Slight decrease in the poverty rate in Israel: In 2020, there were 1,925,020 poor people in Israel (about 21% of the population), compared to 1,943,710 people (21.6%) in 2019, according to the official poverty report in Israel by the National Insurance Institute.
At the same time, the standard of living in 2020 rose by 2.4%, and as a result the poverty line rose by NIS 49, to NIS 2,811 per person.
Meaning: A family of two with an income of less than NIS 5,622 will be considered poor, as will a couple with a child whose income is less than NIS 7,450.
According to net income, the increase in the standard of living according to the median income in 2020 is about one-third lower than in previous years.
This is the standard of living as it is measured by the median net income, following the welfare policy and benefit payments transferred this year.
This figure is particularly significant, because without the assistance during the corona period - sick leave, grants, prevention of offsetting benefits, etc. - the standard of living would have fallen by a real rate of about 10%.
The contribution of benefit payments and grants to poverty alleviation was particularly significant for those entitled to unemployment benefits, children, senior citizens and general disability.
Thus, for example, the contribution rate of unemployment benefits was 13.9% in 2020 compared to 2.1% in 2019, and of child benefits at 7% compared to 2.7%.
The poverty bins in Israel 2021, Photo: Dudu Greenspan
A particularly significant decrease was recorded among poor elderly people, when in 2020 their number was 158,000 (13.5% of the elderly population), compared with about 179,000 in 2019 (about 16% of this population).
The depth of poverty in 2020 decreased, and the distance of bringing a family from the poverty line was 38.2% - compared to 39.6% in 2019.
The incidence of poverty among employees fell from 17.8% to 17%, as did the ultra-Orthodox populations (from 42.8% to 41.2%) and the Arabs (from 40% to 39.2%).
The Gini index of inequality in economic income and net income indicates a decrease in inequality in net income in the last six years, and between 2019 and 2020 this index fell by 1.5%.
When comparing the food insecurity index with its counterpart in 2016, there was a relative decrease in the number of families, senior citizens and children who are in food insecurity.
The proportion of families in this index decreased to 16.2% of the total population, compared to 18.1% in 2016, but subjective poverty - that is, the proportion of those who felt poor - still stands at 12.2%, compared to 11.6% in 2019.
Also, a quarter of all households reported that they were unable to cover all of their monthly expenses, and as a result, 30% of them gave up hobbies or leisure activities, and about 10% gave up medical care.
Of the largest cities, Jerusalem is at the top of the poorest cities.
While the national poverty gap is 38.2% on average, in Jerusalem it is 44.1%.
Pethon Lev CEO Eli Cohen said in response to the report that the true picture of poverty will be presented only in a report that will review 2021 after the end of the distribution of Social Security grants in 2020. This picture, which will be presented in the future and will see The real state of poverty in Israel is keeping us from sleeping and should be of great concern to all decision-makers in the country.
The GNP in the State of Israel is $ 40,000 per capita. With such GNP, there is no reason for there to be one poor person here - and we have two million poor people. "
Meir Spiegler, CEO of the National Insurance Institute: "Investing in benefits for the benefit of those in need is a reality, and the corona was a wake-up call for Israeli society regarding the need for independent and stable social security - the human and economic compass of a reformed society."
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