© Chris Helgren / Reuters
research suggests. Cameron has presided over years of falling living standards, but says Brexit could make it worse. Office for National Statistics (ONS) data says Britain has the
12th-highest "overall poverty" rate of the 28 countries in the EU, despite being the second-richest country after Germany.
The official measure of overall poverty is someone who has a disposable income 60 percent lower than the national average. But about 6.5 percent of the UK population, or
3.9 million people, have lived in "persistent poverty," defined as those who have experienced relative low income for at least the last three years.
That means the UK has the
third-lowest persistent poverty rate in the EU, behind Denmark and the Czech Republic. Romania, at 20 percent, has the highest rate of persistent poverty. Bulgaria is second on 16.5 percent and Lithuania third with 16 percent. The persistent poverty rate in 2014 was 1.5 percent higher among women than men, and the likelihood of falling into poverty shoots up to 43 percent for those who leave education without any formal qualifications.
Prime Minister David Cameron, whose government has implemented a program of harsh austerity measures over the past six years, warns the
poorest and most vulnerable people in the UK would be
hit hardest by the economic consequences of leaving the EU. He says leaving the EU would see prices rise and threaten jobs, while remaining in the union would help working people and British manufacturing.
Comment: Thanks for the measly two barrels of water, Colorado. Now, you're only slightly less stingy than these other states:
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