Europe

Europe is now facing a time of transition. With the supposed arrival of a new and united European community to greet the new millenium, the economies of these nations are undergoing massive changes and restructuring. In such a period, economic instability is possible and may alter the situation of poverty in the region.

On a whole, poverty within Europe is on the rise. According to their statistics, over 57 million Europeans lived in nearly 23 million poor households in 1993. From 15% in the late 80’s, there were about 17% of the European citizenry living below or near the poverty line. That rise was even more dramatic in the Netherlands, where the figure rose from 4.8% (1988) to 13% (1993). In most cases, the type of household affected the economic situation of a family. Apparently, single parents with teenage children suffered the most.

With respect to age, 19% of households across Europe are senior citizens (above 65 years of age) living all alone. To make matters worse, the European Anti-Poverty Network stated that over 13 million European children are poor.

As always, many factors contribute to the existence and rise of poverty. In Europe, this deadly affliction is no exception. Among the many factors one must dwell on while analyzing Europe’s economic status is unemployment. Not only do 12 million remain without jobs in the European community (1990 average), but this strain is taking its toll on 8.4% of the working population (down from 11% in 1986). With regard to the young population, 1 out of 6 employed persons is under 25 years of age.

With respect to working time, European community employees average a workweek of 40.6 hours, where men generally work longer than women. Work time also differs from country to country. For example, in the UK, the longest work week would be around 43.6 hours compared to Belgium’s 38.1.

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