1.2M poor in the Netherlands

Poverty in the Netherlands is in an upswing. The Social and Cultural Planning Bureau SCP says 1.2 million live below the poverty line, 7,6 percent of the country’s residents. Of these 384,000 are children, a report presented today has said. The document that was presented together with the Central Bureau for Statistics CBS said that last year saw the strongest growth since the start of the recession in 2008.

People are considered poor in the Netherlands when their household earns less than the gross minimal income of €1,000 per months, which is what is necessary to fulfill a minimal consumption level. CBS considers the level of income when it calculates poverty; SCP looks at people who are not able to spend what is required for basic expenditures like food, clothing, housing and social participation.

The report said a majority (488,000) of the 813,000 poor adults were native Dutch. The number of children that live below the poverty line is 384,000, or 11,4 percent of children in the country.

It also said that the poor in the Netherlands live in the country’s four biggest cities, with Amsterdam claiming the largest percentage: 15.4 percent. Poverty grew to 74 percent among risk groups, such as households that collect Government aid. At least 30 percent of single parent households were having difficulty paying their bills.

Furthermore, 348,000 poor people have jobs, considerably more than the 255,000 of last year. CBS said that among non-western households the second generation faced a smaller chance of poverty than the generation.

CBS and SCP are confident that the number of poor people in the Netherlands will decrease in coming years.