Switzerland
Geneva | August 2011
CHF 78.63; CHF 7.97 (USD 10.25, EUR 7.15) for food.
This is based on per capita per-day basis of average poverty line for Switzerland and average household food expenditure.
Switzerland’s poverty rate reached 14.6% in 2009. Poverty is most prevalent in households comprising single parents with one or more children, those with large families, and those comprising the elderly. The situation of the working poor has improved, with in-work poverty rate declining from 5.2% in 2008 to 3.5% in 2010; about 120,000 employed were affected by poverty in 2010.
Switzerland currently follows the EU’s threshold for risk of poverty, which is 60% of the population’s equivalised disposable income. Switzerland has one of the highest poverty thresholds in EU, given its overall high income levels. Up to 2008, before adopting the EU definition, Switzerland calculated its own poverty line based on income deemed necessary for basic needs, living costs and health insurance premiums Poverty data is tracked by the Federal Statistical Office under the Department of Home Affairs.
Note: Latest available standards and exchange rates were taken as of August 2011, when the photography was undertaken.
Understanding More
Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) 2011