Torrevieja is among the Ten Spanish Cities with a population of more than 50,000 inhabitants with the highest rate of population that are at risk of poverty – it is the only one not located in Andalusia.
According to the study “Poverty in Spain people to people” carried out by the consultants AIS Group, based on INE information and socio-demographic and economic indicators, the percentage of the population at risk is with 36.6%.
According to the same report, Sanlúcar de Barrameda, in Cadiz, is the Spanish municipality with a population of more than 50,000 people who are at risk of poverty, 40%. That is followed by two towns in Seville, Alcalá de Guadaira, with 38.6%, and Utrera with 37.6%.
The report lists the cities least at risk as all located in the north of Spain, Getxo, with 8.3%, San Sebastián, with 9.6% and Pamplona, with 9.7%.
According to the National Institute of Statistics (INE), 22.1% of the Spanish population is at risk of poverty across the whole country.
From the economic point of view, the study defines “risk of poverty, as for a single person household with an income below 8,011 euros per year, or 668 euros per month (not including rent) or households of two adults and two children with an income of less than 16,823 euros per year, or 1,401 euros per month.
According to the study, localities that have the highest rate of population at risk of poverty are all concentrated in the Andalusian provinces, mainly in Cadiz and Seville, with the only non-Andalusian municipality in the top 10 being Torrevieja, which has 36.6%.
Just 9 months ago, according to the municipal wealth and inequality survey published by the National Statistics Institute (INE), Torrevieja was described as a run-down resort on the coast of Alicante province in a study covering 109 Spanish municipalities where it was once again reported to be the poorest city in the country.
The report attracted criticism from the town’s politicians who said that the result was mainly due to the fact that a large number of the registered residents do not receive their income in Spain, but in their countries of origin such as Great Britain, the Nordic countries, France or Germany.
Nor, they say, do the figures take into account the fact that Torrevieja is a coastal city where employment in the hospitality industry is predominant, with hundreds of workers employed only seasonally or without contracts.
