In 2013, in four of the overseas territories (Guadeloupe, French Guyana, Martinique and La Réunion) less than one in eighteen people lives in a median household, defined as a household whose income per units of consumption (UC) is between 90% and 110% of the median income per UC for overseas territories. This proportion is much lower than that observed in mainland France (one in six people). However, poverty is much more widespread in the overseas territories: three people in ten are poor there, that is to say they have an income per UC lower than 60% of the median income per UC for the overseas territories.

People who make up these overseas median households mainly live in families with children. They belong to a single-parent family much more often than in mainland France: one in five. Great qualification disparities exist depending on income, like in mainland France. Nearly half of median individuals in the overseas territories do not have a degree or have only a primary education certificate, which is nearly two times more than on the mainland. Even if employment becomes more frequent as income rises, only four in ten overseas median individuals are in employment; nearly two in ten are unemployed, which is three times higher than in mainland France. Two thirds of median individuals in employment are office workers or labourers whereas intermediary professions are significantly under-represented, which is not the case on the mainland. Finally, 55% of median households’ income comes from earned income, 20% from pension funds and 16% from welfare benefits. Compared to median households in mainland France, the proportion of welfare benefits, earned income and income from pension funds in their overall income is smaller, however.