Crisis in Cost of Living in Europe

http://www.mfa.gov.kp/view/article/17450

 2023.8.1.

On July 17, the EUROSTAT released an annual report containing statistics that could help appraise the overall economic situation of the European society in the previous year.

The report enumerated high inflation rate and subsequent fiscal crisis, along with the EU trade balance that has gone red from black for the first time in 10 years.

According to the report, the annual inflation rate within EU member states recorded 9.2% in 2022, the cost of accommodation, tap water and energy increased by 18% on average, the traffic costs by 12.1%, and the price of food and non-alcoholic drinks by as much as 11.9%.

As a result, the households in the whole region of EU are feeling the pinch.

In January alone, most of the households within the European Union spent almost half of their living expenses for accommodation, traffic and food, and over 47.9% of the Romanian population were unable to bear the rising expenses.

The report went on to comment that 95.3 million people - 21.6% of the overall EU population - are either exposed to or in danger of poverty, dealing a mortal blow to the vulnerable population in particular.

In January this year, it was leaked to the press that one fifth of Swiss pensioners are living below or near the poverty line, causing quite a stir among the general public.

In March, the Statistics Bureau of Finland pointed out that 147, 000 of the disabled, a quarter of those in the country, are exposed to the danger of poverty line.

Meanwhile, the CPB (Central Plan Bureau) of the Netherlands released a report to the effect that the number of households living below the poverty line is expected to reach 995, 000 and that the child poverty rate is expected to increase from 6.1% to 7.1% by the year 2024.

The UNICEF FRANCE published a report stating that children in France are most vulnerable with one fifth of them living below the poverty line.

The EUROSTAT commented that the crisis in the cost of living will get worse with the passage of time, forecasting that nearly one third of the EU households will pick up the bills higher than last year.