Evolution of the poverty rate in France 1996-2022| ��ƽ��

Share of people living below the poverty line, according to the share of French people with incomes below 40 percent, 50 percent, and 60 percent of the median income in France from 1996 to 2022

Characteristic	Poverty threshold at 40 percent of the median standard of living	Poverty threshold at 50 percent of the median standard of living	Poverty threshold at 60 percent of the median standard of living
1996	4%	8.3%	14.4%
1997	3.9%	8%	14.1%
1998	3.2%	7.7%	13.7%
1999	3%	7.4%	13.4%
2000	3%	7.4%	13.5%
2001	2.9%	7.1%	13.3%
2002	2.6%	6.6%	12.8%
2003	2.9%	7.2%	12.9%
2004	2.8%	6.9%	12.5%
2005	3.6%	7.4%	13%
2006	3.5%	7.3%	13.3%
2007	3.5%	7.4%	12.8%
2008	3.6%	7.3%	12.9%
2009	3.7%	7.7%	13.4%
2010	3.9%	8%	14%
2011	4%	8.2%	14.3%
2012	4.3%	8.4%	13.9%
2013	3.7%	7.8%	13.5%
2014	3.9%	7.9%	13.7%
2015	3.6%	7.9%	13.9%
2016	3.7%	7.9%	13.7%
2017	3.7%	7.9%	13.8%
2018	3.6%	8.2%	14.5%
2019	3.9%	8.1%	14.3%
2020	3.4%	7.5%	13.6%
2021	3.9%	8.3%	14.5%
2022	3.7%	8.1%	14.4%

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Release date

July 2024

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Region

France

Survey time period

1996 - 2022

Supplementary notes

*The poverty rate refers to the proportion of people whose standard of living is below a threshold. In this statistic, the poverty threshold is set at 40 percent, 50 percent, and 60 percent of the median income.

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This chart presents the poverty rate in France, showing the share of French people living below three poverty thresholds*: 40 percent, 50 percent, and 60 percent of the median income.

The median income corresponds to the income that is in the middle of the incomes of the French population: half of the French earn more, the other half earn less. It is a different measure from the average, better reflecting the financial reality of the French people.

In 2022, the share of people living below the poverty threshold corresponding to 40 percent of the median income was 3.7 percent. This means that three out of 100 French people live with less than 40 percent of the median income per month in France, which in 2022 corresponds to approximately 700 euros per month. Looking at the French living below the poverty threshold corresponding to 60 percent of the median income, it is already more than 14 percent, so more than one in ten French people. The share of French people living below these poverty thresholds has remained stable since the 1990s.

Poverty in France affects both the employed and the unemployed, confirming the increasingly widespread idea today that employment no longer protects against poverty.

The rise of poverty in France

Poverty in France reached a particularly high rate in 2018. That year, nearly 15 percent of the French population lived below the poverty threshold set at 60 percent of the median income, meaning their incomes were below 60 percent of the country's median salary. Despite a one-point decrease between 2000 and 2004, when the rate fell from 13.6 percent to 12.6 percent, as well as a decrease in 2020 thanks to financial aid distributed by the government during the Covid-19 pandemic, poverty has increased in France in recent years. Studies have shown that the number of poor people has increased in France to nearly nine million individuals in 2017, one million more than in 2008.

The scourge of youth and the middle class

Poverty seems to mainly affect younger generations. In 2017, 20.1 percent of French people aged 18 to 29 were considered poor. In comparison, only 7.5 percent of French people aged 65 to 74 were in the same situation. The youth unemployment in France, one of the highest in the European Union, could explain this phenomenon. However, the middle class is not spared from the rise in poverty either. In 2017, more than half of French middle-income households had difficulty making ends meet.