Standards of living in 2014

In 2014 in France, the median standard of living of the population came to €20,150 per year, an amount close to that of 2013 in constant euros. It had stagnated since the beginning of the crisis in 2008. At the top end of the distribution, the situation continued to deteriorate, but in a less dramatic fashion than in 2013. At the bottom end of the distribution, the standard of living of the first decile stabilised, after rising in 2013. In 2014, the 10% of people with the most modest incomes had a standard of living below €10,770. The 10% most affluent had a standard of living at least 3.5 times higher, above €37,260.

After two years of decline, overall inequalities measured by the Gini index stabilised in 2014. Since the beginning of the economic crisis, inequalities were slightly smaller in France than in the rest of the EU27.

The poverty line, which corresponds to 60% of the median standard of living of the population, stood at €1,008 a month. Poverty thus defined affected 14.1% of the population, a stable proportion compared to 2013.

The situation with regard to poverty was largely dependent on the activity status. In 2014, 36.6% of the unemployed were living below the poverty line. The family situation also played an important role, 35.9% of people living in single parent families were poor in monetary terms.