU citizens are so poor they cannot afford the basics of food, accommodation and winter heating.

Poland and Italy have the worst poverty levels in the EU, followed by Greece, Spain and Great Britain. (pg/nh)