October 3, 2024

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Germany: More than one-third of all students at acute risk of poverty

Germany: More than one-third of all students at acute risk of poverty

The already dramatic social plight of German students is growing worse. According to the latest figures from the German Federal Statistics Bureau, more than a third of all students were at risk of poverty in 2021. For students living alone or in a shared apartment, the percentage of students facing poverty reached a shockingly high 76.1 percent. Policymakers are leaving students in the cold.

Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, many students have been laden not only with massive health risks, but also to financial burdens. According to a report by the charity organization Paritätischer Wohlfahrtsverband from May of this year, one in three German students lived below the poverty line in 2020. Inflation and skyrocketing energy prices—both consequences of NATO’s proxy war against Russia in Ukraine—are drastically exacerbating the situation.

All told, 37.9 percent of all students were at risk of poverty last year, according to the Federal Statistics Bureau. More than three-quarters of students who lived alone or with other students were considered vulnerable. The extent of student poverty becomes clear when compared with the population as a whole: The overall poverty rate in Germany is 15.8 percent.

But even these already dramatic figures do not reflect the full reality and are based on padded values presented by well-heeled EU bureaucrats. According to the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC), an unmarried individual is not considered at risk of poverty until he or she has less than €1,000 per month before taxes at his or her disposal.

The figures hardly begin to illustrate the dramatic impact that the massive increase in energy prices will have on students in the coming months. Two in five students (38.5 percent) were unable to finance a major unexpected expense in 2021. The same was true for 55.5 percent of students who do not live with relatives. Back payments for incidental expenses amounting to several thousand euro, which countless people face, will drag students into the financial abyss, even if they are spared other difficulties.

Student City in Munich [Photo: WSWS]

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