German poverty rate hits record high

Germany's poverty rate reached a record high as some 12.6 million Germans or 15.6 percent of the country's total population are facing poverty, said a survey released Thursday by the Federal Statistical Office based in the south German city of Wiesbaden.Jobless Germans are mostly affected by poverty followed by single-parents and their children. Seven out of 10 unemployed Germans and three out of 10 single parent households are gripped by poverty. IRNA reporter in Berlin said that someone is considered poor in Germany, if he or she has a monthly income of 940 euros. Social welfare experts have cited the country's woeful unemployment situation, low income jobs, deep social welfare cuts and the breakdown of family values as the main reasons for the high number of poor people. Meanwhile, the number of German millionaires reached reportedly an all-time record high. According to the Berlin-based German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), the number of German millionaires stood at 430,000. Germany is ranked fifth in the international list of millionaires, as the the US tops the millionaires' ranking with 4.7 million people. Ongoing social protests in Germany have highlighted the problem of mounting social inequality in the country.