Insee Première · July 2025 · n° 2063

Standards of living and poverty in 2023 Poverty rate and inequalities rose sharply

In 2023, the median annual standard of living for people living in ordinary housing in metropolitan France rose faster than inflation (+0.9% in constant euros), thanks to an economic climate that remained favorable to salaried employment and climbing financial income. The rise in financial income also supported the standard of living of the most affluent households, which rose sharply. Conversely, the standard of living of the most modest households fell in constant euros, due in particular to the rise in the number of households declaring low self-employment income and to the non-renewal of the exceptional measures to support purchasing power introduced in 2022. Against this backdrop, inequalities in standards of living increased.

The poverty rate rose sharply (15.4% after 14.4% in 2022, or +0.9 points due to rounding) and reached its highest level since 1996, the year the series began. In 2023, 9.8 million people in ordinary housing in metropolitan France were living below the monetary poverty threshold. The rise in the poverty rate particularly affected single-parent families and children, while pensioners were less affected. However, the intensity of poverty, measured by the gap between the median standard of living of poor people and the poverty threshold, slightly decreased.