65% could not afford a holiday away from home in 2007, an NSO survey on living conditions reveals – and 35% ‘face difficulty in making ends meet’
James Debono A year before the global credit crunch many Maltese families were already facing dire straits, a survey issued by the National Office of Statistics reveals.
In 2007, a staggering 65% of Maltese households could not afford a one-week holiday away from home, and 35% found difficulties in making ends meet.
While 40% of households without children could afford to pay for a one-week annual holiday away from home, only 26% of families with two children could afford this expense.
And less than 10% of both households and persons replied that they were able to make ends meet “easily or very easily”.
The NSO survey results tally with the results of a MaltaToday survey conducted in the same year which revealed that 32% did not manage to make ends meet by the end of each month. The NSO survey shows 35% of households could not even afford to face “unexpected financial expenses” of a minimum of €500.
And significantly 8% of households cannot afford having “a meal with meat, chicken or fish three days a week.”
A further 4% could not afford a computer and 4% could not afford a car. Another 4% of persons were living in households who had to pay arrears on their house mortgage or rent at least once in 2007.
Although the NSO survey was held before the latest hike in electricity bills, six per cent said they had been in arrears with utility bills. A further 10% said that they could not afford keeping their home “adequately warm”.
Moreover, women were deemed to be more likely to be at-risk-of-poverty, with 15% compared to 14% of men. And 55% of children in single-parent households were found to be at risk of poverty.
Of single-parent households with one or more dependant children, 19% who rent their house were at risk of poverty. A similar situation was found for the 13% of single-parent households that are homeowners.
Although most of those at risk of poverty worked in elementary jobs and had no post-secondary education, the survey shows that 1,410 managers, 1,160 professionals and 2,350 technicians were at risk of poverty.
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