The Minister of the Presidency, Economics and Business of Andorra (Pyrenees), Jordi Gallardo, and the Director of Statistics, Joan Soler, presented, this Monday, the results of the first Survey on Living Conditions. A survey that has been carried out in 800 households throughout the country and confirms that the rate of poverty risk in the Principality, which stands at 12.8%, is noticeably lower than that of neighboring countries. However, Gallardo acknowledged that “even if there is only one person at risk of poverty it is always negative”, but he stressed the Government’s efforts to ensure that “not one person in need is left without help”.
The Survey on Living Conditions also shows that the social benefits managed by the Government allow the reduction of the initial risk of poverty by 30%, a rate much higher than that of Spain or the average for the European Union. Regarding the inequality index, Andorra stood at a value of 33.6%. Although the figure is three points above the European Union average, the Statistics Director explained that “it is due to a greater weight of the well-off classes”.
In this sense, Gallardo wanted to emphasize that “inequality doesn’t mean poverty” which is confirmed by the fact that the Andorran poverty rate is much lower than that of the neighboring countries. According to the figures related to severe material deprivation, the proportion in Andorra is lower than both the EU average and that of the neighboring countries, and it affects the financial sector more than it does the essential goods, such as food. On the contrary, the proportion of households with a heavy burden on housing costs is higher in Andorra.
Finally, the survey also looks at the rate of low labor intensity, meaning, the indicator of people under the age of 60 residing in households whose labor intensity is less than 20%. The Principality is the country with the lowest rate of all surveyed.
