ATHENS — The percentage of the Greek population facing the risk of poverty or social exclusion reached 28.9 pct (3,043,869) last year based on 2019 incomes, down from 30 pct or 3,161,936 in 2019, Hellenic Statistical Authority said on Thursday. The statistics service, in a report, said that the average individual available income was 10,041 euros, up 7 pct from the previous year, while 5.9 pct of Greek households said that their income grew in the last 12 months, 21.8 pct said it fell and 72.3 pct said it remained unchanged.

Of the respondents in the survey, 14.5 pct attributed this development to the pandemic. The risk of poverty or social exclusion was highest in the 18-64 age group (31.9 pct). Among those at risk of poverty in this age group, 30 pct were Greek citizens and 52.2 pct were foreigners living in Greece. A 17.7 pct of the population faced the risk of poverty (after social transfers). The poverty line was 5.269 euros annually for a single-person household and 11,064 euros for households with two adults and two children below 14 years old. A total of 701,405 households faced the risk of poverty in 2020, out of a total 4,115,678 households. The Ionian Islands, Attica, Crete, South Aegean and Epirus recorded poverty rates below the country's average, while Thessaly, Central Greece, the Peloponnese, North Aegean, Central Macedonia, West Macedonia, East Macedonia/Thrace and Western Greece recorded higher poverty rates.