In 2019, 37% of the Reunion population lived below the metropolitan poverty line, underlines a recent publication from INSEE. Despite a clear decrease since 2007, the poverty rate is 2,5 times higher on the island than in mainland France. Minor children are more exposed : 46% of them live in a poor household. This share is even higher in single-parent families and large families. Territorially, juvenile poverty, like the entire population, is more significant in small rural municipalities or certain more urbanized municipalities, like The Port. The standard of living in Reunion remains lower than in France, particularly for the most modest. For this reason, inequalities are greater on the island. National solidarity, which allows the income of the most modest to be supplemented by social benefits, has a particularly strong impact on the island : it reduces the poverty rate by 13 points. The weight of social benefits in disposable income is 17% in Reunion, compared to 6% in mainland France.
