Poverty in Switzerland rising, official figures show
Around 12% of people in Switzerland said they had trouble making ends meet. Christof Schuerpf
The proportion of people living below the Swiss poverty line in 2019 grew to 8.7% of the population, the highest rate seen since 2014, according to a report published on Thursday.
This content was published on February 18, 2021 - 14:22
February 18, 2021 - 14:22
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The Federal Statistical Office, which released the figures, said poverty affected 735,000 people in the year before the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country of 8.5 million. Among those in this category, 155,000 were in gainful employment, a statistic that the workers’ umbrella organisation Travail Suisse called “shocking”. The poverty rate among the working population was 4.2%.