Uruguay: 100,000 more people fell below the poverty line in 2020

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – A study released on Friday (26) by Uruguay’s National Institute of Statistics (INE) indicated that about 100,000 people have moved below the poverty line in 2020, placing 11.9 percent of the population in that situation.

The increase in the rate of people below the poverty line is almost three percentage points greater than 2019 when it was 8.8. In recent years, the highest mark that had been reached was 11.5 percent in 2013.

In addition, the INE study pointed out that in the case of the indigence (abject poverty) line, the rate doubled from 0.2 percent in 2019 to 20.4 percent last year. In all, 14,124 people are in this situation.

According to the entity, out of every 1,000 people living in Uruguay, 116 receive no more than the minimum to cover general basic needs. Within the same universe of those surveyed, four people do not get enough to cover their food needs.

By regions, the metropolitan area of Montevideo is the one that registers the highest proportion of inhabitants in poverty.

INE uses the value of a food basket and a non-food basket as the income threshold for a family not to be in poverty. Currently, the minimum monthly income is 37,200 Uruguayan pesos, which is equivalent to US$838.

Source: Uruguay’s National Institute of Statistics (INE)

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