One in three children and adolescents in Castilla-La Mancha is in poverty

TOLEDO.- One in three children and adolescents in Castilla-La Mancha lives in poverty, with the 37.1 percent of the child population at risk of poverty and/or social exclusion. Data, however, that represents an improvement in 2023 of 1.8 points compared to the previous year.

This is clear from the XIV report ‘The State of Poverty: Monitoring of the Indicators of the EU 2030 Agenda (2015-2023)’ presented today, on the occasion of the commemoration of the International Day for the Eradication of Povertyby the European Network to Fight Poverty and Social Exclusion of Castilla-La Mancha (EAPN-CLM), which includes an updated x-ray of the impact of poverty and social exclusion in Spain and Castilla-La Mancha .

Report according to which the poverty and/or social exclusion rate (AROPE) in the region stood at 31.7 percent, which represents a slight increase of 0.1 points compared to the previous year. In absolute terms, more than 660,000 people are at risk of poverty and/or social exclusion in Castilla-La Mancha, 10,000 more than in 2022.

In those over 65 years of age and the group between 18 and 64 years of age, slight increases were observed in 2023, of 0.3 and 0.6 points, respectively.

During the presentation, which was given by the president of EAPN-CLM, Mar González; the network manager, Raúl del Viso; and the technician of the research area in the organization, Irene Sergio, it has become clear that Castilla-La Mancha remains among the four autonomous communities with the highest risk of povertyalong with Extremadura, the Canary Islands and Andalusia.

By sex, the male AROPE composite indicator rate rose 1 point, reaching 30.8 percent, the highest level in five years, while the female rate decreased 0.6 points to 32.7 percent. Both changes reduce the distance between the AROPE rates of men and women at 1.9 points.

In territorial terms, for its part, the AROPE difference between rural and urban areas remains, being 36.8 percent in the former and 29.1 percent in the latter, with slight increases in both.

INCREASE IN SEVERE POVERTY

On the other hand, the Internet warns of the “alarming” increase that the severe poverty in Castilla-La Mancha, going from 8.7 percent in 2022 to 10.4 percent in 2023, thus placing the region as the third most affected in Spainbehind Andalusia and the Valencian Community.

However, this year poverty has not spread, although its intensity has increased, since despite the fact that the poverty rate in Castilla-La Mancha is reduced by 0.6 points, to 25.5 percent, the indicator severe poverty grows 1.7 points compared to last year.

In Castilla-La Mancha, severe social material deprivation reaches 8.5 percent, which is 0.8 points less than the previous year. A reduction contributed, for example, by a decrease from 14.5 to 13.1 percent in the percentage of people who are late in paying expenses related to their main home, as well as that of those who cannot afford a home. eating meat, chicken or fish at least every other day (7.2 to 5.1 percent).

On the contrary, the number of people who cannot afford to keep their home at an adequate temperature during the winter months increases from 19.8 to 21.4 percent, as well as those who do not have the capacity to face unforeseen expenses, which goes from 36.7 to 37.4 percent.

The number of people who cannot regularly participate in leisure activities also grows by 1.2 points.

For its part, spending on housing continues to be a factor of vulnerability, with households having to allocate an average of 17.2 percent of their income to it, although among the poor population this percentage reaches 30.6 percent.

A practically unavoidable expense item, which absorbs a good part of your income and which, therefore, determines what part of the available income can be dedicated to satisfying the rest of the basic needs of the home.

Regarding employment, the report highlights that 6.8 percent of the population under 65 years of age in Castilla-La Mancha lives in homes with low work intensity, which represents an improvement of 0.9 points compared to 2022. .

However, in terms of income levels, it is the fourth autonomous community with the lowest income in the entire national territory, only above Extremadura, Murcia and Andalusia, with an average income of 11,913 euros per person, which represents a growth of 875 euros.

Thus, more than half of the population, specifically 51.8 percent of Castilian-La Mancha residents, have difficulty making ends meet.

The EAPN-CLM also points out in its report that if there were no transfers from the State in Castilla-La Mancha, in 2023 the poverty situation would have increased to more than two out of every five people, 46.9 percent of the population. .