WARSAW

A total of 1.8 million people in Poland – almost 5% of the population – live in extreme poverty, 400,000 of them children and 300,000 retirees, according to a new report.

Based on data from the Polish Central Statistical Office (GUS) for 2022, the report from Szlachetna Paczka (Noble Parcel), an independent research center, said that families experiencing extreme poverty have 20 Polish zloty ($5.05) a day to survive.

Living in extreme poverty is defined as having to survive on 753.92 zlotys for single-person households and 670.15 zlotys per month for a family member in multi-person households.

Almost 12% of Poles – about 4.5 million – live in relative poverty, barely making ends meet, it found.

"A child who is hungry does not have equal opportunities at school. He or she has no energy, he or she is withdrawn, so does not learn to build relationships with peers. He or she has no one to turn to for help. He or she is trapped in a vicious circle,” the report read.

It said that 3% of Poles cannot afford basic purchases, i.e. food and everyday chemicals such as washing liquid.

As much as 41% of households in Poland are unable to meet basic biological and social needs, the report said.

It also found that poor people are often not unemployed, but work in low-wage jobs. In 2018, as many as 1.7 million working Poles were at risk of poverty, the report said, adding that every third Pole has not accumulated any savings in the last six months.

The cost of living is still rising – in 2022, food prices rose almost 22% and housing rents over 20%.