Rome, Jul 16 (IANS): One Italian household among five lives in poverty. In the country's southern region, the figure is one in two, Italy's national statistics office has said.

The Italian National Institute of Statistics (or Istat) said more than eight million people - or almost 14 percent of the Italian population - are living below the poverty line. Over three million - or five percent - are in a state of "absolute poverty" and are unable to purchase essential goods and services, AKI news agency reported.

The level of poverty risen among families with two or three young children or more, families with an elderly relative, and single-parent families, Istat said.

The 2010 Households Budget Survey said a two-person household was considered to be relatively poor if it spent 992.46 euros (about $1,399) a month, according to Xinhua.

The figure was nine euros (about $12 dollars) higher than the 2009 threshold.

Families with monthly expenditure at or below that limit were classified as living in absolute poverty.

In southern Italy, where economic development lags behind other regions of the country, more people lived in poverty, the survey found.