The number of people living below the poverty line in the Netherlands has fallen significantly for the first time since the economic crisis, according to a new report by the government’s social policy unit SCP.

In 2013, 7.9% of the population were classed as poor but that fell marginally to 7.6% in 2014, the SCP said on Tuesday. In 2007, before the crisis hit, just 5.4% of households were considered to be living below the poverty line.

The SCP defines poverty as having less than enough money to provide for basic living needs and to participate in society – this is puts at around €1,000 a month for a single person. A two parent family with two children is classed poor if they have less than 1,830 a month to spend.

In 2014, 1.2 million people were living on what the SCP calls ‘not much but sufficient’. The definition includes what is considered necessary to eat, live, buy clothes and take part in social activities.