Taiwan's Sub-Poverty Households Hit Record 112,000 in 2010

Taipei, March 10, 2011 (CENS)--The number of households in Taiwan living below the poverty line increased by 2,000 from a quarter earlier to 112,000 at the end of fourth quarter of 2010 and the number of persons in such households chalked up by 7,000 to 273,000, both the highest of their kinds ever recorded, according to the statistics compiled by the Ministry of Interior (MOI).

In 2010 Taiwan's economic growth hit a high of over 10%, yet the number of poor families also reached a record high, indicating the gap between the rich and the poor is widening.

Taiwan uses three criteria to determine if a family is living under poverty line: family income, assets and real property. And the criteria vary according to areas. A family in Taipei, for example, is regarded as living under the poverty line if the average monthly household income is below NT$14,614 (US$471.42), average bank savings is less than NT$150,000 (US$4,839) per person, and the value of real estate owned is less than NT$5.5 million (US$177,419).

MOI statistics showed that in 2001 the number of households living below poverty line was 70,000, which expanded to 90,000 in 2008 and further soared to over 110,000 in 2010. MOI officials attributed the growth partly to the lowering of the standard for the poor set by the government and partly to the change in the structure of employment by enterprises in that they tend to hire more temporary or part-time workers instead of payroll employees.