The CBS report, which analyzed statistics compiled in 2011, indicates a rise in the number of Israelis and Europeans who are at risk of poverty. In 2011, 31% of Israelis were at risk of poverty, up from 26% in 2001.

Apart from Germany and Sweden, Israel recorded the sharpest increase in the number of citizens who are at risk of plunging into poverty when compared with the EU states.

The statistics further show that in 2011 the percentage of Israeli children who were at risk of falling below the poverty line stood at 40%, compared with a 20% average in the EU bloc.

In 2005, the percentage of Israeli children who were at risk of poverty stood at 38.3%. The sharpest rise in the number of children at risk of poverty in the EU was registered in Sweden (from 10.5% eight years ago to 14.5% in 2011).

According to the CBS report, 44% of single-parent families in Israel were at risk of poverty in 2011, compared with 41% in 2001. On average, 35% of single-parent families in the EU were at risk of falling below the poverty line in 2011.

The CBS report, which analyzed statistics compiled in 2011, indicates a rise in the number of Israelis and European who are at risk of poverty. In 2011, 31% of Israelis were at risk of poverty, up from 26% in 2001. Apart from Germany and Sweden, Israel recorded the sharpest increase in the number of citizens who are at risk of plunging into poverty when compared with the EU states.

NTJ/BA