Latvia sees slight increase in population at risk of poverty

RIGA, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- The share of Latvia's population at risk of poverty slightly increased in recent years, growing by 0.3 percentage points year-on-year to 22.1 percent in 2016, the Latvian national statistics office informed Thursday.

Anyone earning less than 330 euros (404 U.S. dollars) in monthly income was considered at risk of poverty in 2016. The poverty-risk threshold rose from 318 euros in 2015 as Latvians' disposable income continued to grow, the statistics office said.

The survey shows that the risk of poverty remained high in single parent households, with 34.3 percent of such families facing poverty risks.

At the same time, for households in which two adults were raising three or more children poverty risks significantly decreased, from 25.5 percent in 2015 to 19.8 percent in 2016.

The share of the working poor in Latvia was 8.8 percent.

The Latvian national statistics office conducted the survey in 2017, interviewing 11,300 people from 6,000 households. Enditem