Economic crisis affects two in three citizens

The economic crisis is affecting the majority of citizens from Brussels and Wallonia, according to survey by Ipsos, RTL and Le Soir, which has published the findings today. Nearly seven in 10 (68%) admit to having changed their purchasing behaviour since the beginning of the crisis. Leisure and holidays are the worst affected (73%), followed by clothing (69%), food (66%) and heating and electricity (59%). Women, those aged 25 to 64 and low-income households are the worst hit. It also transpires that one in five (21%) people are now at risk of poverty or social exclusion. In two years, the number of citizens living in ‘precarious’ conditions has risen by 160,000. There are now 2.3 million people living below the poverty line, in a state of material deprivation or raised in a family deprived of access to the labour market. Finally, 5% of Belgians are in serious debt and 18% live in housing deemed unsafe from a health point of view.