Material deprivation: 13% of the population cannot cover certain daily living expenses

Heating your home to the right temperature, buying new clothes, paying your bills on time, having two pairs of shoes, or even spending a small amount freely... These are all everyday expenses that millions of people cannot cover. Out of a list of 13 expenses, 8.6 million people at the start of 2024 reported being unable to cover at least five of them, according to the latest data provided by INSEE. This is the definition of a situation of material and social deprivation, which affects 13% of the population living in ordinary housing in France (excluding Mayotte) and 12.7% in metropolitan France. Nearly half of the population (45%) reports experiencing at least one of these deprivations. And 21.4% of the population lives in a household that struggles to make ends meet.

Households have therefore not emerged unscathed from the wave of inflation, with the consumer price index rising by 5.2% year-on-year in 2022 and then by 4.9% in 2023, which has slashed their purchasing power. While the deprivation statistics are slightly better at the start of 2024