VALLETTA, July 31 (Xinhua) -- The number of people at risk of poverty in Malta has increased by 0.3 percent between 2016 and 2017, while the number of people actually living in poverty has decreased, data issued by Malta's National Statistics Office (NSO) on Tuesday show.
The data are the results of the annual "European Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC)" survey.
The report shows that the number of people with an income below 8,698 euros, considered to be at-risk of poverty, was 72,142 in 2017, equivalent to 16.8 percent of Malta's population and an increase of 0.3 percent.
However, the number of people living in conditions of severe material deprivation had decreased by 1.1 percent to 3.3 percent of the population, the results show.
The study found the average Maltese gross household income for 2016 was approximately 33,202 euros, while the average disposable household income was 27,722 euros.
According to the NSO, the three factors with the greatest impact were: the ability of households to face unexpected financial expenses; ability of households to avoid being in arrears on mortgage, rent payments, utility bills, hire purchase installments, or other loan repayments; and the ability of households to enjoy a one-week annual holiday away from home.
