Poverty Reaches Record High in Macedonia

The agency said a record 31.1 per cent of the population was officially poor in 2009, up from 28.7 a year earlier.

A total of 42.7 per cent of those listed as impoverished were unemployed, statistics showed.

The most vulnerable were poorly educated people and those living in large families of five or more.

The country is also struggling with a record unemployment rate of 33.5 per cent, according to the last available data.

According to international conventions, poor families are those that have less than US $2 to spend each day.

The Macedonian Statistical Agency has not disclosed the expenditure for poor Macedonian families.

Macedonia has been struggling with high poverty since its independence in the early 1990s.