Poor people in Malta are on the increase, according to new data published in Brussels yesterday.

The EU’s statistics office said that last year 22.2 per cent of the population were at risk of poverty and social exclusion, almost one per cent more than 2011. The figure is still slightly less than the EU average.

Eurostat estimates that in 2012 there were 62,000 Maltese people in a state of ‘serious poverty living in households earning less than €131 a week.

More than half – 33,000 – are ‘severely materially deprived’, meaning they are not in a position to do three out of nine basic things such as own a car, a washing machine or a colour TV, or have difficulties in paying their mortgage or utility bills.

Compared with 2011, the situation deteriorated in the amount of people in the ‘severely materially deprived’ category, an increase of almost two per cent.

Despite the negative trend, Malta is still in a better situation when compared to the EU average.

Eurostat said more than 124 million people, or 24.8 per cent, of the EU’s population were at risk of poverty or social exclusions last year, a 0.5 per cent increase on 2011.

The highest share of people being at risk of poverty or social exclusion were recorded in Bulgaria (49 per cent), Romania (42 per cent), Latvia (37 per cent) and Greece (35 per cent). On the other hand, the lowest were recorded in the Netherlands and the Czech Republic (both at 15 per cent), followed by Finland (17 per cent) and Sweden and Luxembourg (both at 18 per cent).

With a rate of 28.1 per cent in the EU, children were at greater risk of poverty in 2012 than the rest of the population in 20 member states.

With regard to the plight of children, Malta is a case in point, with 29.7 per cent of those under 17 years declared to be at risk of poverty.