ERR News – While a report released by Children's Ombudsman Indrek Teder last month found that 45,000 children in Estonia were living below the absolute poverty line last year, nearly half of that total, or 22,000, had to make do on less then 69 euros ($90) per month, reported Eesti Päevaleht.
Statistician Ene-Margit Tiit told the newspaper that the definition of "absolute poverty" was a political decision, with each country determining where to draw the line on what it considers the minimum needed to cover basic human needs.
In Estonia, the line is set at 174 euros ($227) per month for a person living alone, and in the case of households, 87 euros ($114) per month per child. The report commissioned by Teder's office revealed that an additional 18,000 children were at risk of absolute poverty, putting the number of children threatened by poverty at 63,000, or one fifth of the nation's total.
