Dutch unlikely to live below poverty line

Just 11% of the Dutch live below the official poverty line, according to new figures from the European statistics office Eurostat.


The number of people considered officially poor is only lower in the Czech Republic, where 9% live in poverty, Eurostat said. Slovenia has the same rate as the Netherlands.
However, the figures are open to wide interpretation, Eurostat says: ‘It should be noted that the at-risk-of-poverty rate is a relative measure of poverty, and that the poverty threshold varies greatly between member states.’
The poverty threshold in the Netherlands is €11,300, the fifth-highest in the EU. In the Czech Republic it is €5,800.
Some 14% of Dutch households are unable to pay for a week’s holiday away from home and 5% cannot afford to run a car. In Romania, 49% cannot afford a car.
The worst performer is Latvia, where 26% live below the poverty line. The EU average is 17%, Eurostat said.

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