Etudes par pays volume 2, PDF, 346 p., 1,4 Mo - Femise

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F E M I S E R E S E A R C H 

P R O G R A M M E 

The Mediterranean Limes. 

The Social Variables of Development: 

Health, Poverty and Crime 

The Impact of the Euro-Med Partnership and 

Globalization on Social Imbalances between The 

North and the South of the Basin 

Volume 2 

2002-2004 

Research n°FEM21-30 

Directed By 

Carla Collicelli, CENSIS, Italie 

In collaboration with 

Faculty of Economics and Political Science - Cairo University, Egypt 

Royal Scientific Society, Jordan 

KEPE, Greece 

Bogazici University, Turkey 

Ce rapport a été réalisé avec le soutien financier de 

la Commission des Communautés Européennes. Les 

opinions exprimées dans ce texte n’engagent que les 

auteurs et ne reflètent pas l’opinion officielle de la 

Commission. 

Economic Research Forum 

For the Arab Countries, Iran and Turkey 

Femise Coordinators 

November 2003 

This report has been drafted with financial assistance 

from the Commission of the European Communities. 

The views expressed herein are those of the authors 

and therefore in no way reflect the official opinions of 

the Commission. 

Institut de la Méditerranée 

C A I SSE D EPA R G N E 

PROVENCE - ALPES - CORSE

Research in the FEMISE network 

STUDY D2: POVERTY, INFORMAL SECTOR, HEALTH AND LABOUR 

THE MEDITERRANEAN LIMES. 

THE SOCIAL VARIABLES OF DEVELOPMENT: 

HEALTH, POVERTY AND CRIME 

THE IMPACT OF THE EURO-MED PARTNERSHIP AND 

GLOBALIZATION ON SOCIAL IMBALANCES BETWEEN 

THE NORTH AND THE SOUTH OF THE BASIN 

Volume II 

The case-studies in the 5 countries 

Rome, november 2003

The study was carried out by a working party of the Censis Foundation with 

the collaboration of Abaton-Ricerca, Progetti e Studi. 

Working party: 

Carla Collicelli (Leader); Rosario Sapienza, Massimiliano Valerii 

(Coordinator); Matteo Scaramella, Marta Piccarozzi, Andrea Baglioni, 

Gloria Pizzichemi, Giuseppe Lubrano, Elena Mariniello, Vittoria Coletta; 

Maria Antonella Di Candia, Roberta Bernardi, Sabrina Pusceddu 

(Secretariat).

VOLUME I 

INDICE 

Foreword Pag. 1 

Statement of Research Issue and Literature Review “ 5 

Research Methodology “ 8 

Part One - Comparative study of Poverty, Health and 

Crime in the Mediterranean Countries “ 10 

1. Poverty “ 11 

1.1. Human development “ 11 

1.2. Economic deprivation “ 16 

1.3. Social exclusion “ 23 

1.4. Millennium Goals directly linked to poverty “ 31 

2. Health “ 37 

2.1. General trends and figures “ 37 

2.2. Healthy life expectancy “ 45 

2.3. Access to health “ 48 

2.4. Spending on health “ 54 

2.5. Millennium Goals for health “ 72 

3. Crime “ 80 

3.1. A problem of approaches and definitions “ 80 

3.2. Comparative analysis of crime statistics “ 81 

3.3. Governance as the habitat of security “ 84 

Part Two - Analysis of main factors, creation of new 

indicators and study of correlations “ 100 

1. Premises for analysis “ 101 

2. Methodological approach to Principal Component 

Analysis (PCA) “ 102 

2.1. Defining the concepts “ 103 

2.2. Definition of macro-phenomena and identification 

of evaluation criteria “ 104

2.3. Aggregation of indicators: Principal Component 

Analysis (PCA) Pag. 105 

2.4. Rating “ 107 

3. Creation of Poverty and Access Index (PAI) “ 108 

4. Construction of the Health System Index (HSI) “ 115 

5. Construction of the Governance Security Index (GSI) “ 125 

6. Incidence of Poverty, Health and Governance in human 

development in the Mediterranean region “ 128 

6.1. The three indicators in relation to the Human 

Development Index (HDI) “ 128 

6.2. Crossing the three indicators Health, Poverty and 

Governance with one another “ 133 

6.3. Crossing the three indicators (PAI, HSI and GSI) 

with a number of active variables present in each 

of them “ 136 

Research Synopsis “ 152 

VOLUME II - THE COUNTRY-STUDIES 

Egypt “ 1 

Jordan “ 74 

Greece “ 123 

Italy “ 189 

Turkey “ 291

EGYPT 

Alia El-Mahdi - Professor of Economics 

Faculty of Economics and Political Science - Cairo University 

Magued Osman 

Suzanna Sobhy 

Marwa Salem 

Anwar Abdel Aal

11873_02 Study D2: Poverty, Informal Sector, Health and Labour 

1. COUNTRY PROFILE: ESSENTIAL FIGURES 

Official Name: Arab 

Republic of Egypt 

Background: Egypt is 

reputed worldwide for its 

distinct 7,000-years-old 

record of history and 

civilization. This has made 

Egypt a master and pioneer 

of science, arts, culture, 

architecture as well as 

almost all fields of human 

knowledge (SIS, Year 

Book, 2002). 

1.1. Population 

- Population: In January 2002, the population of Egypt was estimated at 

65.986 million (32.220 mill males and 33.766 mill females) excluding 

Egyptians living abroad (CAPMAS, 2002). 

- Age structure (CAPMAS): 

- Populations below 14 years represent 34.5 % of population in 2000 

compared to 39.5% in 1986. 

- Population age category between 15 and 64 represents the majority of 

population (62%) in 2000. 

- Old age category, 65 years and over represent 3.6% of total population 

in 2000 

- Birth rate: Birth rate dropped from 40 per thousand in 1986 to 26.7 per 

thousand in 2001 (CSD, 2002). 

FONDAZIONE CENSIS 

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- Mortality rate: Mortality rate in 2001/02 is 6.2 per thousand compared to 

6.3 per thousand in 2000/01 (SIS, 2002). 

- Natural growth rate: Normal Population Growth in 2001 was estimated at 

about 1.334 million i.e. one citizen / 23.6 seconds with a monthly growth 

of about 111,186 child and a daily increase of about 3655 child (SIS, 

2002). Thus, natural growth rate fell from 30.5 per thousand in 1996 to 

20.4 per thousand in 2001 (CAPMAS, 2002). 

- Population Growth Rate: 2.13 % in 2001 (CAPMAS, 2002) 

- Net migration rate: -0.24 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) 

- Sex Ratio: 0.95 male(s)/female (MOHP, 2002) 

- Infant mortality rate: 60.46 deaths/1,000 live births (CAPMAS, 2002). 

- Life expectancy at birth: total population: 63.69 years, male: 67.1 years, 

female: 71.5 years (CAPMAS, 2002). 

- Total fertility rate: 3.5 children born/woman (1997-2000) (DHS, 2000). 

- Education rate: (HDR, various issues) 

- Primary enrolment ratio (gross) %: 91.7 (2002/2001). 

- Preparatory enrolment ratio (gross) %: 92.3 (2002/2001). 

- Secondary enrolment ratio (gross) %: 71.1 (2002/2001). 

- Tertiary enrolment ratio (gross) %: 30.2 (2002/2001). 

- Population Density: Average population density mounted to 1096/km2 in 

inhabited areas and only 61/km2 if the state’s total area is utilized (SIS, 

2002). 

- Labor Force : Labor force amounted to about 19.73 million in 2001/02 

and about 20.26 million in 2002/03 (SIS, 2002). 


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1.2. Economy and Labor 

Economic performance tops the government’s priorities, especially under 

the current global conditions affecting world economy. The state’s 

economic policy focuses on activating and affecting the role of the private 

sector in development efforts, boosting domestic and foreign investments, 

implementing national mega projects, promoting human development to 

overcome the challenges of the new era, preparing youth to assume their 

responsibilities in different fields of national action and bolstering women’s 

role in community development. 

- GDP growth rate: After several years of strong growth in the second half 

of1990s, Egypt’s economic growth has slowed markedly over the last 

three years. Real growth rate in the country’s gross domestic product 

(GDP) was only 3.2% in 2002, compared to 3.4% in 2001, and to 6.0% 

as recently as 2000. 

- GDP per capita: GDP per capita has increased from US$ 1015 in 1995 to 

US$ 1276 in 2002 (Ministry of Planning). 

- GDP per Sector (2002) : 

1. Commodity Sector: contributed by 49.8 percent of GDP) (HDR, 

2002/2003). 

- Agriculture: 16.5 percent of GDP. 

- Industry: 33.3 percent of GDP. 

2. Services sector: 50.2 percent of GDP. 

- Unemployment Rate: There are different estimates of the UER that range 

from 9.9% in 2002 (official estimate) to 17.5% (unpublished estimates) 

during 1998- 2002. 

- Inflation Rate: has declined sharply over the last 7 years. It was 2.4% in 

2002 compared with 9.4% in 1996. However, the inflation rate rose again 

to exceed 8% during the months of March to September 2003, due to the 

new exchange rate policy, which moved towards a more liberalized 

exchange rate. As a consequence, the value of the Egyptian Pound (LE) 


4


versus the US$ fell from LE 4.62/ US$ to LE 6.2/US$ in September 

2003. A 35% drop in the value of the LE resulted in an increase in the 

CPI, which started to rise from 2% in April 2002 to 4.7% in April 2003 1 . 

- Investment: The government has taken various steps to ensure that the 

investment climate is as favorable as possible. The most important step to 

date is the Investment Law of 1997, which codifies and clarifies all 

provisions pertaining to investment in the country. The investment law of 

1997 allows foreign companies to have 100% ownership of Egyptian 

companies and provides for the repatriation of dividends. Another 

important feature of this law is the fact that it identifies 16 fields that 

benefit from investment incentives outlined in the law. 

- Trade: Historically, despite the volatility of the region in which Egypt is 

situated, trade has continued successfully. Egypt’s main trading partners 

are the US, Italy, France, Greece, Germany, Britain and Japan. Major 

categories of goods imported are wheat, meat, flour, machinery and 

automobiles. Major categories of goods exported are petroleum, oil, gas, 

cotton and cotton textiles, metal products, chemicals (CBE, 2002). The 

share of exports of goods & services to GDP in current prices has 

declined from 29.5% in 1995 to 17.5% in 2001 (CBE, 2002). However, 

exports represented 45 percent of imports in 2002 compared to 32.7 

percent in 1996. Egypt is a member of several trade blocs (see 

Appendix). 

- Currency: Egyptian Pound (£E) consists of 100 piasters 2. 

1.3. Geography and territorial characteristics 

- Location: Egypt, a country in northeastern Africa, is located at the heart 

of the world, standing as a major trade and crossroads destination 

between Europe, the Middle East, Africa and west and south Asia. It 

occupies the north Eastern corner of Africa, bordered by Libya to the 

west, Sudan to the south, Palestine and Israel to the northeast. Its north 

1 CAPMAS, Monthly Bulletin for CPI, May 2003. 

2 1US$ = £E6.2 in 2003 (CBE). 


5


coast is on the Mediterranean Sea, while the eastern coast is bounded by 

the Red Sea. The Suez canal links the Red Sea to the Mediterranean. 

- Geographical Borders: Egypt is bounded as follows: 

- To the north, by the Mediterranean with a 955-km-long coast. 

- To the east by the Red Sea with a 1941-km-long coast. 

- To the northeast, by 265-km-long borders with Palestine and Israel. 

- To the west, by 1115-km-long borders with Libya. 

- To the south, by 1280-km-long borders with Sudan. 

- Area: Egypt has a total area of about 1,002,000 km2, 55367 km2 (5.5%) 

are populated. 

- Capital: Cairo 

- Topography: The Arab Republic of Egypt is divided into four major 

parts: 

- Nile Valley and Delta: It has an area of about 33,000 km2, i.e. less 

than 4% of the total area of the country, while the remaining area, i.e. 

96% is desert. 

- Western Desert: The Western Desert occupies an area of about 

680,000 km2, i.e. 68% of Egypt’s total area. 

- Eastern Desert: Its area is about 225,000 km2, i.e. 28% of Egypt’s 

total area. 

- Sinai Peninsula: With an area of about 6100 km2, i.e. 6.1% of Egypt’s 

total area. 

- Climate: Egypt lies within the dry tropical region, except for the northern 

parts that lie within the warm moderate region, with a semi 

Mediterranean climate characterized by hot dry summers and moderate 

winters with little rain falls, potentially heavier along coastal areas. 

- Religions: Muslim (mostly Sunni) 94%, Coptic Christian and other 6% 


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- Languages: Arabic (official), English and French widely understood by 

educated classes 

- Natural Resources: Egypt possesses a wealth of major minerals, 

including oil, phosphate, iron, and manganese. The major products of 

stone quarries represented in granite, basalt, marble, limestone, sand, and 

glass. 

- Environmental Issues in Egypt: 

Some environmental issues represent a priority to policy makers as well as 

the concerned civil society organizations and they include: 

- Industrial Pollution (industrial liquid Wastes and industrial solid Waste). 

- Non- Industrial Pollution (Solid Wastes, Hospital Wastes, Sanitary 

Drainage and Air Pollution Generated from Vehicles Exhausts). 

- Archeological Environment Pollution. 

- Energy Consumption 

- Carbon and Energy-Related Emissions. 

- Energy and Carbon Intensity 

- Hydroelectric Power and the Nile River 

1.4. Key Issues 

- Economic constraints 

1. Economic recession, particularly since 1997. 

2. Exchange rate volatility 

3. Modest Export performance 


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4. Low productivity 

5. Inflationary pressures 

- Social constraints 

1. Unemployment, low standards of living and levels of income 

2. Low social and medical insurance coverage 

3. High natural population growth rates 

- Political constraints 

1. Limited political participation 

2. Modest role of the civil society organizations 


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2. HEALTH 

2.1. Definitions 

The government of Egypt is adopting the World Health Organization 

definition of health “a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing 

and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”. 

A recent survey 3 indicates measured the perception of Egyptians about their 

own health. The results indicated that 49% of the Egyptians feel that their 

health is same as people in the same age, 40% feel that their health is better 

or much better, 11% feel that their health is worse or much worse. 

2.2. Policy and Legislation 

The Egyptian constitution states that free health care should be available for 

every individual. 

Egypt started building health facilities in urban and rural areas to deliver 

primary health (PHC) services early in the nineteen twenties. In urban areas, 

it took the form of maternal and child health centers (MCH). In rural areas, 

it took the form of an old type of rural health facilities, which was followed 

by two types of wooden transferable health units, one to treat ophthalmic 

diseases, and the other to treat schistosomiasis and intestinal parasites. The 

national program for the rural health services started in 1942 by establishing 

the rural health centers, each centre was to serve about 30,000 inhabitants in 

one or more villages. Each centre was staffed by a health team headed by a 

physician and consisting of nursing staff, assistant laboratory technician, 

sanitarian, and other workers. The rural health centers were to offer all PHC 

programs to the served community including: maternal and child health 

3 Ministry of Health and Population 2002, Egypt Household and Health Care Utilization 

and Expenditure Survey. 


9


services, communicable diseases control, environmental sanitation, health 

education, parasitic and endemic diseases control, school health services, 

curative and emergency care (general practitioner level), family planning 

and dental care. 

Health care is delivered throughout public facilities, non-governmental 

organizations and the private sector. Public health facilities include: 

- Ministry of Health and Population (MOHP) owned facilities, which are 

mostly rural facilities, urban facilities, and secondary and tertiary 

hospitals for curative care. 

- Health insurance organization owned facilities, which provide services to 

employees, students, widows, pensioners and new born (about 45% of 

the Egypt population). 

- Curative care organization which runs some big hospitals and offers care 

for fixed fee. 

- Teaching hospitals and Technical Institutes Organization. 

- University Medical Teaching Hospitals, which have two systems, either 

completely free of charge curative services or fixed fee for service for 

those who can pay. 

Many NGO’s have health clinics and hospitals which offer services for 

reasonable prices to the public. 

The private sector plays an important role. It includes both formal and 

informal sectors. It manages private clinics or well-established specialized 

hospitals where people pay relative high fees for what they consider better 

services. This network also includes general practitioners, specialists, 

dentists, laboratories, pharmacists etc. 

During the nineties, the government was committed to the objective “health 

for all by the year 2000”. The government placed priority on meeting 

children’s health needs focusing on national programs to control diarrhea 

and acute respiratory infections and expanded childhood immunization 

program. Achievements were attained in the areas of high vaccination 

coverage, better health indices, especially infant mortality and life 

expectancy, and lower prevalence of intestinal parasites and schistosomiasis. 


10


A policy reform agenda was developed to expand health insurance to a 

larger portion of the population. Several attempts was made recently to 

improve the quality of health care throughout changing the compensation 

scheme of health workers and providing on job training for the health team. 

Several initiatives are under consideration including improving health 

planning on the district level to strengthen decentralization, cost recovery, 

better referral system, support for deprived areas, and efficiency in using 

available resources. 

2.3. Sources 

The Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) is 

the main provider of data in Egypt. Periodical data include a census every 

decade and birth and death yearly report. 

In addition, seven rounds of a national representative sample survey were 

conducted during the last fifteen years under the umbrella of the 

Demographic and Health Surveys with support from USAID. The surveys 

provided detailed information on fertility, family planning, infant and child 

mortality and maternal and child health and nutrition. A national survey was 

recently conducted on health expenditure. 

The Ministry of Health and Population 4 publishes regular reports on 

morbidity status. More data are provided through the Information Centre of 

the Ministry and through local authorities. 

4 www.mohp.gov.eg 


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2.4. Data 

[in addition to standard health indicators that can be accessed throughout the 

Human Development Report the following data are provided] 

Adult morbidity 

More than one third of individuals reported episodes of illness during the 

last two weeks 5 . Twenty percent of the individuals reported chronic 

illness/disability. Twenty two percent of adults Egyptians are at risk from 

chronic diseases that can be attributed to smoking. Seventeen percent of 

individuals reported chest sound wheezy/whistling and half of them 

experienced short of breath. 

Child morbidity 

The 2000 Egyptian Demographic and Health Survey provided data on the 

prevalence and treatment of two common childhood illnesses, diarrhea and 

acute respiratory illness. Seven percent of children under five were reported 

to have had diarrhea in the two weeks preceding the survey . Medical advice 

was sought in treating about around half of these cases. Use of ORS packets 

( 34 percent ) or a homemade solution of sugar, salt and water (5%) to 

combat the dehydration was common. Altogether some form of ORT or 

increased fluids was used in treating around one in two of the children 

suffering from diarrhea. 

During the two weeks preceding the survey, 10% of children had a cough 

accompanied by symptoms of acute respiratory illness. In the case of twothirds 

of the cases a health provider was consulted and three fourth of the 

children were given antibiotics. 

Child nutrition 

Anthropometric data collected for children in the 2000 EDHS indicate that 

19 percent of Egyptian children show evidence of chronic malnutrition or 

stunting, and 3 percent are acutely malnourished . The trend in 

5 

Ministry of Health and Population 2002, Egypt Household and Health Care Utilization 



12


anthropometric indicators from EDHS surveys between 1992 and 2000 

shows that the nutritional status of children under age five has improved 

from the situation prevailing during the first half of the 1990s, when 25 – 30 

percent of children were found to be stunted. Large differentials in 

children’s nutritional status continue to be observed, however, particularly 

by residence. For example, the percentage stunted among children in rural 

Upper Egypt is 27 percent, three times the level found in the Urban 

Governorates . 

Macronutrient. 

Recent figures indicate that the coverage of the program for vitamin A 

supplementation for new mothers and for children is still limited. Around 

one ninth of mothers and one fifth of children reported receiving a vitamin 

A capsule. With respect to iodine, 44% of households were found not using 

salt containing some iodine despite the program adopted by the government 

to prevent iodine deficiency. 

Maternal health 

Maternal health indicators are still low. During pregnancy, only 37% saw a 

health provider for the recommended minimum four antenatal care visits. 

The pregnancy care that Egyptian mothers receive often does not include 

routine screening or advice that is important in detecting and preventing 

complications. For example, women reported that they had been weighed 

and their blood pressure monitored in the case of only about 60 percent of 

the births in which a medical provider was seen for pregnancy care. Urine 

and blood samples were taken in two in five births, the mother’s height was 

measured in about a third of births, and iron tablets/ syrup were received or 

bought in around a quarter of the births. Mother were given advice about 

potential pregnancy complications in 18 percent of the births and told by the 

provider where to seek assistance if they experienced problems in the case 

of 14 percent of the births. 

Health care during delivery can usually prevent maternal mortality and 

morbidity. In only 60% of the cases trained medical personnel assisted 

during delivery. Traditional birth attendants assisted with most of the 

remaining cases. Nearly one half of the deliveries took place in a health 

facility. In rural Upper Egypt, less than two-fifths of deliveries are 


13


medically assisted and only one fourth of deliveries took place in a health 

facility. 

Disparity in health indicators 

Despite the improvement that has been achieved in most health indicators, 

one of the main concern in maternal and child health is the geographical 

disparity that continue to prevail especially between urban and rural areas 

and between Lower (northern) and Upper (southern) Egypt. Child mortality 

rate in rural Upper Egypt is twice the rate observed in Urban governorates. 

Prevalence of child malnutrition in rural Upper Egypt is tree folds its level 

in Urban governorates. With respect to maternal care during delivery, the 

percent of pregnant women seen by a health provider during pregnancy at 

least 4 times was 26% in rural area and 54% in urban areas. 

Health expenditure 

Annual per capita expenditure on health care is L.E. 205. This amount is 

divided to L.E. 121 on outpatient services, L.E. 15 on inpatient services and 

L.E. 69 on drugs 6 . 

2.5. Phenomenology 

Currently, there is a large gap between the very comprehensive set of 

services that the actual primary care program intends to provide and the 

resources available to do it. The imbalance results in low salaries, lack of 

supplies and substandard facilities. Dissatisfaction is widespread. Already 

scarce resources are spread too thin to have an impact. The poor suffer to 

pay private doctors and make out of pocket payments to buy medicine. 

Services are fragmented and referral mechanisms loose people through the 

cracks in the system. The existing primary care system cannot provide a 

family and community focus, which is necessary to achieve primary health 

care goals. 

6 Ministry of Health and Population 2002, Egypt Household and Health Care Utilization 



14


The outcome of the large infrastructure of rural and urban health facilities 

has been far less than expected. Due to: 

- Lack of adequate training for the staff 

- Low utilization of services 

- Low investment in PHC, and in health in general 

- Bad physical status of the health facilities 

- Low salaries 

- Weak managerial skills, including lack of supervision, follow up and 

monitoring 

- Lack of effective community participation and involvement in health 

planning, monitoring, evaluation and utilization 

There is a clear need for policy reform, advances in quality assurance, 

human resource and systems development, decentralization, improved 

resource allocation, and increased private sector and community 

participation. 

Several health challenges are facing Egypt including lack of accessibility to 

adequate health care for poor and low insurance coverage among agriculture 

workers and unemployed. Another challenge that is due to external factor is 

the increasing cost for health care due to deteriorating exchange rate. If the 

current population growth rate continues and the economy does not recover, 

in the near future health problems will aggravate in the future. 


15


3. POVERTY 

3.1. Definition 

Although poverty has many manifestations and causes, but its main driving 

force is the process of exclusion from access to certain basic physical, 

human and social assets. To define poverty it needs selection of a welfare 

criterion in order to put a line that divides population into poor and non- 

poor, this criterion could be income-based approach or non income-based 

approach: 

- Income-based approach is the commonly used measurement to define the 

poor, by determining a level of income 7 if not attained by a person or a 

family, the later is classified poor. This critical level of income that 

separates the poor from non poor is named poverty line which could be in 

form of any of the following: 

- Absolute poverty line. 

- Relative poverty line. 

- Subjective poverty line. 

Most measurements in Egypt are based on some variant of the absolute 

consumption-based poverty line 8 . According to this approach of 

definition, three main features, which, characterize the poor people: low 

standard of living; low income and high propensity to borrow. 

In fact, this approach of defining poverty has two main limitations, as it 

does not account for access to essential public goods and services for 

instance clean water or environment, education and health, which affect 

7 Owing to a number of well-known difficulties of collecting accurate data on income, 

consumption expenditure is employed instead of income levels. 

8 Although EHRD 1996 introduced estimation of subjective poverty based on people 

perceptions and their neighbor's situation. 


16


the standard of living, also this approach does not measure the quality of 

life. 

- Non income-based approach is a broader definition of poverty that 

provides additional information, which reflects the actual experience of 

the poor; their perceptions of poverty and their own self-determined 

concepts and measures of poverty. This definition accounts also for 

human development in terms of education; health and nutritional status 

as well as other aspects like security and safety nets. 

- The Capability Poverty Measurement (CPM) 9 is an application of non 

income-based definition of poverty, and it is used to complement rather 

than to substitute the income-based definition of poverty. Although this 

definition is used only by a minority of respondents, Egypt has 

introduced, in its published EHDR 1996, the capability measurement of 

poverty in order to complement the income-based measurement. 

- The Deprivation Index is another composite index which consists of nine 

indicators reflecting the standard of living and welfare, this Index was 

constructed by (IEC 1996) based on the result of Priority Survey 

conducted by CAPMAS for the Social Fund for Development (SFD), and 

it was published in EHRD 1997/98. 

- A Standard of Living Index was newly constructed as a broader measure 

of living conditions, and it is ranged from 0 to 100. It is comprised of five 

dimensions in order to capture different emphases in the definition of 

poverty by various analysts: per-capita income, per-capita expenditures, 

an index of economic security/vulnerability, an index of housing 

conditions, and an index of affordability of basic needs. 

9 This was recently introduced by UNDP in the HDR 1996. 


17


3.2. Policies 

As it was realized, ERSAP might have negative effects on low-income 

groups; many recent policies have been designed and implemented to assist 

the poor. Both the government and NGO’s are considered the major players 

in poverty alleviation in Egypt. 

Major Government Policies: 

Poverty Alleviation policies are conducted through the following ministries 

and agencies: 

i. Social Fund for Development (SFD) 

SFD was established in 1992 as a result of the Structural Adjustment 

Program that was signed between the Egyptian Government and the 

World Bank. The SFD has five major programs: 

- The Enterprise Development Program, which aims on creating longterm 

employment opportunities through technical or credit assistance, 

concentrating on new projects and newly unemployed graduates. 

- The Public Works Program, supports labor-intensive public works 

projects in the poor and high unemployment governorates 

- The Community Development Program, aims to improve social 

services and productive activities in low income areas. 

- The Employment and Retraining Program, provides assistance to 

public sector workers who are displaced, and offers training for new 

graduates. 

- The Institutional Development Program, which aims to enforce the 

administrative and technical capacities of the SFD. 

Both of the second and the third programs achieved good records in 

reducing poverty. 


18


ii. Ministry of Social Affairs (MOSA) 

MOSA works on alleviating poverty directly through social security and 

welfare aid system. This system is divided into two types of assistance: 

a) The Islamic system of zakat , which is compulsory religious duty 

whereby each Muslim pay a percentage of his wealth to help the poor, 

this system is organized by zakat committees registered in the Nasser 

Social Bank under the supervision of MOSA. The zakat committees 

use the funds to give grants or interest-free loans to the needy people. 

b) Financial support to the poor through social insurance and social 

security schemes, whereby the first scheme covers the permanent 

workers in the public and government and private sectors, as well as 

temporary workers in industry, commerce and services. The Social 

Security Scheme includes temporary and casual workers who are not 

covered by social insurance. 

Sadat Pension Scheme is a direct contributory transfer of payment system 

introduced by MOSA, it covers those who are eligible for a regular 

pension and not temporary assistance, and no additional beneficiaries 

were added since 1980. This pension is awarded to whoever reaches the 

age of 65 years or who is completely handicapped, and it has a value that 

ranges between LE 50 and LE 60 per month. 

Finally, there s a special program for the destitute named by maàsh eldaman, 

targets the poorest of the poor and those who are not covered by 

any social insurance or security program, the amount of this pension 

varies between LE 11 and LE 37 monthly according to the size of the 

family. 

iii. The Ministry of Local Development 

Shuruk Program: The National Program for Integrated Rural 

Development 

The main objective of this program is to close the gap between rural and 

urban areas in Egypt. The plan is to achieve this target during the period 

1994-2017. 


19


The sum total of investment required for the program until 2017 is 

estimated at LE 267 billion; one third of this amount will be financed 

through the national budget. 

According to Shuruk projected investment, about one third of total 

investment will be directed to infrastructure projects and one quarter to 

human resources and institutional development projects, while the rest 

will be devoted to economic activity projects. 

iv. The Ministry of Trade and Supply 

Government programs for food subsidies 

It is the most expensive and widespread governmental assistance 

program in Egypt, administered by the Ministry of Trade and Supply. 

Currently subsidies are limited to bread, wheat, flour, sugar and edible 

oils. 

Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO’s) and Development 

Intermediaries: 

There are several poverty alleviation programs offered by these actors; the 

following are the most important: 

- UNICEF Supported Family Development Fund (FDF), which funds 

small and micro enterprise development, in order to provide 

socioeconomic support to the poorest of the poor living in remote rural 

areas in Upper Egypt. The Fund also aims to improve the standard of 

living for low-income women and their families. 

- CEOSS has an integrated program for literacy and general education, 

addressed to women and focused in Minia governorate and few poor 

communities in Cairo. Through this program, CEOSS tries to empower 

women and increase female leadership, as well as reinforces family ties. 

- The Upper Egypt Association (UEA), views the provision of affordable, 

but high-quality basic education, with an integrated development 

approach in poor villages. Despite being a Christian organization, UEA 

serves Christians and Muslims equally. 


20


- The Association for the Protection of the Environment (APE), which 

began its work with young women in the garbage collectors community 

in Muqattam (Cairo), by organizing literacy classes. At a subsequent 

stage the APE added health awareness, leadership training, sex education 

and early childhood education to its services. 

- The Center for Egyptian Women’s Legal Assistance (CEWLA), is one of 

the few organizations in Egypt aims at enhancing poor women’s access 

to the legal system. CEWLA is located in Bulak El-Dakrur (Cairo), and 

offers help in issuing the identity card, obtaining of a birth or divorce 

certificates, as well as easing access to state social assistance for destitute 

women. The organization concerns with other legal issues includes 

representation in courts, it also organizes literacy classes to raise 

women’s awareness of their legal rights. 

- The Association of the Lawful Religious for those who behave according 

to the book and Muhammadan Sunna 10 , was established 12 years ago and 

it’s the largest network of Islamic Organizations that are currently 

working in Egypt. The association owns hospitals, health clinics and 

libraries; it adopts strict discipline and a clear division of labor. The 

Orphan Sponsorship Program is the association’s most important 

program, whose main objective is to care for the orphaned Muslim child 

from birth until adulthood in order to direct him to the right Islamic path 

and values. 

- CARITAS, El-Saeed Association and the Childhood and Development 

Association (CDA). The first two associations have the same objectives 

and follows similar procedures as well, as they aim at eradicating women 

illiteracy, increasing health awareness and alleviating poverty through 

provision of micro-loans to households. The CDA has wider activities 

than the previous two NGO’s, as it is involved in implementing a Multi- 

Purpose Development Program with SFD targeting poor rural women 

aims at upgrading their status and enhancing their participation in 

economic activities. 

- Ford Project for Small Firms’ Loans, Ford has given two grants for two 

Egyptian banks in order to offer bank loans for existing small firms in 

urban areas, with concentration on women. 

10 Al Jamìyyah al-sharìyyah lilàmilin bil-kitab wal-sunnah ai-Mohamadiyyah. 


21


- The project of American Agency for Small Firms International 

Development, it offers loans for existing firms at market interest rates 

with no guarantees. 

- The project of the Association of Developing and Enhancing Women 

(ADEW), which offers loans to families sponsored by women 

3.3. Sources 

The main source of data for measuring poverty in Egypt are the Household 

Income, Expenditure and Consumption Survey (HIECS) which were carried 

out in 1990/91 and 1995/96 and 1999/2000 by CAPMAS, these data were 

used to calculate poverty indicators in the following publications: 

- Institute of National Planning (INP), Egypt Human Development Report 

1996. 


1997/1998. 


2003. 

- The World Bank, ARE, Poverty Reduction in Egypt 2002. 

- Subjective Poverty and Social Capital Survey (SPSC) 11 . 

11 This Survey is designed specially for SPSC Report, its data were collected during 

December 2002, the sample include 4000 households (1720 in urban and 2280 in rural 

areas). 


22



According to poverty measures of El-Laithy presented in Table-1, poverty 12 

has increased on both national and regional level between 1981/82 and 

1990/91, then stabilized in 1995/96 and then started to decline in 1999/00. 

However, it is noticed also that the Gini coefficient increased during 

1999/00 compared to 1995/96. 

How could this contradiction of decline in poverty and increase in the Gini 

coefficient be explained? 

At the national level the growth was not pro-poor, thus the non-poor 

benefited more than the poor did from the growth. Correspondingly, the 

Gini coefficient increased from 34.5 to 37.8 13 . 

Table 1 - Regional Poverty Measures (1981/82-1999/00) 

Region Year 


Lower Poverty Line Upper Poverty Line 

P0 P1 P2 P0 P1 P2 

All Egypt 1981/82 16.42 3.77 1.23 23.65 6.04 2.23 - 

1990/91 30.37 8.62 3.36 39.09 11.99 5.03 - 

1995/96 29.25 5.79 1.58 42.46 10.13 3.32 34.5 

1999/00 16.74 2.97 0.8 37.8 

All Urban 1981/82 16.75 4.25 1.52 25.99 7.26 2.88 34.8 

1990/91 26.06 6.59 2.28 36.82 10.58 4.15 34.8 

1995/96 29.03 6.48 1.95 42.87 11.67 4.24 33.7 

All Rural 1981/82 16.60 3.20 0.87 22.95 4.89 1.49 25.8 

1990/91 34.12 10.97 4.90 41.25 13.88 6.45 36.6 

1995/96 29.00 5.59 1.52 41.87 9.28 2.89 24.9 

Source: El-Laithy (1999, 2002) 

12 Named P0. 

13 WB, Op.cit., p.19 

Gini 

Index 

2


The Period 1981/82-1995/96 

Urban poverty has increased more rapidly than rural poverty, although the 

rural poverty rate is still higher than urban rate. The observed increases in 

national and urban poverty are mainly due to the decrease in average percapita 

expenditure (growth component), as the decline in average per-capita 

expenditure neutralized improvements in distribution. However, the 

observed change in rural poverty is fully accounted for the improvements in 

expenditure distribution, at least for the poorest of the poor and this is 

consistent with the declining Gini coefficient and stagnant increase in rural 

areas. 

As a matter of fact, there is no lack of poverty estimates in Egypt, but 

debates about methods of poverty measurement are common because 

poverty is an elusive concept and no single measure can properly or 

adequately reflect its magnitude and features. 

Most of poverty studies in Egypt used household surveys conducted by 

CAPMAS, in 1974/75, 1981/82, 1990/91, 1995/96 and 1999/2000 and used 

the same food energy requirement, these studies adopted also the same 

indicator of welfare expenditure. 

Table 2 Poverty Incidence in Various Studies in Egypt 


1981/82 1990/91 1995/96 

Urban 

The World Bank (1991) 21.00 

Korayem (1994) 30.40 35.90 

El-Laithy & Osman(1997) 33.50 39.00 45.00 

Cardiff (1997) 12.60 30.80 

El-Laithy et al (1999): Lower 16.80 26.10 29.00 

Rural 

The World Bank (1991) 25.00 

Korayem (1994) 29.70 56.40 

El-Laithy & Osman(1997) 26.90 39.20 50.9 

Cardiff (1997) 32.20 55.2 

El-Laithy et al (1999): Lower 16.60 34.10 29.00 

Source: Subjective Poverty & Social Capital (2003) 

2


However, Table-2 shows clearly that estimates of poverty may be different 

even when the same data are used. Korayem (1994) stated that poverty in 

1990/91 reached 35.8% in urban areas, while it was 56.4% in rural areas, 

more than 50% higher than urban areas. El-Laithy et al (1997) showed that 

poverty levels in 1990/91 differed, between urban and rural areas, by not 

more than 0.2%. Although Cardiff (1997) used the same poverty lines as 

Korayem (1994), he estimated much lower poverty in 1990/91, he argued 

that national poverty has increased dramatically from 20.69% in 1990/91 to 

44.29% in 1995/96. 

A study by El-Laithy and Osman (1997) indicated a decline in the incidence 

of poverty in rural areas from 28% to 23%, during the period 1990/91- 

1995/96, using lower poverty lines. However, they noticed that both regions 

(urban and rural) experienced increases in their poverty when using upper 

poverty lines. These discrepancies reflect a number of limitations 

concerning units for welfare measurement and estimation of poverty lines 14 . 

The Period 1995/96-1999/2000 

The World Bank Report on Poverty (2002) uses a methodology that 

accounts for these limitations, and concludes that: 

Table 3 Share of the Poor Population in 1995/96 and 1999/2000 


1995/96 1999/2000 

All Egypt 19.4 16.7 

Upper Rural 29.3 34.2 

Upper Urban 10.8 19.3 

Lower Rural 21.5 11.8 

Lower Urban 8.3 6.2 

Metropolitan 13.1 5.1 

Source: World Bank, ARE, Poverty Reduction in Egypt, 2002, Report No. 24234 EGT, p.vi. 

14 For more details about these limitations refer to Subjective Poverty and Social Capital 

(2003). 

2


1. In 1999/2000 the poor in Egypt was 16.7% of the population, and this 

poverty is shallow which is reflected by the low values of distributionsensitive 

measures P1 and P2. 

2. The incidence of poverty is highest in Upper Egypt. 

3. During the periods 1995/96 and 1999/2000 overall poverty declined by 

2.7%, however, patterns of change were not homogenous across regions, 

as Metropolitan and Lower Egypt has improved their poverty status, 

while poverty levels increased in Upper Egypt. 

4. Decomposing poverty changes into growth and redistribution 

components, in the Metropolitan region the growth and redistribution 

components work in opposite directions; as the reduction in poverty 

resulting from increased real per-capita expenditure was lowered by 

deterioration in inequality. On the other hand, in both Upper and Lower 

Egypt the two components worked in the same direction. 

In Lower Egypt there was a reduction in poverty levels resulted from 

improvements in inequality and per-capita expenditure, while in Upper 

Egypt both per-capita expenditure and inequality worsened resulting in 

poverty increase. 

2002: 

- The latest statistics (2003) show that the largest concentration of poor 

and ultra-poor individuals is found in Upper Egypt in both urban and 

rural areas. 


3


Table 4: Regional Poverty Measures 2002 using different poverty lines 

Lower Objective Lower Relative Subjective Poverty 

Poverty Line Poverty Line 

Line 

Region P0 P1 P2 P0 P1 P2 P0 P1 P2 


% of 

individuals 

with 

insufficient 

income 15 

Metropolitan 5.72 1.36 0.46 4.62 0.96 0.33 42.53 12.48 5.65 22.47 

Lower 

Urban 

9.81 2.57 0.98 9.81 3.08 1.29 33.69 10.42 4.62 26.87 

Lower Rural 16.57 3.00 0.88 22.13 3.87 1.15 30.69 7.54 2.94 29.07 

Upper 

Urban 

19.19 4.77 1.82 15.87 4.61 1.85 36.13 10.32 4.65 36.40 

Upper Rural 34.87 8.22 2.77 39.02 10.29 3.64 23.32 5.67 2.14 17.75 

All Egypt 20.40 4.62 1.55 22.58 5.46 1.91 31.82 8.54 3.59 24.27 

Source: Subjective Poverty & Social Capital (2003). 

Rural areas in each governorate are more deprived than urban areas 

especially when the objective poverty is used. 

Metropolitan Region 16 has the highest subjective poverty, which could be 

explained by the fact that urban citizens are influenced by their surroundings 

and by “the demonstration effect”. They feel their neediness more than the 

rural citizens do. That is sometimes the reason why most of the government 

programs are biased towards Urban in developing countries 17 . 

- According to the newly measured (CPM) 18 , there is considerable chronic 

under-nutrition among Egyptian children with higher proportion in rural 

areas, and underweight children are common in rural Upper Egypt, on the 

other hand, medically assisted delivery is more common for urban births 

and to highly educated mothers. 

15 This percentage reflects the perception of the individuals, whether they consider 

themselves poor or not. 

16 Which perceive higher basic needs requirements. 

17 As they rely on subjective poverty. 

18 Capability Poverty Measurement. 

4


- The education status plays a major role in determining poverty in Egypt 19 , 

as poverty is inversely correlated with educational attained, it is noticed 

that the great majority of the poor have attained only primary level 

education or no education at all, and the lowest headcounts achieved by 

those with university education. However, poverty measures in urban 

areas are about 1.3 times those in rural areas in categories with low levels 

of education, which means that education in urban areas plays a more 

important role in determining poverty status. 

- According to statistics, real per-capita expenditure on education has 

increased by almost 75% for the poor, and 33% for the non-poor, this is 

because most of the poor household heads see education as the main 

escape gate out of poverty on one hand, and the reliance on “private 

lessons” raises the poor Household’s spending on education. Still, the 

distribution of the households` expenditure on education is severely 

skewed towards rich families and this is a reflection of low university 

enrolment ratios among poor households. 

On the other side, the Egyptian government has increased its public 

education expenditure in order to reduce the capability poverty, but the 

benefits are biased in favor of the rich especially in the higher education. 

- It is also evident that within each region, whether urban or rural, all 

objective poverty measures are highest for the private sector workers 

compared to other sectors of employment, the same thing is true if 

subjective poverty notion is applied, with narrower gaps between the 

poor and non poor, specially in rural areas. 

- It was noticed that families with children are worse off than families 

without children, and families with more children are worse off than 

families with few children. Combining gender of the household head 

with marital status and number of children shows that poverty is highest 

in household headed by females that are widows and have more than 

three children; this criterion may be a good characteristic for targeting the 

poor. 

19 

According to the World Bank Report on Poverty (2002), education was considered the 

strongest correlate of poverty, whit more than 45% of the poor are illiterate. 


5


- Data show positive relationships between the housing conditions and percapita 

income levels, that’s why there is a correlation between the 

housing conditions index and poverty status, however the housing index 

for the non-poor represents 1.3 times that of the poor for objective 

poverty and only 1.02 times for subjective poverty. 

- The overall average Living Standard Index in 2002 has reached 28.55. As 

with most social indicators, there are urban/rural biases in favor of urban 

areas. 

- Male headed households have higher living standards than female headed 

households, and households with a head of lower education levels have 

lower living standards, and the same applies if the household head is 

unemployed or out of labor force. 

- Poor households, whether objectively or subjectively, have lower living 

standards than the non-poor do. However, households with unmet needs 

or those who are unsatisfied with their lives have a lower index, 

indicating that people rightly rank themselves as satisfied or not 

according to their living conditions and not only on their income. 

- Although both the non-traditional government programs and nongovernment 

sector’s role are expanding their poverty alleviation role in 

Egypt, certain government policies continue to impede such efforts and 

underpin the perpetuation of poverty across generations, such as 

centralization, lack of coordination, spread of corruption and weak 

institutional capacities. 


6


4. CRIME 


In general, “crime” refers to committing an act that is prohibited by law. 

The Egyptian penal code comprises many crimes, too many to be 

exhaustively covered in this section and hence only the main crimes 20 will 

be presented. 

1. Intentional homicide: is death deliberately inflicted on a person by 

another person. 

2. Non-intentional homicide is death not deliberately inflicted on a person 

by another person and is the result of the latter person’s negligence, 

recklessness or indifference towards rules and regulations. It could have 

been avoided if the perpetrator had had the caution of a regular person. 

That includes the crime of manslaughter, but unlike the definition 

provided by the United Nations, it also includes traffic accidents that 

result in the death of persons. 

3. Assault: is the physical attack against the body of another person. 

4. Rape: is forcing sexual intercourse on a female without valid consent. 

Egyptian law makes a distinction between sexual assault and actual 

penetration and the penalty for each differs. 

5. Theft is the removal of property without the property owner’s consent. 

“Theft” then comprises different crimes depending on the circumstances 

of the crime: 

20 The crimes mentioned here are those reported in the periodic United Nations Surveys of 

Crime Trends and Operations of Criminal Justice Systems. The definitions provided 

pertain to the Egyptian Judicial System. Whenever the definitions coincide in meaning, 

the wording provided by the United Nations will be used. Other crimes are also added at 

the end. 


7


- Robbery is the theft of property from a person, overcoming resistance 

by force or threat of force. 

- Burglary is the unlawful entry into someone else’s premises with the 

intention to commit a crime, or the lawful entry, but lingering with the 

intention of committing a crime. 

- Automobile theft is the removal of a motor vehicle without the consent 

of the owner of the vehicle. 

6. Fraud is the acquisition of another person’s property through deception 

with the intention of owning that property. 

7. Embezzlement is the wrongful appropriation of a public servant of public 

property owned by the government where the property is already in the 

possession of the person doing the appropriating because of his or her 

job. 

8. Drug-related crimes is intentional acts that involve the cultivation, 

production, extraction, preparation, offering for sale, distribution, 

purchase, sale, delivery on any terms whatsoever, brokerage, dispatch, 

transport, importation, exportation, possession, use or facilitating the use 

of internationally controlled drugs. 

9. Bribery and/ or corruption is requesting and/ or accepting material or 

personal benefits, or the promise thereof, in connection with the 

performance of a public function for an action, that may or may not be a 

violation of law and/ or promising as well as giving material or personal 

benefits to a public officer in exchange for a requested favor. 

10. Arson is the deliberate starting of fire in a property that may or may 

not be in the possession of the arsonist. 

11. Terrorism is the use of force, violence or threats in the execution of a 

criminal act with the intention of disrupting order and/ or jeopardizing 

public safety if the result was endangering people’s lives and/ or public 

or private property or impeding the application of the constitution or 

other laws and regulations. 

Note that there is a general agreement regarding the aforementioned 

definitions among law enforcement agencies and other relevant 


8


stakeholders. As far as the general population is concerned, there is also an 

agreement concerning these definitions. However, there are certain acts that 

the society frowns upon, but are permissible by law, such as drinking and 

premarital sex for people above 18 years of age. Also, as will be mentioned 

in section 4.5, there are some practices that are prohibited by law, but 

condoned by society, such as marriage below the age of 16 and female 

circumcision. 


Various measures and policies are being implemented in order to combat 

crime by dealing with different factors that lead to violence and criminal 

behavior. 

1. Social, economic and cultural programs and policies: 

As will be mentioned in section 4.5, different social and economic factors 

such as unemployment, unjust income distribution, poverty and poor levels 

of education, are some of the primary reasons for the rise in the tendency 

towards violence and crime. Accordingly, different measures are being 

implemented such as: 

- The government is striving towards alleviating poverty (see section 3.2). 

- Public policies are being carried out in order to combat unemployment. 

Each year, new job vacancies in government offices and public 

enterprises and economic authorities are being provided in an attempt to 

absorb the increasing new entrants to the labor market as well as the 

already existing pool of the unemployed. 

Financial and non-financial incentives are being offered to youths wishing 

to own their own small businesses or buy land and cultivate it as a means of 

securing income through the various special designed programs. 

- The media has played a role in fighting crime through several measures. 

There are television programs that deal with real- life crimes and their 

consequences by meeting with criminals and exposing the consequences 


9


of crime. In addition, fictional programs and movies tackle the issues and 

ramifications of various types of crime. Newspapers and magazines 

publish and report the criminal events that take place and the penalties 

that the perpetrators face. 

2. Policies implemented by law enforcement agencies 

The legislation concerning fighting crime is already defined. However, the 

problem lies in enforcing the law and ensuring that citizens abide by the 

rules and regulations. Accordingly, several measures have been 

implemented: 

- Because of globalization and technological development, crimes have 

become more technologically advanced in nature. Due to this, the law 

enforcement process has been developed and provided with the 

technology necessary to combat crime in its new forms such as more 

advanced computers. 

- Police officers are receiving advanced training programs in combating 

crime. More sophisticated crime- fighting techniques and training courses 

and workshops that are held both locally and abroad. 

- Due to the fact that crime is expanding in nature and involves various 

aspects, departments different from the traditional criminal and political 

departments have been added to law enforcement agencies such as 

economic departments and social departments. 

- The Ministry of Internal Affairs provides various services and incentives 

to police officers in order to encourage them to carry out their jobs 

efficiently. For example, medical and social services are provided to 

officers and their families. 

- The Ministry of Internal Affairs has also implemented programs aimed at 

providing job opportunities to ex- convicts in order to discourage them 

from re-pursuing a life of crime and to encourage them to lead an honest 

living by offering them work opportunities after their release . 


10


4.3. Sources 

Due to the scarcity of data on the crime issues, limited sources are used in 

this context: 

- Encyclopedia of the explanation of the crimes of the penal code and 

special criminal statutes 

- Annual Reports of the Agency of Public Security 

- The National Center for Social and Criminal Research, 4 th Annual 

Conference, “The Social and Criminal Aspects of Violence in the 

Egyptian Society” 

4.4. Data 

The tables containing the data relevant to this chapter are displayed in the 

Statistical Annex in order to enable the adequate coverage of the issue of 

“Crime in Egypt”. 


Different factors have contributed to elevating the tendency towards crime 

and violence in Egypt. Social, economic and political aspects as well as 

factors relating to the police force and the judicial system have all played a 

vital role in motivating violent behavior. 

Social, economic and political factors: 

Unjust income distribution has generated a wide gap between the highincome 

group, a small portion of society, and the low-income group, which 

represents a large part of the population, leading to feelings of repression 

and inferiority. This situation is aggravated by poor economic conditions 

(inflated cost of living and high levels of unemployment), poverty, poor 

quality of education and the population explosion. 


11


Furthermore, a lack of democracy and the distrust directed towards the 

government lead to overall feelings of uncertainty and anxiety, which are 

translated into aggressive conduct. 

In addition, the unequal income distribution and the low incomes among the 

public officials lead to a growing tendency to accept bribery or unofficial 

commissions. The Corruption Perception Index 21 –issued by Transparency 

International – ranked Egypt as having a CPI of 3.4 and as being country 

number 62 out of 102 countries in 2001. The value of the CPI is considered 

relatively significant, as it relates to perceptions of the degree of corruption 

as seen by business people and risk analysts, and ranges between 10 (highly 

clean) and 0 (highly corrupt) 22 . 

Another disturbing phenomena noticed in Egypt is the discrimination and 

violence directed towards women. Society condones this type of behavior 

for different reasons such as the misguided perception of the dictates of both 

religion and moral behavior. Sexual harassment, marital violence, the 

marriage of underage females and female circumcision are all examples of 

acts prohibited by Egyptian law but exercised by society, which disregards 

judicial regulations in favor of customs and traditions. 

Furthermore, sexual abuse and rape, though not yet widespread phenomena, 

exist due to several factors. Because of deteriorating economic conditions, 

marriage is becoming increasingly difficult. Therefore, the age at which 

males and females marry is getting higher. Accompanied by the general 

tendency of media agencies towards less censorship and more provocative 

programs, these circumstances are leading to pent-up frustration among the 

male portion of the population. In addition to this, there is a lack of 

awareness, a decline in the moral standards taught to children, and a poor 

quality of education received in schools, which reinforces the tendency 

towards violence and aggression. 

Factors related to the police force and the judicial system: 

21 The TI Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) this year ranks 102 countries in terms of the 

degree to which corruption is perceived to exist among public officials and politicians. 

It is a composite index, drawing on 15 different polls and surveys from nine 

independent institutions carried out among business people and country analysts, 

including surveys of residents, both local and expatriate. 

22 Transparency International Corruption Perception Index 2002, p.5. 


12


One of the main problems facing law enforcement in Egypt is that people do 

not regard or treat it with due respect. This could be due to several factors. 

First, the law is not penalizing enough since perpetrators of crimes are not 

always punished for their deeds and loopholes in the legislature are 

exploited to the advantage of criminals. In addition, the legal process is 

extremely slow so that cases are procrastinated, and take a very long time to 

be settled in courts. The legal system is also characterized by the existence 

of some corruption, whereby several judges have been found guilty of 

accepting bribes, were forced to resign, and in some cases were imprisoned. 

In addition to this, there is a general impression that law enforcement 

officers take advantage of their positions and are above the law in certain 

areas, which gives rise to public resentment directed at the police force. 

Furthermore, the Ministry of Internal Affairs itself suffers from several 

shortcomings that impede law enforcement in Egypt such as: 

1. Salaries granted to the majority of the police force are very low. 

2. Law enforcement officers are constantly racked with feelings of 

occupational instability and insecurity because at any time and through 

no fault of their own, they could be used as scapegoats and are either 

demoted or fired. 

3. There exists occupational stagnation. An officer has to spend a 

considerable amount of time in the same position before he could be 

promoted to the following rank. In addition, promotions take place 

according to seniority and date of graduation and not according to 

efficiency or merit. 

4. As already mentioned, society tends to view some of the police officers 

as corrupt, immoral members who abuse their authority in circumventing 

the law. Due to this, in addition to points (1), (2), and (3), we find that: 

- police officers lack the incentive to improve their performance and 

efficiently carry out their jobs. 

- A significant part of the force is corrupt (bribery and immoral 

behavior) or misuses its power so that society’s labeling of police 

officers has become self-fulfilling. 


13


5. Volunteers and a large number of those carrying out their military service 

suffer from illiteracy. This prohibits them from adequately grasping and 

executing the orders, they are given. Even if they are literate, they have 

not had sufficient education and hence they lack the proper sense and 

logic necessary to carry out their jobs efficiently. 

Due to these factors, the public tends to disregard the police as an effective 

means of obtaining their rights, which in itself impedes the police force in 

carrying out its job of establishing law and order. 

In addition to this, in the 1990s, political crime (terrorist attacks) rose 

disturbingly so that the police force directed most of its budget and 

instruments towards fighting terrorism and political crimes. Consequently 

new forms of crime of social and economic nature erupted during the last 

decade. The new types of crime require vigorous efforts to combat them. 


14


5. TRENDS AND CORRELATION 

5.1. The evolution from the structural adjustment of the 80s 

After a period of unprecedented economic growth in Egypt during 1975- 

1985, the situation changed dramatically since 1984/85. The Egyptian 

economy enjoyed a decade of boom, mainly, due to large foreign exchange 

inflows because of the increased petroleum prices, export proceeds, higher 

Suez Canal revenues, accelerating worker’s remittances, and enhanced 

tourism earnings. 

The drop in foreign inflows was the result of unfavorable external 

developments, principally the decline in petroleum prices as well as in other 

related sources of foreign exchange, recession in the world economy, and 

the sharp decline in the flow of aid. Unable to respond to these external 

shocks due to structural weakness, Egypt experienced a dramatic fall in its 

growth rate and severe macroeconomic imbalances (Kheir –El-Din & El- 

Shawarby, 2003). 

It became obvious that the Egyptian economy could not meet the needs of the 

society without external aids. In the meantime, Egypt faced a problem with 

its creditors, as it was not able to maintain debt service payments. The 

following key indicators show the extent of the crisis in the beginning of 

1990, which the Egyptian economy was confronted with (CBE, 1992-1998): 

a) Total external debt around US $ 49 billion, 

b) Total external debt to GDP 150%, 

c) Budget deficit around 20% of GDP, 

d) Inflation rate higher than 20%, 

e) Negative real interest rate around 6%, and, 

f) Reserves were just over three weeks of imports. 


15


This situation provided the background to the stabilization package in the 

end of the 1980s with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), formally 

concluded in May 1987 (Stand–by Agreement), after a long period of 

protracted negotiations. 

The main objectives of Stand-by agreement were: (1) preparing the ground 

for sustained economic growth, (2) reducing the rate of inflation, and (3) 

stabilizing the current account deficit of the balance of payment. To achieve 

theses objectives, various measures were stipulated, covering exchange rate, 

monetary and fiscal policy (Abdel-Khalek, 2001, p 25). 

The first Stand–by Agreement with IMF was cancelled after only three 

months because of the failure of the Egyptian government to meet the IMF’s 

requirements. According to the Fund’s officials, the Egyptian government 

adopted a lukewarm attitude and failed to meet performance criteria (IMF, 

1991). 

However, Egypt was obliged to turn once again to the IMF for help, and go 

for another round of negotiations, which concluded in an economic reform 

program by the end of 1990. In April 1991, the Government of Egypt 

(GOE) launched a comprehensive stabilization and reform program 

(Economic Reform and Structural Adjustment Program ERSAP) with both 

the IMF and World Bank. The basic goal of the economic reform program 

was two-fold : to generate sufficient growth rates that would help buoy 

employment opportunities for the growing population - twin strands of a 

virtuous economic circle that will reduce income disparity and alleviate 

poverty. 

The program consisted of four overlapping phases (MOFT, 2003): 

1. The first phase of the stabilization program, involved fiscal and 

monetary tightening, exchange rate liberalization, and price deregulation. 

2. Phase two of the program has also seen further deregulation of prices, 

opening of markets, promoting investment, boosting and structuring of 

the financial sector, and granting a greater role to the private sector. 

3. The third phase of the economic reform program, which has been 

commended by the IMF “as an achievement that has few parallels”. A 

fundamental policy challenge that was facing Egypt was to consolidate 

and extend the ongoing recovery, particularly in view of increased global 


16


challenges. This required continued strong macroeconomic policies, 

accelerated structural reforms, and the promotion and diversification of 

exports. 

4. The goals of phase four included continued fiscal reform, enhancing the 

instruments of monetary policy available to the CBE, increasing the pace 

of structural reform and enhancing transparency in the regulatory and 

institutional frameworks. The Government also intended to foster exportled 

economic growth and development. Other goals included promoting 

human development, improving living conditions for low-income groups 

and developing high skill-based industries. 

The key elements of this program were to (Ash, 1993; Youssef, 1996; and 

Road, 1997): 

a) Reduce the size of the public sector through privatization. 

b) End controls over investment and eliminate most tariffs on imports. 

c) Liberalize the prices of the manufactured products. 

d) Raise energy and transport prices to realistic levels. 

e) Reduce consumer subsidies and target them towards the poorest groups. 

f) Deregulate and simplify laws and regulations; and 

g) Encourage private sector activity in all sectors including financial 

services. 

In the meantime, the new agreement with the World Bank and the IMF 

expected the GOE to introduce several measures immediately, including 

(Middle East Executive Report, 1992): 

(1) Removing ceilings on interest rates, 

(2) Liberalizing exchange rates, and, 

(3) Introducing new sales tax. 

Egypt’s stand on the Gulf War did have some positive results; since it led to 

an increase in the international financial support (bilateral as well as 


17


multilateral). Aid from The Gulf States flowed in for the first time since 

1979 combined with writing off long-term debt to Gulf States (US $ 7 

billion). 

In the same time, the United States wrote off a substantial amount of its 

military debt (US$ 6.7 billion). The Paris Club Agreement, reached with the 

other major official creditors (17 main creditor governments), provided that 

50 per cent of their outstanding commercial debt would be written off in 

stages over the succeeding three years, depending on Egypt carrying out its 

agreement with the IMF’s economic reform program (CBE, 1992, and 

Road, 1997). 

The second IMF agreement was concluded in 1993. At the end of the fiscal 

year 1996/1997, the third agreement triggered the final stake of commercial 

debt reduction and was supported by a further 24 months financial standby 

arrangement. 

Egypt implemented its economic reform program gradually. 

The success achieved by Egypt’s economic reform program can be 

summarized in the following points: 

- the Egyptian external debt has been decreased significantly from US $ 49 

billion in 90/91 to only US $ 26.6 billion in 97/98. 

- The debt ratio as a percentage of GDP has decreased significantly from 

151 per cent in 90/91 to only 37.7 per cent in 97/98. 

- The real interest rates became positive at 5 per cent in 97/98 compared 

with a negative rate of interest at 6 per cent in 90/91. 

- The rate of inflation has declined sharply from 23.6 per cent in 90/91 to 

only 4.1 per cent in 97/98. 

- With regard to the exchange rate, Egypt, like many other developing 

countries, had a multiple exchange rate system (MER). After the 

adoption of the economic reform program, the former multiple exchange 

rate system was replaced by a single-rate, market-oriented system with a 

managed floating of the Egyptian Pound for all public and private 

transactions. Although the Egyptian Pound depreciated during 1991, the 


18


exchange rate stabilized in the range between L.E. 3.35 -3.41 to US $1 

from the third quarter of 1991 until the fourth quarter of 1998). 

- The foreign reserves increased significantly from only 3.6 billion of US $ 

in 90/91 to 21.8 billion of US $ in 97/98, which meant a rate of increase 

more than 500 per cent was achieved. 

- The real GDP growth rate declined sharply in the first two years of the 

economic reform program period to 1.9 per cent and 2.5 per cent, 

respectively. However, starting 1993, the real GDP growth rate has 

grown steadily, reaching 5.7 per cent in 97/98 (CBE, 1998). 

- In terms of the budget deficit, there has been a significant decrease through 

the period from 1990/91-1997/98, the overall deficit as a percentage of 

GDP has declined sharply from about 18.2 per cent in 90/91 to only 0.06 

per cent in 97/98. In fact, the reduction in the overall deficit was obtained 

through both increasing the revenues and reduction in the expenditure. 

(CBE, 1998). 

- With regard to the privatization program, the first stage in the 

privatization process, which started in May 1991, was to cut off subsidies 

to the state-owned enterprises, followed by the removal of public 

enterprises from direct ministerial control (Field, 1995). The three 

hundred and fourteen public sector companies, were grouped (1991) under 

twenty-seven holding companies (now reduced to sixteen), that became 

responsible for all the affiliates in a particular sector (Road, 1997, and 

Timewell, 1991). A wide-scale privatization program started eventually. 

The process came almost to a halt in 1997. 

However, the Egyptian economy has suffered, since 1997 three well-known 

shocks. 

- The first shock was Luxor massacre in November 1997, which negatively 

affected tourism, 

- the second shock was the Far East crises June 1997, which encouraged 

imports from the far eastern countries and led to a massive outflow of 

portfolio investments, 

- the third shock was the sharp decline in the oil prices. 


19


The Egyptian economy endured several additional problems (since the end 

of the nineties) such as the decrease in the level of savings, the decline in the 

level of foreign direct and indirect investment, the balance of payment 

deficit, the inequitable income distribution, and the increase in the public 

debt and accelerating budget deficit. These repercussions were coupled with 

a continuous lack of confidence that was associated with the serious twin 

crises, namely recession and foreign exchange (El-Said, Mustapha, 2003). 

The economic growth (5-6%) that was experienced during 1994-1997, was 

reduced to 3% or less in the years 2000 and afterwards. 

5.2. Correlation between poverty, health, crime and other 

development indicators in the last decade 

The national and the international social and economic indicators reveal 

contradicting results. 

The Human Development Index has showed significant improvement 

during the nineties, as it rose from 0.572 in 1990 to 0.648 in 2001. 

Nevertheless, this improvement in the HDI was associated with 

deterioration in the ranking of Egypt from 108 in the end of the nineties to 

120 in 2001. 

Data also show that the GDP per capita increased steadily from US$ 1015 in 

1995 to US$ 1276 in 2002 at an average growth rate of 3.2%. Despite the 

evident progress in the previous two indicators or variables, other variables 

or indicators seem to give an opposite perspective: 

The previous analysis on poverty, crime and health indicated: 

- Although income poverty has decreased, the incidence of poverty 

increased in the beginning of the millennium. 

- Urban poverty is rising at a higher rate than rural poverty, though the 

incidence of poverty in rural areas is still higher. 

- Poverty is higher in Upper Egypt, whether in rural or urban areas. 

- Poverty is higher among the workers in the private sector. 


20


- Female-headed households are significantly poorer than male-headed 

households are. 

- Crimes have continued to increase at a steady rate, however, new crimes 

related to corruption, rape, car thefts, fraud and pick-pocketing showed 

significant rise in their incidence during the nineties. 

- Despite the fact that some improvements have been achieved in the heath 

sector, there is a dire need for improving the health sector’s performance 

and providing better primary health care services. 

The answer to these conflicting results could be explained by two factors: 

Firstly, the inaccuracy of some data concerning GDP per capita, poverty, 

and income distribution. 

Secondly, the exclusion of other relevant variables such as the 

unemployment rates and the inflation rates. 

As to the first factor, it is difficult to verify the accurate data regarding GDP 

per capita (see the WDR, where it is estimated by US$ 1511 in 2001 and by 

the Ministry of Planning US$ 1276 in 2002. This contradiction in estimates 

could be either due to inaccuracy or due to a drastic decrease in the GDP per 

capita’s growth rate {15.5%} between the two mentioned years!!!). 

It is also as difficult to estimate the Gini coefficient, where the exact income 

levels (whether for the poor or rich income households) is unknown. 

Although recent empirical research indicate a decline in Gini coefficient at 

the turn of the century. 

In addition, two important variables should be included in the analysis, as 

they act as explanatory factors to the existing contradiction in data. These 

two variables are the unemployment and inflation rates. 

The Unemployment Rates 

Official data reveal a steady increase in the unemployment rates. The UER 

declined from 9.2% in 1996 (the Population Census) to 7.7% in 2000 and 

then picked-up again to reach a high level of 9.9% in 2002 (Annual Labor 

Force Sample Surveys 1997-2002). 


21


The main essence of this kind of information is the apparent trend towards 

growing unemployment. This phenomenon of increasing UER started to 

become chronic at the end of the eighties, for three reasons: 

1. The decreasing work opportunities for the Egyptians in the rich Gulf 

countries: This development came because of the saturation in the 

construction sectors –as well as others- in these countries. In addition, the 

growing trend to employ Asian labor (Pakistani, Afghan, Indian, Bengal, 

Philippine..) and to engage more of the educated natives in occupations 

that were usually filled by the Egyptian employment (teaching, medical 

services, accountants, lawyers) reduced the chances of Egyptians in the 

Gulf countries. 

2. The decreasing work opportunities for the growing workforce in the 

government ranks, which came as a repercussion of the accelerating 

budget deficit during the end of the eighties, and the implementation of 

the ERSAP in 1991. These two factors led to a decrease in the 

employment growth rate in the Public Sector -3% during 1988-1998- as 

compared to 8% during 1976-1986. 

3. The slow growth rate of employment in the large private sector and the 

FDI companies (1.5% during 1988-1998), because of their tendency to 

use advanced capital intensive techniques on one hand, and due the slow 

growth in investment spending since 1997 on the other hand. In fact the 

FDI showed a drastic decline in their inflows from US$1.656 Bill in 2000 

to US$ .428 Bill in 2002 23.The only sector that revealed a continuous 

capacity to employ was the non-agricultural micro and small enterprise 

sector, which achieved an average employment growth rate equal to 

4.8% annually during 1988-1998. 

Consequently, The stock of unemployment grew –according to official 

sources- from a modest 1.4 mill unemployed in 1996 to rise up to 2 mill 

unemployed in 2000. This situation was aggravated by the increase in the 

number of new entrants to the labor market from 600,000 in 1992/1993 to 

900,000 in 2000 24 . 

23 MOFT, Economic Bulletin, 2002. 

24 Fawzy, S., “Investment Policies and Unemployment in Egypt”, The Egyptian Center for 

Economic Studies, Cairo, WP No.68, Sept. 2002, p.10 


22


In addition, the unofficial estimates of unemployment rates- which are 

derived from special rounds of national surveys 25 - seem to indicate that it the 

UER could be significantly higher than the official figures. According to 

some of these estimates, the UER range between 12.0%-17.5% through the 

end of the nineties and until 2003. 

The Inflation Rates 

The inflation rates showed a steady decline since the beginning of the 

nineties from a high 20% in 1990 to a low 2.4% in the first quarter of 2002. 

The austerity stabilization program, which was successfully implemented in 

1991 -1996/1997 helped in realizing this decrease. 

However, since mid 2002 the prices started to witness a steady increase, 

which were triggered by the shortage in foreign exchange that caused a 

steady depreciation of the Egyptian Pound, which was directly reflected on 

the prices of all imported goods, or products that had imported components. 

The inflationary spiral was further instigated by the decision to liberalize the 

Egyptian Pound (January 2003). Consequently, the value of the LE declined 

from 1US$=LE4.62 in January 2003 to LE6.2 in September 2003 or by 

34.8% in 7 months. 

The devaluation is causing an escalating increase in the price levels and is 

significantly raising the CPI and WPI. It has an especially negative impact 

on the prices of the basic consumer goods. 

How do these developments in the UER and inflation rates relate to the 

previous analysis? 

It is obvious that despite the government’s efforts on the human 

development side, and despite the apparent increases in the average per 

capita income, both the rising UER and inflation rates had an adverse effect 

on the population. The combination of the high UER and the accelerating 

25 See Fergany, N. (1999), “An Assessment of the Unemployment Situation in Egypt”, Al 

Mishkat Center for Research and Training, Research Notes, No. 13. 

Assaad, R. (2002), Labor Market in an Era of Transition, Cairo, AUC University Press. 


23


inflation rates has a direct impact on both the changes that are identified in 

the poverty results, the deterioration in income distribution(as measured by 

the Gini coefficient) and the high tendency towards crimes as well as the 

low quality of the health services. 

The high poverty incidence and its rapid increase in the urban areas and all 

other aspects that are related to it are affected by the high UER, the decline 

in investment and GDP growth rates, and rapid decline in the real-mostly 

fixed- incomes of the poor households are basically due to the price rise and 

unemployment. 

The apparent increase in certain crimes such as thefts, pick pocketing, rape 

and corruption, is connected with unemployment, poverty and inability to 

afford a decent living. 

5.3. Key issues, political agenda and perspectives 

Health and poverty are issues that are high on the priority list of the 

government’s and the National Democratic Party’s (NDP) agenda. 

The decentralization of service provision, the improvement of the health 

insurance system, the improvement and wider coverage of primary health 

care services, and better training of the medical service providers 

(physicians, nurses and administrative staff) are among the main concerns of 

the government and NDP. 

In addition, the birth control issue acquires a special attention, as the 

previous six years did not witness a steady reduction in the natural growth 

rates. The main emphasis is currently on the means to reduce the population 

growth rate, and thus to improve the outlook on the number of expected 

population in 2017, and thus to reduce the pressure on the different social 

services and on the budget in the near future. 

As to the poverty issues, they are being dealt with through the different 

programs, which are adopted by the various ministries, the Social Fund for 

Development and the NGOs working in this area of support. 


24


As to how the Euro-Partnership Agreement could and will affect the 

Egyptian economy, there are both positive and negative repercussions. 

Positive effects of the Euro-Partnership Agreement include the wider market 

scope for Egyptian exports, the access to modern machinery and equipments 

at relatively lower costs, the possible benefit of the Industry Modernization 

Program on the domestic factories, possible inflow of European investments 

to Egypt. 

As to the negative effects of the EPA are numerous, but the most important 

of which is the fear of the inflow of manufactured products to Egypt, which 

could threaten the domestic production and employment. 

Finally, the Egyptian economy is now in a state of change, more emphasis 

is being directed towards strengthening the private sector, promotion of 

exports, augmenting the participation of the civil society, deregulation and 

simplification of the laws and rules that govern transactions, improving the 

investment climate and raising the quality of social services and their 

regional coverage. 

However, more serious and comprehensive policies should be designed to 

deal with the questions of unemployment, inflation, the slow movement 

towards more inequality of income distribution. In fact solving gradually the 

problem of unemployment could be a way to reduce income inequality 

between rural and urban areas, between the different regions of Egypt, and 

between the different income/expenditure strata. 

Improving the investment climate for both the large and the small 

companies, the domestic and the foreign companies, could be a contributing 

factor to help raise the share of investments to GDP to more acceptable 

levels. Investment policies should also take into consideration the 

reallocation of investments towards highly populated and poor regions that 

suffer from neglect. 

Another policy goal should be the concern with raising the efficiency and 

competitiveness of the production (industry and agriculture) sectors and 

with improving the quality of the service and trade activities. The 

globalization process could cause a substantial damage especially to the 

small and medium–scale industries, which operated for a long time in a 

protected environment. Therefore, special efficiency-raising programs 


25


should be designed and implemented to support the small and medium 

enterprises. 

In addition, more concern should be directed towards the provision of high 

quality social services, as the results of empirical research indicate that 

better education and health services improve the chances of the individual in 

the labor market and raise his/her earning power. 


26


6. REFERENCES 

1. Abdel-Khalek, Gouda, (2001), Stabilization and Adjustment in Egypt: 

Reform or De-Industrialization?, Edward Elgar, UK & USA. 

2. Ash, N., (1993), Egypt Exploits its Gulf War Bonus, Euromoney, April, 

PP. 138-141. 

3. Assaad, R. & M. Rouchdy (1999), Poverty and Poverty Alleviation 

Strategies in Egypt, Cairo Papers in Social Sciences, Vol.22, 

Monograph 1, Spring. 

4. Bishay, A. (1997), Sustainable Development & Poverty Eradication, in 

Kishk, M. “Poverty of Environment & Environment of Poverty”, 

Proceeding of the National Symposium on Poverty & Environment 

Deterioration in Rural Egypt. 

5. CAPMAS, Central Authority for Public Mobility and Statistics, 2002. 

6. CBE, Central Bank of Egypt, Annual Report, various Issues. 

7. CBE, Central Bank of Egypt, Economic Bulletin, various Issues. 

8. Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), Annual Economic Review, Various 

issues, 1992- 1998, Cairo, Egypt. 

9. CSD, Civil Status Department, 2002. 

10. DHS, Demographic and Health Survey, 2000. 

11. Egypt: Human Development Report (EHDR), 1996, Institute of 

National Planning (INP). 

12. Egypt: Human Development Report (EHDR), 1997/98, Institute of 


13. Egypt: Human Development Report (EHDR), 2003, Institute of 



27


14. El-Laithy, H. (1999)Poverty Reduction Policies in Egypt: An overview, 

Eradicating Poverty Studies Series No.11. 

15. El-Laithy, H. (2001), Evaluating the Social Fund for Development 

Programs to Alleviate Poverty, in Nassar, Heba & Heba El-Laithy 

“Socioeconomic Policies & Alleviation Programs in Egypt”. 

16. El-Said Mustafa, (2003), The Twin Crises: Recession and Foreign 

Exchange, Presented at the Conference “Rising to the Challenge: 

International Crises and Economic Management in Egypt” Organized 

by CEFRS and USAID, Cairo, Egypt. 

17. Field, M., (1995), The Slow Road to Privatization, Euromoney, Middle 

EastMiddle East Executive Reports (1992), (Forecasts-Part One: 

Current Situation), Vol. 15, No. 2, February, pp. 8-12. 

18. Kheir –El-Din, Hanaa and El-Shawarby, Shierine, (2003), Trade and 

Foreign Exchange Regime in Egypt: A Policy Reform in Egypt, 

Proceedings of the Conference on “Institutional and Policy Challenges 

Facing The Egyptian Economy”, Organized by CEFRS and USAID, 

Cairo, Egypt. 

19. Metwalli, M. (2001), Poverty Alleviation Programs in Egypt: Current 

situation and future steps, in Nassar, Heba & Heba El-Laithy 

“Socioeconomic Policies & Alleviation Programs in Egypt”. 

20. Ministry of Foreign Trade, (2003), Egypt 2003, Cairo, Egypt. 

21. Ministry of Planning 

22. Nagi, S. Z. (2001), Poverty in Egypt: Human Needs and Institutional 

Capacities, Lexington Book. 

23. Nassar, H. (2001), Social Protection for the Poor, in Nassar, Heba & El- 

Laithy, H. “Socioeconomic Policies & Alleviation Programs in Egypt”. 

24. National Council for Negro Women (NCNW), 2000, Final Report, 

Egypt PVO Development Report. 


28


25. Osman, M. Osman (1999), Combating Poverty in Egypt: The Role of 

Economic Growth and Social Spending, Arab Economic Journal, No. 

17, Vol. 8. 

26. Roads, S., (1997), Investing in Egypt, (London: Committee for Middle 

East Trade, June). 

27. SIS, State Information Service, Atlas of Egypt, 2003. 

28. SIS, State Information Service, Fact book, Egypt, 2002. 

29. Subjective Poverty and Social Capital: Towards a Comprehensive 

strategy to reduce poverty (2003), Ministry of Planning in cooperation 

with the United Nations Development program. 

30. The Egyptian Cabinet Information and Decision Support Center (ECI & 

DSC), Monthly Economic Bulletin, Cairo, Egypt. 

31. The Egyptian Ministry of Public Enterprise Sector (MPES), (1998), 

Privatization Program performance from the start to 24-5-1998, Cairo, 

Egypt. 

32. Timewell, S., Egypt: It is Time to Start Letting Go, (1991), Banker, 

Vol. 141, No. 758, July, PP. 47-48. 

33. Youssef, S., M., (1996), Structural Reform Program of Egyptian State- 

Owned Enterprises: Current Impact and Future Prospects, Journal of 

Management Development, Vol. 15, No. 5, May, PP. 88-100. 


29


7. MAIN AFFILIATIONS WITH INTERNATIONAL 

ORGANIZATIONS 

Arab Bank for Economic Development of Africa (ABEDA), African 

Development Bank (ADB), Arab Fund for Economic and Social 

Development (AFESD), League of Arab States, Arab Monetary Fund 

(AMF), Council of Arab Economic Unity (CAEU), Common Market for 

Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), European Bank for 

Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Economic and Social 

Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), Food and Agriculture 

Organization of the United-Nations (FAO), G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, 

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), International Bank for 

Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), International Civil Aviation 

Organization (ICAO), International Fund for Agricultural Development 

(IFAD), International Labour Organization (ILO), International Monetary 

Fund (IMF), International Maritime Organization (IMO), Inmarsat, Intelsat, 

Interpol, International Telecommunications Union (ITU), Organization of 

Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), Organization of the Islamic 

Conference (OIC), Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe 

(OSCE) (partner), United-Nations (UN), United-Nations Educational, 

Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), United-Nations Industrial 

Development Organization (UNIDO), Universal Postal Union (UPU), 

World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU), World Health Organization 

(WHO), World Meteorological Organization (WMO), World Trade 

Organization (WTO). 


30

APPENDIX

Table 1 - Population 

Year 

No of 

Population 

* 

(000) 

Growth 

Rate 

Rate of 

Births 

(%)** 

Rate of 

Deaths 

(%)** 

Rate of 

Natural 

increase 

(%)** 

1986 47751 40 9.5 30.5 

1987 48816 2.23 39 9.5 29.5 

1988 49826 2.07 38.4 8.6 29.8 

1989 50858 2.07 33.9 8.1 25.8 

1990 51911 2.07 32.5 7.6 24.9 

1991 52985 2.07 30.9 7.4 23.5 

1992 54082 2.07 27.7 7.1 20.6 

1993 55201 2.07 29 6.9 22.1 

1994 56344 2.07 28.6 6.8 21.8 

1995 57510 2.07 27.9 6.7 21.2 

1996 58755 2.16 28.3 6.5 21.8 

1997 60080 2.26 27.5 6.5 21 

1998 61341 2.10 27.5 6.5 21 

1999 62652 2.14 27 6.4 20.6 

2000 63976 2.11 27.1 6.3 20.8 

2001 65336 2.13 26.7 6.3 20.4 

* Central Authority for Public Mobility and Statistics, Statistical Year Book, 

2002. 

** Civil Status Department

Table 2 - Population Distribution by Sex (000) 

Year Male Female Total 

r Number % Number % 

1986* 24709 0.51 23545 0.49 48254 

1996* 30352 0.51 28961 0.41 59313 

2002** 28068 0.43 37351 0.57 65419 

* Central Authority for Public Mobility and Statistics, Statistical Year Book, 2002 

** Ministry of Health and Population 

Table 3 - Population by Broad Age Groups (in percent) 

Item 1986 1996 2000 

Less than 5 15.3 11.6 12 

5-14 24.4 26.2 22.5 

14-24 16.3 20.2 20.6 

25-64 36.9 38.7 41.4 

65- 3.9 3.4 3.6 

Source: CAPMAS, Statistical Yearbook, several years 

Table 4 - Educational Profile 

Item 1996/1997 1998/1999 2000/2001 

Primary enrolment Ratio (gross)% 105 93.7 91.7 

Preparatory enrolment Ratio (gross)% 83.3 85.9 92.3 

Secondary enrolment Ratio (gross)% 46.9 47.5 71.1 

Tertiary enrolment Ratio (gross)% 26.2 29.1 30.2 

Source: Human Development Report, Institute of National Planning, 1997/1998 & 

2002/2004

Table - 5 Selected Macroeconomic Variables 

year 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 

Real GDP Rate 5 5.3 4.1 5.4 5.9 3.4 3.2 

Inflation Rate 7.3 6.2 3.8 3.8 2.8 2.4 2.4 

Unemployment rate 9.2 8.8 8.8 8.1 7.7 8.3 9.7 

Source: Ministry of Planning and Central Bank of Egypt 

Table 6 - Distribution of GDP By Economic Activity 

year 1991/1992 1996/1997 2000/2001 

Total GDP at current price (L. E. billions) 139.1 256.3 361.8 

Agriculture Product (as % of GDP) 16.5 15.7 16.5 

Industrial Product (as % of GDP) 33.3 33.6 33.3 

Service Product (as % of GDP) 50.2 50.7 50.2 

Source: Human Development Report, Institute of National Planning, 1997/1998 & 

2002/2003

Table 7 Gross Domestic Product at Factor Cost 1/ Current prices- Annual Profile (In Millions Egyptian Pounds) 

1990/91 1991/92 1992/93 1993/94 1994/95 1995/96 1996/97 1997/98 1998/99 1999/00 2000/01 2001/02 

GDP 108740 131056 146160 191010 162967 214,185 247,028 266,758 282,578 315,667 332,544 354,564 

Total Commodity Sector 55260 65373 72767 80880 93750 104,684 118,992 127,978 136,296 157,432 165,899 176,084 

Agriculture 19110 21680 24427 27500 32050 36,968 41,882 45,652 48,935 52,845 55,065 58,369 

Industry & Mining 10999 13008 13899 28030 33330 37,936 43,383 48,798 55,225 61,211 63,483 68,086 

Petroleum & Products 18020 21730 24420 13399 15120 14,760 17,461 15,534 12,995 23,300 26,300 27,280 

Electricity 1506 2220 2921 3451 3750 3,980 4,172 4,264 4,586 4,936 5,291 5,789 

Construction 5625 6735 7100 8500 9500 11,040 12,094 13,730 14,555 15,140 15,760 16,560 

Total Production Services 33962 43606 48067 52710 62250 69,850 82,889 89,072 95,573 101,794 106,858 112,911 

Transportation 2/ 921 2420 2675 17560 19700 21,500 22,695 24,049 25,916 27,909 30,112 32,694 

Trade, Finance, and Insurance 11319 14835 15926 32870 39700 45,109 56,364 61,690 63,975 68,960 71,389 75,110 

Hotels and Restaurants 21722 26351 29466 2280 2850 3,241 3,830 3,332 3,682 4,925 5,357 5,107 

Total Social Services 10416 11695 13470 3420 4140 39,651 45,147 49,708 52,709 56,441 59,787 65,268 

Housing and Real Estate 2141 2350 2585 2850 3450 3,816 4,375 4,860 5,412 6,003 6,879 7,575 

Utilities 8275 9345 10885 570 690 843 915 1,038 1,179 1,305 1,445 1,601 

Other services 9102 10383 11856 25957 30870 34992 39757 43810 46116 49133 51463 56493 

Source: Ministry of Planning. 1/ Does not include net indirect taxes. 2/ Includes Suez Canal

Table 8a Exports and Imports 1990-2002 

Year 1990/91 1991/92 1992/93 1993/94 1994/95 1995/96 1996/97 1997/98 1998/99 1999/00 2000/01 2001/02 

Export (US$ millions) 3886.8 3636.4 3416.7 3337 4957 4609 5345 5128 4445 6388 7078 6643 

Import (US$ millions) 11425 10054 10728 10647 12811 14107 15565 16899 17008 17860 16441 14644 

Trade Balance* -7538 -6418 -7312 -7310 -7854 -9498 -10220 -11771 -12563 -11472 -9363 -8001 

Export/Import* 32.67 32.67 32.67 32.67 32.67 32.67 34.34 30.34 26.13 35.77 43.05 45.36 

Exports/GDP 3.6 2.8 2.3 6.5 8.20 6.80 7.10 6.20 4.90 6.50 7.60 7.60 

Imports/GDP 10.5 7.7 7.3 20.6 21.30 20.90 20.60 20.50 18.80 18.10 17.60 16.60 

Source: Ministry of Foreign Trade, Economic Bulletin, several issues. 

Table 8 b Foreign Investment 

Year 1994/95 1995/96 1996/97 1997/98 1998/99 1999/00 2000/01 2001/02 

Foreign Direct Invest (US$ millions) 783 627 770 1104 711 1656 509 428 

Portfolio Investment (US$ millions) 4 258 1463 -248 174 473 261 45 

Source: Central Bank of Egypt, CBE’s Bulletin, 2002

Table 9 Investment and Saving during 1993-2002 

Year 1993/94 1994/95 1995/96 1996/97 1997/98 1998/99 1999/00 2000/01 2001/02 

National Saving/GDP(%) 15.1 15 12.7 16.9 16.7 17.2 16.3 16.3 14.9 

National Investment/GDP(%) 16.6 16.2 16.1 17.6 19.5 20.8 18.9 17.7 17.6 

Source: Ministry of Planning and CAPMAS

Table 10: Income Poverty vs. Capability Poverty (1996) 

Income Poverty Capability Poverty 

% of All Egypt Population 23 34 

% in Rural Egypt 23 43 

% in Urban Egypt 22.5 21 

Source: EHDR (1996) 

Table 11: Deprivation Index and Poverty Index by Governorates 

Deprivation Index Poverty Index 

Rank of deprivationpoverty 

26 

Urban Rural Urban Rural Urban Rural 

Cairo 17.18 n.a. 28.27 n.a. 3 n.a. 

Alexandria 20.17 n.a. 51.13 n.a. 8 n.a. 

Port Said 11.84 n.a. 10.85 n.a. -1 n.a. 

Suez 9.20 n.a. 9.71 n.a. 0 n.a. 

Damietta 18.43 25.34 18.45 4.65 -5 -14 

Dakhlia 19.06 43.35 38.92 34.17 5 -11 

Sharkia 17.24 71.68 49.14 42.55 11 -15 

Qalubia 20.62 52.39 65.74 50.61 15 -7 

Kafr Elsheikh 17.34 56.44 37.25 29.88 5 -17 

Garbia 10.73 52.25 38.53 26.66 11 -18 

Menofia 25.42 60.39 53.12 47.78 6 -12 

Behera 25.29 74.87 64.87 54.49 13 -9 

Ismailia 13.24 59.35 26.12 19.81 3 -23 

Giza 19.76 65.25 37.01 26.35 1 -24 

Beni Suef 45.96 99.18 62.01 64.27 2 -11 

Fayoum 26.23 100 60.70 68.41 7 -6 

Menia 40.88 98.19 78.98 66.84 15 -7 

Assuit 47.07 95.88 78.56 81.72 11 2 

Sohag 30.07 85.66 88.71 68.09 19 -3 

Qena 29.41 87.34 68.41 69.01 13 -1 

Aswan 7.613 36.02 69.62 52.53 33 1 

Source: El-Laity, Heba (2001) 

26 The rank is according to the Headcount Index P0 and the Deprivation Index, such that lower rank indicates more 

poverty or deprivation.

Table 12: Income, Distribution and Poverty 

GDP per capita (LE) 1996/97 4306.0 

Income share of lowest 40%: 

Total 1995/1996 21.9 

Rural 1995/96 25.7 

Ratio of highest 20% to lowest 20%: 

Total 1995/96 4.4 

Rural 1995/96 3.1 

Gini coefficient % 

Total 1995/96 31.6 

Rural 1995/96 24.0 

Poor households (as % of total) 1995/96 22.9 

Ultra poor (as % of total households) 1995/96 7.4 

Wages of poor households: - As % of their income 

1995/96 45.2 

- As % of total wages 1995/96 12.9 

Source: EHDR (1997/98) 

Table 13: Profile of Human Deprivation (thousands) 

Population without access to: 

- Health services 

1996 n.a. 

- Piped water 

1996 11006.9 

- Sanitation 1996 34463.4 

Children dying before age five 

Malnourished children under five 

Children not in basic or secondary school 

1996 64.8 

2001 105.929 

1997 798.8 

2001 161.096 

1996/97 3453.3 

2000/01 2383.526 

Illiterates (10+) 1996 16378.2 

Illiterates (15+): -Total 

2001 17914.971 

- Female 2001 11167.715 

Unemployed people (15+): - Total 

- Female 

Source: EHDR (1996) & (1997/98) 

1996 1538.0 

2001 1698.457 

1996 535.1 

2001 571.001

Table 14: Capability Poverty and Income Poverty in Egypt 1995(%) 

Under- 

Weight 

Unattended 

Births 

Female with 

no education 

People who 

are capability 

poor 

People who 

are income 

poor 

EGYPT 12.5 43.7 35.4 33.9 22.9 

All Urban 9.9 32.1 20.8 20.9 22.5 

All Rural 14.1 67.2 47.8 43.0 23.3 

Urban Gov. 9.1 30.8 20.4 20.1 16.0 

Lower Egypt 9.6 48.6 33.0 30.4 17.1 

-Urban 8.8 24.9 18.8 17.5 21.7 

-Rural 9.9 56.1 38.9 35.0 15.4 

Upper Egypt 16.1 67.8 48.3 44.1 34.1 

-Urban 11.0 40.4 24.1 25.2 35.0 

-Rural 17.8 77.1 59.1 51.3 33.7 

Source: EHDR (1996). 

Table15-a: Poverty measures by educational status of household for urban areas in 2000 

Using Upper Poverty Line Using Lower Poverty Line 

P0 P1 P2 P0 P1 P2 

% no. of 

H.Hold 

Illiterate 63.50 24.91 12.83 41.59 14.50 6.76 28.436 

Read and Write 46.70 14.06 5.85 23.83 6.13 2.29 24.434 

Below University 40.90 11.15 4.31 18.25 4.42 1.49 9.982 

University 19.90 4.91 1.69 8.16 1.60 0.44 15.464 

Higher than University 5.17 0.79 0.16 0.88 0.07 0.01 0.936 

Total 45.16 14.71 6.66 24.52 7.22 3.01 100 

Source: El-Laithy, Heba (2001) 

Table 15-b: Poverty measures by educational status of household for rural areas 

Using Upper Poverty Line Using Lower Poverty Line 

P0 P1 P2 P0 P1 P2 

% no. of 

H.Hold 

Illiterate 58.39 22.01 10.64 38.36 13.48 6.28 54.735 

Read 

Write 

and 35.64 10.08 3.56 17.82 4.36 1.43 23.5000 

Below 

University 

40.19 11.30 3.82 21.64 4.79 1.36 18.062 

University 22.08 5.82 1.86 10.10 2.21 0.61 3.642 

Higher than 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.061 

University 

Total 48.40 16.67 7.42 29.46 9.35 4.04 100 

Source: El-Laithy, Heba (2001)

Table 15-c: Poverty measures by educational status of household (2002) 

%Poor 

Objective Poverty Subjective Poverty 

%Non- 

Poor 

%All 

Poverty 

Rate 

%Poor 

%Non- 

Poor 

%All 

Poverty 

Rate 

Illiterate 41.04 27.92 30.51 26.55 32.39 29.62 30.51 33.78 

Read & Write only 15.79 13.82 14.21 21.93 14.55 14.05 14.21 32.58 

Basic Education 26.63 23.20 23.87 22.01 26.10 22.83 23.87 34.77 

Intermediate 14.34 22.37 20.78 13.62 19.16 21.54 20.78 29.33 

Above intermediate 0.79 3.34 2.84 5.50 2.58 2.96 2.84 28.95 

University degree 1.41 9.23 7.68 3.62 5.14 8.87 7.68 21.29 

Higher university 0.00 0.14 0.11 0.00 0.00 0.13 0.11 18.75 

Total 100 100 100 20.40 100 100 100 31.82 

Source: SPSC (2003) 

Table 16: Household's out of pocket expenditure on education 1997/98 

Pre-University University 

As part of HH % Share As part of HH % Share 

expenditure 

expenditure 

Poor 0.336 11.6 0.029 1.6 

Middle 1.225 42.4 0.659 35.4 

Rich 1.329 46.0 1.22 62.0 

Total 2.890 100 1.810 100 

Source: Osman (1999) 

Table 17: Share of income groups in Public Expenditure on Education 1997/98 (%) 

Pre-university Higher 

Education 

Poor 31.0 10.0 23.7 

Middle 50.0 36.3 45.2 

Rich 19.0 53.7 31.2 

Total 100 100 100 

Government expenditure As % of GDP 3.25 1.75 5.0 

Source: Osman (1999) 

Total

Table 18 : Distribution of Individuals by Sector of Employment and Poverty groups(2002) 

%Poor %Non- 

Poor 


%All Poverty 

Rate 

%Poor %Non- 

Poor 

%All Poverty 

Rate 

Government 13.54 26.25 23.93 10.33 23.74 24.00 23.93 27.69 

Economic agencies 0.19 0.49 0.44 8.00 0.63 0.36 0.44 40.00 

Public sector 1.83 4.03 3.63 9.18 3.64 3.62 3.63 28.02 

Private sector 84.15 68.78 71.58 21.45 71.55 71.60 71.58 27.90 

Cooperative 0.00 0.17 0.14 0.00 0.19 0.12 0.14 37.50 

NGOs 0.19 0.09 0.11 33.33 0.19 0.07 0.11 50.00 

Foreign/Joint venture 0.10 0.19 0.18 10.00 0.06 0.22 0.18 10.00 

Total 100 100 100 20.40 100 100 100 31.82 


Table 19: Demographic Characteristics by Poverty Status 

%Poor 


%Non- 

Poor 

%All P0 

%Poor 

%Non- 

Poor 

%All P0 

Gender of household head 

Male headed 1.53 88.63 89.22 20.93 86.19 9.64 89.22 30.74 

Female headed 8.47 11.37 10.78 16.03 13.81 9.36 10.78 40.78 

Total 100 100 100 20.4 100 100 100 31.82 

Demographic characteristics 

Household size 6.46 4.28 4.60 4.65 4.55 4.60 

Share of children 38.64 30.49 32.16 33.15 31.69 32.16 

Share 

males 

of adult 

31.66 32.91 32.66 31.47 33.21 32.66 

Share of 

females 

adult 

27.40 32.21 31.23 31.15 31.27 31.23 

Share of elderly 2.29 4.38 3.96 4.23 3.83 3.96 

Source: SPSC (2003)

Table 20 : Housing conditions by poverty status (2002) 


%Poor 

%Non- 

Poor 

%All %Poor 

%Non- 

Poor 

%All 

% of individuals living in houses with 

Floor covered with tiles/wood 55.53 81.81 76.45 61.58 80.14 76.45 

Connected 

network 

to water public 

88.36 93.65 92.57 92.25 92.72 92.57 

Connected to sewerage network 28.34 58.59 52.42 57.80 49.90 52.42 

Private kitchen 61.12 83.34 78.80 73.46 81.30 78.80 

Shared kitchen 2.26 1.37 1.55 1.86 1.41 1.55 

No special place 36.62 15.29 19.64 24.68 17.29 19.64 

Area of the house 96.34 93.22 93.85 78.95 100.81 93.85 

Main means of transportation 

On foot 55.29 39.64 42.83 43.15 42.68 42.83 

Private car 0.00 5.61 4.47 0.96 6.10 4.47 

Private transport 18.56 21.95 21.26 20.36 21.68 21.26 

Public transport 7.09 15.79 14.02 20.00 11.23 14.02 


Table 21 : Standard of Living Indices by Poverty Status (2002) 

Poor 

Urban Rural Total 

Non 

poor 

All 

Poor 

Objective poverty 

Housing index 86.76 94.20 93.45 49.56 56.00 54.24 56.87 73.18 69.85 

Basic needs index 68.09 89.52 87.36 80.14 89.32 86.82 77.77 89.41 87.03 

Security index 38.23 67.31 64.38 55.08 65.78 62.86 51.77 66.46 63.47 

Standard of living 

index 

20.76 31.59 30.50 24.03 28.48 27.27 23.39 29.88 28.55 

Subjective poverty 

Housing index 92.12 94.33 93.45 50.06 55.74 54.24 6926 71.12 69.85 

Basic needs index 79.23 92.78 87.36 70.90 92.52 86.82 75.07 92.61 87.03 

Security index 55.22 70.49 64.38 51.87 66.80 62.86 53.55 68.09 63.47 

Standard of living 

index 

26.32 33.29 30.50 22.05 29.14 27.27 24.19 30.59 28.55 


Non 

poor 

All 

Poor 

Non 

poor 

All

Table 22: Projects that Assisted Women in Obtaining Legal Documents 

Project Birth 

Certificates 

Identity 

Cards 

Voting 

Cards 

Suhag CDA for Children with Special Needs”Women’s 

Civil rights in Maragha” 

289 735 366 

Jesuits and Brothers` Benevolence Association “Women 

Development” 

- 60 - 

Social Fund in Beni Mazar “Civil Right Women in Markaz 

Benimazar” 

232 604 0 

World Education Marketing Link Program - 150 - 

Suhag CDA for Children with Special Needs “Women Civil 

Rights in Suhag” 

1597 2302 3136 

Assiut Childhood and Development 300 300 450 

Association NGOs Service Centre in Assiut 18 90 300 

Total 2436 5141 4252 

Table 23 The Number of Crimes Reported according to Type from 1990- 1995 

1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 

Intentional homicide 839 859 824 843 797 843 

Battery leading to death 228 221 201 207 211 215 

Battery leading to disfigurement 119 136 125 85 108 91 

Kidnapping 6 18 15 11 16 18 

Sexual harassment 180 149 162 154 194 173 

Rape 3 15 13 8 9 6 

Threats 

Thefts: 

15 5 8 7 5 3 

Burglary 4206 4529 4904 5315 5772 5815 

Robbery 370 311 312 339 375 367 

Automobile thefts 1699 1612 1761 1503 1760 1808 

Burglaries from shops 1676 1889 2166 2241 2432 2780 

Stealing cattle 390 436 376 529 482 408 

Pick pocketing 1946 2078 2107 2672 2820 3166 

Other thefts 16066 17595 19204 20223 22353 24935 

Total thefts 26353 28450 30830 32822 35994 39279 

Arson 126 115 98 109 117 160 

Cattle poisoning - 1 - 1 - - 

Ruining crops 2 2 1 - - 3 

Fraud 1954 2468 2552 2589 2776 2849 

Embezzlement 83 119 92 99 80 68 

Bribery 55 49 40 39 60 61 

Forging official documents and 

seals 

271 245 258 270 225 199 

Counterfeiting currency 62 143 210 111 87 56 

Endangering or obstructing 

means of transportation 

2 4 1 - 1 3 

Other felonies 48 69 78 71 81 121

Table 24 The Number of Crimes Reported according to Type from 1996- 1998 

1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 

Automobile thefts 1699 1612 1761 1503 1760 1808 2407 2567 2828 

Car thefts 3742 4203 2549 4847 5246 6287 7210 6161 7813 

Robbery 370 311 312 339 375 367 477 429 410 

Burglary 4206 4529 4904 5315 5772 5815 6133 6352 6368 

Sexual harassment 180 149 162 154 194 173 n/a n/a 176 

Rape 3 15 13 8 9 6 n/a n/a 21 

Source: Meliguy, A., 2000 National Center for Social and Criminal Research, Crime Experiences around the World, CRIME Rates in Egypt: A Comparative Study, Part 

2

Table 25 The Transparency International Corruption Perception Index 

Rank Country 

CPI 2002 

score 

Surveys 

used 

Standard 

deviation 

High-low 

Range 

1 Finland 9.7 8 0.4 8.9 - 10.0 

2 Denmark 9.5 8 0.3 8.9 - 9.9 

New Zealand 9.5 8 0.2 8.9 - 9.6 

4 Iceland 9.4 6 0.4 8.8 - 10.0 

5 Singapore 9.3 13 0.2 8.9 - 9.6 

Sweden 9.3 10 0.2 8.9 - 9.6 

7 Canada 9.0 10 0.2 8.7 - 9.3 

Luxembourg 9.0 5 0.5 8.5 - 9.9 

Netherlands 9.0 9 0.3 8.5 - 9.3 

10 United Kingdom 8.7 11 0.5 7.8 - 9.4 

11 Australia 8.6 11 1.0 6.1 - 9.3 

12 Norway 8.5 8 0.9 6.9 - 9.3 

Switzerland 8.5 9 0.9 6.8 - 9.4 

14 Hong Kong 8.2 11 0.8 6.6 - 9.4 

15 Austria 7.8 8 0.5 7.2 - 8.7 

16 USA 7.7 12 0.8 5.5 - 8.7 

17 Chile 7.5 10 0.9 5.6 - 8.8 

18 Germany 7.3 10 1.0 5.0 - 8.1 

Israel 7.3 9 0.9 5.2 - 8.0 

20 Belgium 7.1 8 0.9 5.5 - 8.7 

Japan 7.1 12 0.9 5.5 - 7.9 

Spain 7.1 10 1.0 5.2 - 8.9 

23 Ireland 6.9 8 0.9 5.5 - 8.1 

24 Botswana 6.4 5 1.5 5.3 - 8.9 

25 France 6.3 10 0.9 4.8 - 7.8 

Portugal 6.3 9 1.0 5.5 - 8.0 

27 Slovenia 6.0 9 1.4 4.7 - 8.9 

28 Namibia 5.7 5 2.2 3.6 - 8.9 

29 Estonia 5.6 8 0.6 5.2 - 6.6 

Taiwan 5.6 12 0.8 3.9 - 6.6 

31 Italy 5.2 11 1.1 3.4 - 7.2 

32 Uruguay 5.1 5 0.7 4.2 - 6.1 

33 Hungary 4.9 11 0.5 4.0 - 5.6 

Malaysia 4.9 11 0.6 3.6 - 5.7 

Trinidad & Tobago 4.9 4 1.5 3.6 - 6.9 

36 Belarus 4.8 3 1.3 3.3 - 5.8 

Lithuania 4.8 7 1.9 3.4 - 7.6 

South Africa 4.8 11 0.5 3.9 - 5.5 

Tunisia 4.8 5 0.8 3.6 - 5.6 

40 Costa Rica 4.5 6 0.9 3.6 - 5.9 

Jordan 4.5 5 0.7 3.6 - 5.2 

Mauritius 4.5 6 0.8 3.5 - 5.5 

South Korea 4.5 12 1.3 2.1 - 7.1 

44 Greece 4.2 8 0.7 3.7 - 5.5 

45 Brazil 4.0 10 0.4 3.4 - 4.8 

Bulgaria 4.0 7 0.9 3.3 - 5.7 

Jamaica 4.0 3 0.4 3.6 - 4.3 

Peru 4.0 7 0.6 3.2 - 5.0 

Poland 4.0 11 1.1 2.6 - 5.5 

50 Ghana 3.9 4 1.4 2.7 - 5.9 

51 Croatia 3.8 4 0.2 3.6 - 4.0

Rank Country 

CPI 2002 

score 

Surveys 

used 

Standard 

deviation 

High-low 

Range 

52 Czech Republic 3.7 10 0.8 2.6 - 5.5 

Latvia 3.7 4 0.2 3.5 - 3.9 

Morocco 3.7 4 1.8 1.7 - 5.5 

Slovak Republic 3.7 8 0.6 3.0 - 4.6 

Sri Lanka 3.7 4 0.4 3.3 - 4.3 

57 Colombia 3.6 10 0.7 2.6 - 4.6 

Mexico 3.6 10 0.6 2.5 - 4.9 

59 China 3.5 11 1.0 2.0 - 5.6 

Dominican Rep. 3.5 4 0.4 3.0 - 3.9 

Ethiopia 3.5 3 0.5 3.0 - 4.0 

62 Egypt 3.4 7 1.3 1.7 - 5.3 

El Salvador 3.4 6 0.8 2.0 - 4.2 

64 Thailand 3.2 11 0.7 1.5 - 4.1 

Turkey 3.2 10 0.9 1.9 - 4.6 

66 Senegal 3.1 4 1.7 1.7 - 5.5 

67 Panama 3.0 5 0.8 1.7 - 3.6 

68 Malawi 2.9 4 0.9 2.0 - 4.0 

Uzbekistan 2.9 4 1.0 2.0 - 4.1 

70 Argentina 2.8 10 0.6 1.7 - 3.8 

71 Cote d’Ivoire 2.7 4 0.8 2.0 - 3.4 

Honduras 2.7 5 0.6 2.0 - 3.4 

India 2.7 12 0.4 2.4 - 3.6 

Russia 2.7 12 1.0 1.5 - 5.0 

Tanzania 2.7 4 0.7 2.0 - 3.4 

Zimbabwe 2.7 6 0.5 2.0 - 3.3 

77 Pakistan 2.6 3 1.2 1.7 - 4.0 

Philippines 2.6 11 0.6 1.7 - 3.6 

Romania 2.6 7 0.8 1.7 - 3.6 

Zambia 2.6 4 0.5 2.0 - 3.2 

81 Albania 2.5 3 0.8 1.7 - 3.3 

Guatemala 2.5 6 0.6 1.7 - 3.5 

Nicaragua 2.5 5 0.7 1.7 - 3.4 

Venezuela 2.5 10 0.5 1.5 - 3.2 

85 Georgia 2.4 3 0.7 1.7 - 2.9 

Ukraine 2.4 6 0.7 1.7 - 3.8 

Vietnam 2.4 7 0.8 1.5 - 3.6

Rank Country 

CPI 2002 

score 

Surveys 

used 

Standard 

deviation 

High-low 

Range 

88 Kazakhstan 2.3 4 1.1 1.7 - 3.9 

89 Bolivia 2.2 6 0.4 1.7 - 2.9 

Cameroon 2.2 4 0.7 1.7 - 3.2 

Ecuador 2.2 7 0.3 1.7 - 2.6 

Haiti 2.2 3 1.7 0.8 - 4.0 

93 Moldova 2.1 4 0.6 1.7 - 3.0 

Uganda 2.1 4 0.3 1.9 - 2.6 

95 Azerbaijan 2.0 4 0.3 1.7 - 2.4 

96 Indonesia 1.9 12 0.6 0.8 - 3.0 

Kenya 1.9 5 0.3 1.7 - 2.5 

98 Angola 1.7 3 0.2 1.6 - 2.0 

Madagascar 1.7 3 0.7 1.3 - 2.5 

Paraguay 1.7 3 0.2 1.5 - 2.0 

101 Nigeria 1.6 6 0.6 0.9 - 2.5 

102 Bangladesh 1.2 5 0.7 0.3 - 2.0 

Explanatory notes 

A more detailed description of the CPI methodology is available at 

http://www.transparency.org/cpi/index.html#cpi or at www.gwdg.de/~uwvw/2002.html 

A CPI 2002 Score relates to perceptions of the degree of corruption as seen by business 

people and risk analysts, and ranges between 10 (highly clean) and 0 (highly corrupt). 

A Surveys Used refers to the number of surveys that assessed a country’s performance. 

A total of 15 surveys were used from nine independent institutions, and at least three 

surveys were required for a country to be included in the CPI. 

Standard Deviation indicates differences in the values of the sources: the greater the 

standard deviation, the greater the differences of perceptions of a country among the 

sources. 

High-Low Range provides the highest and lowest values of the different sources 

Source: www.transparency.org

Table 26 Maternal Health Indicators, Egypt 2000 

Indicator (% of ever married women 15 to 49) Urban Rural Total 

Care during pregnancy 

Anti Natal Care Any 71.2 47.2 52.9 

Regular 56.2 32.8 36.7 

One or more TT injection(s) 75.3 80.4 72.5 

Other medical care 9.9 13.2 11.4 

Any medical care 87.6 80.7 85.3 

Pregnancy care indicator by background 

characteristics 

Weighed 75.6 48.5 59.6 

Height measured 43.3 24.9 32.4 

Blood pressure measured 76.1 46.2 58.4 

Urine sample 63.6 33.4 45.7 

Blood sample 64.1 34.3 46.5 

Iron tablets/syrup 39.4 20.7 28.3 

Told where to go for complications 22.6 14.6 17.9 

Place of delivery 

Public health facility 33.4 15.2 22.2 

Private health facility 36.4 19.4 26 

At home 30 65.3 51.7 

Other 0.1 0 0 

Assistance during delivery 

Doctor 73.3 41 53.5 

Trained 8.1 7 7.4 

Birth attendant 17 47.1 35.5 

Relative/other 1.1 3.3 2.5 

No one 0.4 1.5 1.1 

Postnatal care by background characteristics 

Delivered in facility 69.8 34.6 48.2 

Had any postnatal checkup 2.5 5.4 4.3 

Had checkup within 2 days of birth 0.6 1.5 1.1

Table 27 Child health indicator, Egypt 2000 

Indicator (% of children below 5 years) Urban Rural Total 

Vaccinations by background characteristics 

All 92.8 91.8 92.2 

Prevalence of diarrhea 

Diarrhea in the preceding two weeks 6.1 7.8 7.1 

Prevalence and treatment of acute respiratory infection (ARI) 

Percentage of children with cough and short, rapid breathing 7.8 10.6 9.5 

Percentage of children ill with ARI symptoms receiving 

“Medical care from” Any health provider 77.4 60.6 66 


“Medical care from” Public sector provider 23.3 25.1 24.5 


“Medical care from” Private sector provider 56.1 36.7 42.9 

Antibiotics 81.6 72.5 75.4 

Initial breastfeeding 

Percentage ever breastfed 94.8 95.9 95.5 

Percentage who started breastfeeding Within one hour of birth 53.5 59.1 57 

Percentage who started breastfeeding Within one day of birth 87.6 88.5 88.1 

Percentage who received pre-lacteal feeding 52.2 54.4 53.6 

Median duration of breastfeeding 

Among children under age three, median duration in months 

Any breastfeeding 17.2 19 18.4 


Exclusive breastfeeding 2.2 3.6 3 


Full breastfeeding1 2.8 4.4 3.8 

Percentage of children under age two bottle fed 18.8 13.9 15.8 

Nutritional status by socioeconomic characteristics 

Severe stunting 4 7.7 6.2 

Severe or moderate stunting 13.8 21.8 18.7 

Prevalence of anemia among children 6-59 months 

Sever anemia 0.1 0.3 0.2 

Moderate anemia 8.7 12.8 11.2 

Mild anemia 14.8 20.9 18.5 

Not anemic 74.6 64.5 68.4 

Missing 1.8 1.6 1.7

JORDAN 

Royal Scientific Society


METHODOLOGY 

According to the terms of reference, this report was conducted using the 

three required activities: 

1. Study on national literature; a list of major references is attached in 

annex 1. 

2. Analysis of data from national sources. 

3. Interviews with privileged witnesses and key-players (some of whom 

having responsibility for public policy decisions). Annex 2 presents a list 

of the interviewees. 


75



Jordan is a small Arab country with inadequate supplies of natural 

resources. Since the early 1990s, Jordan has undertaken considerable 

stabilization and adjustment efforts. The IMF, the World Bank Group, EU, 

and several bilateral donors have supported these efforts. The economy’s 

initial response to the Government’s reform program was strong. Economic 

fundamentals in the first half of this decade were quite satisfactory: a high 

average growth rate of 7.6 percent per annum (until 1996 when it began to 

deteriorate). A reduction in the fiscal deficit, low inflation, and sound 

monetary management, which helped in the build-up of foreign exchange 

reserves to a healthy level (current balance of over 5 months of coverage of 

imports). The current account during this period remained essentially 

balanced. The economic situation began to deteriorate in 1996 with growth 

falling below the population growth rate resulting in approximately a twopercent 

decline in per capita income per annum during 1996-98 period. The 

decline occurred largely because the country faced several unfavorable 

factors that were outside its control, including lack of progress in the peace 

process, declining oil prices, thus reducing the market for Jordanian exports 

in neighboring countries, and spillover from the general slowdown in the 

Asian economies. 

1.1 Population 1 : 

5,29000 

Age structure: 

0-14 years: 36.6% (male 991,370; female 949,247) 

15-64 years: 60% (male 1,698,568; female 1,485,261) 

65 years and over: 3.4% (male 90,186; female 92,838) 

1 Data are for the year 2002 unless other wise mentioned. 


76


Population growth rate: 2.8% 

Birth rate: 29 births/1,000 population 

Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population 

Net migration rate: 7.18 migrants/1,000 population (2001 est.) 

Sex ratio: 

at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female 


under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 

15-64 years: 1.14 male(s)/female 

65 years and over: 0.97 male(s)/female 

total population: 1.1 male(s)/female 

Infant mortality rate: 22.1 deaths/1,000 live births 

Life expectancy at birth: female: 72.4 years male: 70.6 years 

Total fertility rate: 3.7 children born/woman 

Ethnic groups: Arab 98%, Circassian 1%, Armenian 1% (Armenians only 

make 0.1% of the population. There are also Chechens, Turkmens, and 

Kurds). 

Religions: Sunni Muslim 92%, Christian 6% (majority Greek Orthodox, but 

some Greek and Roman Catholics, Syrian Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox, 

Armenian Orthodox, and Protestant denominations), other 2% (several 

small Shi’a Muslim and Druze communities) (2001 est.) 

77


Literacy: 

definition: age 15 and over can read and write 


total population: 86.6% 

male: 93.4% 

female: 79.4% (1995 est.) 

1.2. Economy - overview 

GDP: $9296 million, GDP - real growth rate: 4.9% 

GDP- per capita: $1745 

GDP - composition by sector: 

agriculture: 3.6% 

industry: 27.9% 

services: 68.5% 

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.9% (2001) 

Labor force: 1.27 million. 

Note: in addition, at least 300,000 workers are employed abroad (2001) 

Labor force - by occupation: Services 83%, industry 13%, agriculture 5% 

(2001 est.) 

Unemployment rate: 14-15% 

Industries: Phosphate mining, pharmaceuticals, petroleum refining, 

cement, potash, light manufacturing, text tile, pharmaceuticals, and tourism. 

Agriculture - products: Wheat, barley, citrus, tomatoes, melons, olives; 

sheep, goats, poultry. 

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Exports: $21663million. 

Exports - commodities: phosphates, fertilizers, potash, agricultural 

products, manufactured goods, pharmaceuticals, and textiles. 

Exports - partners: Iraq 19.9%, US 18.8%, India 10.5%. 

Imports: $4974.1 million. Imports - commodities: crude oil, machinery, 

transport equipment, food, live animals, manufactured goods 

Imports - partners: Iraq 15.5, Germany 9.2%, US 7.2%, China 6.6. 

Debt - external: $7544.1 million. 

1.3. Geography 

Area: 89,300 sq km, Neighbors: Iraq, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Syria, West 

Bank. 

Coastline: 26 km. 

Climate: Mostly arid desert; rainy season in west (November to April). 

Terrain: Mostly desert plateau in east, highland area in west; Great Rift 

Valley separates East and West Banks of the Jordan River. 

Elevation extremes: Lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m. 


Highest point: Jabal Ram 1,734 m. 

Natural resources: Phosphates, potash, shale oil. 

Land use: arable land: 2.87%; permanent crops: 1.52%; other: 95.61% (1998 

est.) 

Natural hazards: droughts; periodic earthquakes. 

Environment - current issues: limited natural fresh water resources; 

deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification. 

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Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate 

Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered 

Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test 

Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands. Signed, but not ratified: none of 

the selected agreements 


The main problems facing Jordan at present are: 

- Regional instability 

- External debts 

- Oil supplies 

- High unemployment 

- Rising poverty 

- High levels of migration into the cities 

- Inadequate health and social services 

- Low participation of women in the workforce 

- Inadequate business and entrepreneurial skills 


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2. HEALTH 


There is no special definition of Health in Jordan; the official one is the 

definition of the World Health Organization (WHO): “ Health is a state of 

complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the 

absence of disease or infirmity.” 

2.2. Policy and Legislation Orientation 

Health care is an important component of an economy that involves the 

provision of goods and services by both the private and public sectors. As 

health care technologies have advanced rapidly in the past few decades and 

the demand for health care continues to grow tremendously, the 

Government has decide to improve and develop the health care system. 

Jordan performs relatively well (in comparison to the other similar 

countries) in terms of overall access to services, when measured by 

indicators such as infant mortality and life expectancy. However, the health 

care system in Jordan still suffers from some inefficiencies: 

- Clustered distribution of health care centers. 

- Cost-effectiveness. 

- Efficiency. 

- Quality of service delivery. 

As a result, the Government aims to reduce health care inefficiencies and 

contain growth in health expenditures, and increase the level of qualitative 

investments in healthcare services through: 


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- Improving the quality of services. 

- Improving the geographic distribution of resources and services. 

- Increasing private sector participation in the health insurance system. 

- Modernizing health facilities and equipment. 

- Developing a health information and research center. 

- Improving purchasing systems. 

The Government of Jordan has decided against passive acceptance of the 

status quo and instead is embarking upon a long-term reform program 

which will bring in all major players in the sector (the Ministry of Health, 

the Royal Medical Services, Jordan University Hospital, and the private 

sector). 

The first phase of this reform will focus on three key areas: (i) containing 

growth in health expenditures; (ii) assuring the efficient utilization of 

physical facilities; and (iii) improving delivery and quality of health care 

services. Building upon this foundation, the second phase will likely be 

expanded to address equity (universal health insurance), quality (medical 

education, regulation of the private sector), management (in the context of 

government-wide civil-service reform), and cost effectiveness (rationalizing 

the public/private mix). The five components of the project to support the 

first phase of the reform strategy are: 

- Rationalizing Jordan’s Health Delivery System. Currently, most facility 

rehabilitation/construction decisions are based on incomplete investment 

strategies, which do not systematically consider the demographic and 

epidemiological characteristics of the population and/or the existing 

resources available. Similarly, there are no standards and norms applied 

in the construction of facilities to ensure efficiency in the allocation of 

space and relative proximity of services. Rationalizing the investment 

strategy for health facilities in Jordan is a priority need and would lead to 

improved economic efficiency, clinical effectiveness and quality of 

health services. 

As a tool for rationalizing investment decisions for public sector 

hospitals, the Government is preparing a health facility master-plan that 


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incorporates norms and standards, overall needs, and existing public and 

private sector capacity. The master-plan will identify and prioritize all 

health facility investment needs. 

- Developing and Implementing Health Information Systems. This 

component will address two sets of needs: (i) for improved public health, 

it will help develop a national health information system which will 

provide the Government with relevant and timely epidemiological data; 

and (ii) for improved service quality and efficiency at the health facility 

level, help develop management information systems for patient records, 

services, inventory, and personnel. Financing would be provided for 

equipment, technical assistance, software development/purchase, and 

training. 

- Improving Hospital Financing and Management. This component will 

include the development and implementation of a financing system for 

paying hospitals and physicians, which supports the efficient use of 

resources. Developing this new system will involve: (i) establishing clear 

and consistent accounting standards that would apply to all public health 

facilities; (ii) setting up hospital-based financial management systems; 

and (iii) adopting modern approaches to pay hospitals such as case-mix 

adjusted global budgets and various physician incentive arrangements. 

The goal would be to provide hospital managers and employees’ 

incentives to be efficient by linking budgetary allocations to established 

criteria and giving managers the tools to operate autonomously and to be 

more responsive to current or emerging demands. The project will 

finance the development of management tools (e.g., financial and 

accounting systems), equipment, and training necessary to implement 

these systems. 

- Reforming the Pharmaceutical Sector. Pharmaceuticals account for over 

one-fourth of all health spending. Such high expenditures reflect 

inefficiency, waste, and improper use of drugs. To improve the quality 

and efficiency of the pharmaceutical sector, a series of reforms would be 

undertaken: (i) promoting generic substitution; (ii) implementing 

treatment protocols and training in the rational use of drugs; (iii) adopting 

essential drug lists; (iv) improving overall sector management and 

pricing policies; and (iv) reforming the processes for drug procurement, 

storage, distribution, and quality control. Specific inputs will include 

upgrading the facilities and operations of the drug quality control lab, 


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providing technical assistance to develop joint procurement mechanisms 

for the public health sector and to draft legislation which will serve as the 

legal framework for the pharmaceutical reform program, and providing 

training in the use of essential drug lists and treatment protocols. 

Financing would be provided for rehabilitation of the quality control 

laboratory, laboratory and computer equipment, technical assistance, 

studies, workshops, and materials development (e.g., to support treatment 

protocols). 

- Continuing the Reform Process. This project is addressing some, but not 

all, of the issues identified in the Health Sector Study. Sectoral reform is 

not a static process; it is instead to be implemented incrementally in 

response to evolving needs and demands. This component will support 

the continued preparation, evaluation, and monitoring of the sector 

reform program. The Project Management Unit (PMU) for health reform, 

in collaboration with the Higher Health Council (HHC) will commission 

studies and recruit technical expertise as needed to explore alternative 

reform proposals. In addition, this component will support effective 

implementation of the project activities by supporting the PMU and 

project implementation units (PIUs) to carry out their project 

management and monitoring functions. 

2.3. Sources 

Ministry of Health (www.moh.gov.jo) 

National information system (www.nic.gov.jo) 

Ministry of Social Development (www.mosd.gov.jo) 

Higher Population Council 

Department of Statistics (www.dos.gov.jo) 

Ministry of planning (www.mop.gov.jo) 


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Jordan is in the midst of an epidemiological transition with acute respiratory 

infections and prenatal diseases still causing a large loss of productive life 

while non-communicable diseases and illnesses are becoming increasingly 

prevalent. Infant and child mortality indicators are favorable compared with 

other countries in the region and with other countries at similar levels of 

income, although they are still high by OECD standards. Despite significant 

declines in fertility in recent years (from 5.6 children per woman in 1990), 

Jordan’s total fertility rate (TFR) of 4.6 children per woman is still quite 

high. Population growth is high largely as a result of high fertility, low 

mortality, and migration. 

- The Health Sector Study highlighted that while the health system 

performs relatively well in terms of overall access and outcomes, it is 

expensive and inefficient, and there are geographic maldistributions of 

resources. Jordan spends about 8 percent of its GDP on health care, well 

in excess of most middle income and even some western industrialized 

countries. While Jordan provides coverage for its poor and disabled, an 

estimated 20 percent of the population lacks formal coverage, and 

Government financing for health care could be better structured to reflect 

ability to pay. Lack of a coordinated policy apparatus and relevant data 

for decision-making preclude effective policy-making across Jordan’s 

multiple public and private financing arrangements and delivery systems. 

- There are significant inefficiencies in the service delivery system. There 

is excess overall capacity as evidenced by a hospital occupancy rate of 63 

percent (69 percent in the public sector and 49 percent in the private 

sector; 80 percent is the generally accepted benchmark). Inappropriate 

hospital use results from lack of an effective referral system and a 

hospital-based orientation for treatment. Inefficient case management 

leads to costly inpatient treatment of conditions that could be treated on 

an outpatient basis and excessive use of expensive drugs. The centralized 

allocation process for supplying and equipping facilities and paying 

personnel in the public sector provides few incentives for the efficient 

delivery of services at the individual institution level. Finally, there are 

inefficiencies in terms of overall management, procurement, storage, 

distribution, pricing policies, and the rational use of pharmaceuticals, 


85


which account for over one-fourth of health spending and two percent of 

GDP. 

- There is limited data to evaluate the quality of care and consumer 

satisfaction. The rapid growth in the private sector suggests 

dissatisfaction with the services provided through the public sector and is 

leading towards a two-tiered system of care (those who can afford to pay 

go to the private sector while those who cannot are relegated to the public 

health facilities). The lack of management systems (e.g., for patient 

records, inventory) in the public sector do not foster good case 

management and follow-up. Indeed, there are few incentives in the public 

sector for providers to be concerned about the quality of services 

provided. Quality could also be jeopardized by the lack of standards and 

norms for infrastructure. 


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3. POVERTY 


Poverty in Jordan was defined from the standard of living and satisfaction of 

basic needs perspective. The Ministry of Social Development defines 

poverty as a “state of physical deprivation characterized by low food 

consumption (quantitatively and qualitatively), and the deterioration of 

health and educational status, the lack of durable goods and other physical 

assets, in addition to the loss of reserves to face difficult conditions, like 

illness and disability”. 

The Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) defines 

poverty as “the inability of the individual or the family to provide necessary 

resources to meet its basic needs”. 2 

Others defined poverty as “the inability to satisfy the minimum standards of 

the basic needs; food, shelter, clothes, education, health, and transportation. 3 

Jordan River Foundation (one of the active NGOs in Jordan) defines the 

poorest of the poor as those families that have nothing, where the family 

members must take turns to eat breakfast. 


The Kingdom’s new comprehensive strategy, through the collaborative 

efforts of specialized working groups from the private and public sectors, 

donor parties and non-governmental organizations, adopts a multi-sectoral 

approach to improving living conditions for the poor and near poor. 

2 The Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia ESCWA Poverty in Western Asia 1997 

3 Poverty Assessment Report: The case of Jordan ,Moh’d M. Khasawneh june 2001. 


87


The strategy, proposes a variety of programs to upgrade health, education 

and capacity-building opportunities for the less privileged, also builds upon 

existing national initiatives for poverty reduction. 

Investment in education, as described in the strategy, is “one of the most 

powerful determinants of poverty,” and unequal access to educational 

opportunity “a strong correlate of income equity.” 

In terms of access to education and formal and non-formal attainment levels, 

Jordan ranks high compared with other Arab countries, as government 

efforts have remained steadfast since 1989 to reform its education sector and 

improve school infrastructure, particularly in underprivileged areas. 

However, while efforts to reducing illiteracy have produced positive results, 

availability of schools remains relatively low in rural areas. This has denied 

communities in these areas access to education that could improve their 

socio-economic status. 

The strategy reports that illiteracy levels are as high as 15 per cent in some 

urban areas and 24 per cent in rural areas. The rate of illiteracy for rural 

women is twice as high as those for urban men and women. Adult literacy 

centers established by the Ministry of Education are providing sufficient 

education to local communities. But the national strategy suggests that these 

centers be used to provide other services for community development. 

These would include training for better employment and courses on how to 

run a business as well as vocational skills, especially for women. 

“Adult literacy and other basic skills imparted to adults and out-of-school 

youth through non-formal programs directly improve family income 

generation and have strong impacts on family health status and children’s 

educational attainment and other efforts for poverty alleviation.” Similar 

investments are proposed to boost the vocational capacity of the near poor 

segments of society and young citizens, as another component of Jordan’s 

national strategy. 

Vocational training costs the government three times as much as academic 

education per student every year — JD600 as compared to JD200. 

While the government is working to reform and boost vocational training, 

the strategy points out, however, that this area has not been addressed in a 

satisfactory manner. 


88


“It [vocational training] attracts mainly those who cannot afford the 

academic line or those seeking quick skills to get to work and generate 

income for the family.” 

To ensure sustainable development, the strategy stresses the necessity of 

enhancing the capacities of fresh graduates by initiating specific training 

programs to meet the competitive needs of the global market through closer 

cooperation with the private sector. 

In the same way, the strategy also suggests the use of school premises after 

hours, to give graduates of vocational training an opportunity to train and 

get more experience in the practical aspects of their work for better 

employment opportunities in the future. 

It suggests that the Higher Council for Vocational Training set criteria for 

ranking vocational training graduates and provide advisory services to 

companies as well as training centers as to what skills and professions are 

needed for the influx of new graduates and young Jordanians seeking 

employment every year in a tight private and public sector job market. 

This, as envisaged by the strategy, would in the long run minimize the need 

to bring in foreign workers. 

The strategy’s objective is “to serve the poor, alleviate destitution and make 

them productive individuals dependent only on themselves at the end of the 

day.” 

The government poverty alleviation policy 

The main foci of the national poverty alleviation are: 

- To understand, measure and evaluate poverty phenomena in order to 

direct policies and services in a better way. This can be done via drawing 

the poverty maps. 

- To increase the assistant level to the beneficiaries of National Aid Fund 

(NAF) and to expand the beneficiaries base through the restructuring of 

NAF and establishing a database to connect all aid funds in Jordan. 


89


- Moving from assistant oriented program to work oriented programs via 

replacing cash assistance by the supplementary income program. 

- Coordination with the Ministry of Labor to provide the poor with training 

and employment opportunities. 

- Support the micro-finance programs 

- Increase the employment opportunities in rural areas through developing 

the rural communities. 

- To reduce the role of the public sector in generating jobs and establish a 

public – private sector partnership to solve labor market problems. 

- To make sure that the poor get a better health care and family planning 

services. 

- Increase cooperation with government and NGOs and international 

organization to control population growth rate. 

- To work with local communities to identify their problems and to 

enhance their health conditions using several programs like the Health 

Village Program. 

- To ensure the educational system response to the needs of the poor 

through: improving the school infrastructure, provide children feed 

programs; provide the poor children with school requirements, etc. 

- Widen awareness of the effort to alleviate poverty. 

- Develop and activate the social development centers 

3.3. Sources 


National Information System (www.nic.gov.jo) 



90


The Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) 

(www.escwa.org.lb) 


In the struggle to fight poverty, several challenges will be facing Jordan in 

the coming years. The first one is to reach a widely acceptable definition for 

poverty, and to come up with solid poverty line or lines according to the 

different geographical areas. The second challenge is to move from the 

concept of poverty to the concept of deprivation. Many researchers tends to 

believe that Jordan has reached a state of development that enables it to 

make this move. Another aspect to be mentioned is the equality issue. There 

is a wide belief that development in the last decade caused an increase in 

inequality, and the fall of the middle class. The results of the income & 

expenditures survey of 2002/2003 may answer most of these questions. 


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4. CRIME 


In Jordan, crime is every act that the law considers to be a crime. No 

punishment can be imposed without a statement in the law. 

Jordanian Criminal Code 

The Criminal Code adopted in 1956, which had been amended many times, 

contained the bulk of the country’s criminal law. In addition, certain 

codified civil statutes also prescribed penalties for acts such as libel, 

adultery, and publication of material endangering the security of the 

kingdom. Individuals could not be punished except for acts made criminal 

by virtue of penalties prescribed by law. Other than where specified, a 

person could also not be punished for committing a criminal act in the 

absence of criminal responsibility or intent, both of which were defined by 

the code. As a safeguard of personal liberty, the government had the burden 

of proving both the defendant’s commitment of the act and the admissible 

intent of the defendant before guilt could be established. 

The criminal code, in traditional French form, divided criminal offenses into 

three categories according to the severity of the applicable punishments. In 

English common law these categories are equated roughly to felonies, 

misdemeanors, and minor violations. Punishments for felonies ranged from 

death by hanging to imprisonment for periods ranging from three years to 

life. Punishments for misdemeanors included imprisonment for periods 

ranging from three weeks to three years and a variety of fines. Minor 

violations could be punished by imprisonment for less than three weeks, 

small fines, or reprimands by the court. In cases involving misdemeanors or 

minor violations, a judge also could invoke preventive measures including 

detention for psychiatric examination, forfeiture of material goods, or 

closure of a place of business. The Criminal Code provided for minimum 

penalties for all major infractions rather than relying on the discretion of the 

courts. 


92


The death penalty was authorized for murder, arson of an inhabited 

building, assassination of the king (or attempts on his life), and a broad 

range of serious crimes defined as threats to the security of the state. These 

latter offenses included acts such as treason, espionage on behalf of an 

unfriendly foreign power, and armed insurrection. 

Imprisonment for life was imposed for such felonies as lesser crimes against 

national security, homicide during commission of a misdemeanor or that 

resulted from torture, and the more serious forms of theft. Shorter 

imprisonment was prescribed for these same offenses if mitigating 

circumstances are warranted. Such punishment also was authorized for 

terrorist activity, membership in subversive organizations, counterfeiting, 

forgery of official documents, and abduction. 

Misdemeanors included such offenses as gambling in public places, bribery, 

perjury, simple forgery, slander, embezzlement, assault and battery, and 

disturbing the peace. The influence of sharia was still evident in the 

imposition of prison sentences for desertion of a child, abortion, marrying a 

girl under the age of sixteen, openly ridiculing the Prophet Muhammad, and 

breaking the fast of Ramadan. Sharia also was important in the criteria for 

justifiable homicide. No penalty was imposed for the immediate killing of 

someone who defiled a person’s or a family’s honor. 

Minor violations covered by the code included traffic violations, seeking 

redress for a crime without recourse to civil authorities, public drunkenness, 

and violations of administrative regulations such as licensing and safe 

housing requirements. These infractions were punishable with or without 

proven intent. Most minor violations resulted in fines being assessed against 

the offender. 


The government policy to face crime and to protect the Jordanian 

community from its evils is divided into two tracks; the first is to adopt 

preventive measures throughout the development of the justice authorities 

and the continuous support to the security forces in Jordan and providing it 

with its needs in terms of advanced weapons and equipments, and to 

develop its manpower throughout the extensive training programs. In 


93


addition to monitoring criminal statistics, which is the main way to 

understand the crime phenomena and its relation with other socio-economic 

indicators. The second track is the capture of criminals and the imposition of 

legal punishments. In 1986, the concept of the prison system was 

revolutionized with the establishment of modern and well-equipped 

rehabilitation centers overseen by a specialized department – the 

Department of Rehabilitation Centers, with the following duties and 

objectives: 

1. Overseeing the procedures of inmate admission and release. 

2. Overseeing the legal and administrative procedures concerning the 

treatment of inmates. 

3. Administering aftercare for released inmates and their families. 

4. Providing vocational training and literacy classes. 

5. Preparing statistical reports relating to inmates. 

Objectives: 

- Reinforcing the positive aspects of an inmate’s character, with the aim to 

transform him/her into a sociable, law-abiding citizen. 

- Administering medical care to convicts. 

- Narrowing down the chances of inmates becoming repeat offenders. 

- Providing religious education to inmates. 

Presently, there are 10 rehabilitation centers in Jordan. 


94


4.3. Sources 


National Information System (www.nic.gov.jo) 


Department of Public Security www.psd.gov.jo 

Interpol: www.interpol.com 


The most critical issue regarding crime prevention in Jordan is the challenge 

of facing the continuous growth in the crime phenomena and their 

increasing cost. The incidence of crime has increased in Jordan from 626 

crimes per 100,000 in 1988 to 1,016 in 1997, while the cost to the 

governmental departments involved in crime prevention formed 6.5% of the 

total governmental expenditures in 1997. Organized crime in Jordan is 

growing, and it is no longer limited to smuggling or drugs, which is causing 

strains in the judicial system, which needs more improvements. 

One of the most critical and debatable issues in Jordan nowadays is the 

phenomenon of the so-called crime of honor. The law in Jordan reduces the 

punishment of the man who finds his wife or close relatives with another 

man in an indecent situation and commits murder as a result, and many 

times he would get off scot-free. The original intent of the law was to help 

those who were forced to commit such a crime because they are very angry 

and can’t control their acts. However, this right was misused, as several 

women were killed by their husbands or relatives for reasons that had no 

relation to ethics or honor. The Government amended the law in the absence 

of the parliament, but the new parliament rejected it, and the issue is still 

pending. 


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5. TRENDS AND CORRELATIONS 

5.1. The evolution from the structural adjustment of the 

1980s 

Economic Developments 

During the 1970s and early 1980s, Jordan enjoyed relatively high growth 

rates in real GDP; as well as an expansion in the basic infrastructure and 

welfare services. These achievements were assisted by external assistance, 

mainly from oil-exporting Arab countries as a result of the increase of oil 

prices, workers’ remittances, and the expansion of the Jordanian agricultural 

and manufacturing exports to these markets. However, despite these 

achievements, Jordan could not overcome the basic imbalances in its 

economic structure, namely budget and balance of trade deficits. The 

increase in GNP led to increase in total consumption to levels higher than 

GDP levels, resulting in negative domestic savings and large imports. 

Accordingly, dependency on external resources increased to bridge the 

consumption gab and to finance the gross domestic capital formation. As a 

result of the decline in oil prices in 1983, the region was hit with recession. 

The economy of Jordan was affected negatively by the reduced demand for 

its exports to these markets, lowering the demand for Jordanian workers, 

and reducing regional assistance to Jordan due to the decline in revenues. 

These factors produced a decline in real GDP growth rates from about 11 

percent in the 1973-1980 period, to about 2.5 percent during 1983-1987, and 

as a result per capita income decreased and unemployment increased to 

about 9 percent in 1988. As the situation continued to deteriorate, and grants 

and workers’ remittances continued to decline. In addition to the withdrawal 

of foreign exchange reserves at the Central Bank, the government covered 

its deficits (trade and budget deficits) by internal and external borrowing, 

where total external debt constituted about 173 percent of the GDP, and 303 

percent of the exports of goods and services in 1988. As a result, the foreign 

reserves at the Central Bank declined considerably and the Jordanian Dinar 

devalued by about 50 percent. In consequence, the cost of living increased 


96


by 6.6 percent compared with zero percent in 1986 and 1987. As the 

measures taken by the government to improve the foreign exchange position 

and the budget deficit were not sufficient without debt rescheduling and 

external resources, the costs of these measures would prove to be too high. 

Accordingly, the government reached an agreement with IMF and the WB 

for an economic adjustment program for the 1989-1993 period in order to 

revitalize economic activity and overcome the economic crisis. This 

program was amended in the 1992-1998 period, because of the Gulf Crisis 

in 1990. These measures included rationing public expenditure, increasing 

the tax base to include more items and increasing tax rates for certain items. 

Due to a weak industrial base, the performance of the Jordanian economy on 

average during the program period was below the targeted levels. Therefore, 

the government adopted a privatization program in order to enhance the 

efficiency of the economy by greater role of the private sector. This program 

was extended on a yearly basis until this year 2003. The government stated 

that next year a national reform program will replace the previous 

arrangements with the IMF and WB. 

Poverty in Jordan 

Before mid-1980s, poverty in Jordan was not seen as a problem, where the 

interest was to emphasize income distribution. Due to the economic and 

social achievements during the 1970s and early 1980s, Gini (?) co-efficient 

decreased from about 38 percent in 1973 to about 32 percent in 1982 

(Haddad, 1990). However, since the mid-1980s poverty became one of the 

challenges facing the Jordanian economy, due to certain policies and 

procedures undertaken to tackle the economic deterioration. These policies, 

which were a helpful ones from an economic perspective, were harmful 

ones for low-income and vulnerable groups in society. 

Combating Poverty 

Within the national policy framework to alleviate poverty, nongovernmental 

organizations (NGOs) and international agencies were 

encouraged to participate to support governmental programs. The main 

concern of the NGOs is to help certain groups to improve their quality of 

life, by enhancing voluntary work and women’s participation, especially in 


97


the rural and poor areas. This is done through soft loans for family projects 

and training programs. However, due to weak performance of some current 

programs, the government adopted in 1997 a Social Productivity Program. A 

minimum wage Law was approved, where the minimum wage was set at JD 80 per 

month 4 . 

Health 

Despite the fiscal constraints, strong Government commitments to health, 

education, and other social programs, have resulted in impressive social 

indicators. With a literacy rate of over 80 percent and well-developed 

human resource base, Jordan has compensated for its poor natural resource 

endowments by exporting its surplus labor to the neighboring oil-exporting 

countries. This proposed project focuses on Jordan’s health sector, a sector 

with critical human and economic implications that currently accounts for 

almost 8 percent of Jordan’s economy. 

The Health Sector Studies highlighted that while the health system performs 

relatively well in terms of overall access and outcomes, it is expensive and 

inefficient, and there are geographic maldistributions of resources. Jordan 

spends about 8 percent of its GDP on health care, well in excess of most 

middle income and even some western industrialized countries. While 

Jordan provides coverage for its poor and disabled, an estimated 20 percent 

of the population lacks formal coverage, and Government financing for 

health care could be better structured to increase this coverage. Lack of a 

coordinated policy apparatus and relevant data for decision-making preclude 

effective policy-making across Jordan’s multiple public and private 

financing arrangements and delivery systems. 

As a result of the expansion of the health services provided all over the 

country, as well as public awareness campaigns regarding family planning, 

and the increasing number of doctors and technical assistant staff, the infant 

mortality rate declined from about 7.8 percent in 1973 to about 2.8 percent 

in 1999. The life expectancy at birth increased, for both male and female, 

from about 57.4 years for males and 59.8 years for females in 1973, to about 

4 Moh’d M. Khasawneh, ‘Poverty Assessment Report: The case of Jordan’, June 2001. 


98


69 for males and 71 for females in 1999 (DOS, 1999). Due to the increase in 

number of doctors and assistants staff, the number of inhabitants per doctor 

decreased from about 2,480 in 1973 to about 506 in 1999, and that per nurse 

from about 870 in 1973 to about 334 in 1999. 

However, these services have been provided, in addition to the Ministry of 

Health, by both the private sector and the military through 84 hospitals with 

8,726 beds (population/bed ratio is 566 persons/bed), and comprehensive 

health centers (46), primary health centers (335), peripheral health centers 

(266), and maternity and childhood centers (337). 

5.2. Correlations between poverty, health, crime and other 

development indicators in the last decade 

During the last decade, poverty became the major issue for policy-makers 

and to society. Crime incidence witnessed some increase following the first 

Gulf War and the return of 300,000 Jordanians, most of whom were born 

and raised outside Jordan. In addition, health services started to face 

increasing pressure. 

These three phenomena are interrelated, but poverty remains the father of all 

evil. Most of the studies that deal with poverty in Jordan reported a bad 

health situation in the poor communities, and the relation between health 

and poverty can go in both directions. Poverty produces poor health 

condition, and bad health conditions (serious disease or bad injuries) can 

drive semi- or near poor individuals and their families under the poverty 

line. 

Thanks to strong government commitment for socio-economic development 

for protecting Jordan from the hazardous effects of such phenomena, Jordan 

developed a social protection net, to protect the poor from the negative 

impacts of such a program. Cash assistance to the poor, training and 

retraining programs play a major role in this regard. Of course, these 

reforms have strong impacts on the low-income groups in Jordanian society, 

and many steps need to be taken in this regards. 

As for crime, it is well known theoretically that poverty and unemployment 

can be motives for committing crimes. In Jordan, criminal statistics show 


99


that the unemployed formed about 36% of the total crime offenders in 1997. 

In the last decade, when economic growth was relatively very slow in 

Jordan, the crime rate increased from 626 crimes per 100,000 citizens in 

1988 to 1,016 in 1997, and to 1,255 in 1999. 

Maybe the question is this: how can we improve the current situation 

regarding these themes? Are they heavily interrelated? Can we identify one 

theme to focus on and make improvements? Or do we need a 

comprehensive strategy to alleviate poverty and crime and to improve or 

increase the health and welfare. 


Regarding the current situation of the three themes of this report, namely 

health, poverty, and crime, it can be characterized as acceptable; of course 

there are several difficulties and insufficiency here and there, but if we 

compare Jordan to other countries with similar levels of income and 

conditions, we find that Jordanian achievements were amazing. 

Unfortunately, Jordanian figures lay behind those of the European countries, 

especially in health and poverty. Therefore, one can expect in the near future 

a sincere effort from our partners in Europe to help Jordan in improving the 

socio-economic conditions in order to achieve a higher growth rates, which 

in turn would enable Jordan to improve the health services provided to 

Jordanian citizens, and to alleviate poverty. As for crime, it is true that the 

Jordanian figures is below the international levels, but the rapid increase in 

crime, helped by the incredible development in communication, which have 

turned the world into a small village, requires international cooperation to 

stop or fight the new types of crimes, such as money laundry, internet 

crimes, and international terrorism. Therefore, Jordan is looking forward to 

the partnership agreement with the EU countries to provide the necessary 

financial and technical assistance to improve its performance in all the three 

themes health, poverty, and crime. 


100


ANNEX 1: REFERENCES 

- The central Bank of Jordan, Annual Report, 2002. 

- The Ministry of Health, Annual Report, 2002. 

- Ministry of Planning, unpublished data (this is not accept acceptable as a 

reference?). 

- Ministry of Social Development, Poverty Alleviation for a Stronger 

Jordan: A Comprehensive National Strategy, May 2002. 

- Poverty in Western Asia The Economic and Social Commission for 

Western Asia (ESCWA), 1997. 

- Poverty Assessment Report: The case of Jordan, Moh’d M. Khasawneh, 

the Royal scientific society, June 2001. 

- The Cartographic Crime Science , Brakat al-Nemer, Dar Majdalawi Pub. 

& Dis. 2000. 

- Abdel Ellah Jae’fer, ‘The Cost of Crime and its Consequences on the 

Development of Jordanian Society’, The Arab Magazine for Security & 

Training, issue 30, November 2000. 

- The General Security Department, unpublished data. 


101


ANNEX 2: INTERVIEWS 

In order to complete the report, the team has met with several Jordanian 

experts in the three themes of the report: health, poverty, and crime. 

For the poverty part the experts were: 

- Dr. Mohammad el Saqour, a former minister of social development in 

Jordan and the head of the team who conducted the first poverty 

assessment study in Jordan in 1987. 

- Mr. Mohammad Khasawneh from the Ministry of Planning, a wellknown 

expert on poverty in Jordan. 

For the health section, the expert was Dr. Ayyob S. As-Sayaideh from the 

Ministry of Health/the partnership restructuring program of the health sector 

in Jordan. 

As for the crime section, the expert was Dr. Barakat Al–Nemer from the 

Ministry of Interior (researcher in the science of crime). 


102

STATISTICAL ANNEX

Population Projection 2000 – 2005 

Year Estimated 

Population in 000 

Estimated Growth Rate 

1998 4756 3.32 

1999 4900 3.0 

2000 5039 2.8 

2001 5182 2.8 

2002 5323 2.7 

2003 5468 2.7 

2004 5617 2.7 

2005 5770 2.7 

* DOS Home * DOS-NIS: Population and Housing * DOS-NIS: Population 

Copyright 2001 by Department of Statistics, Amman (Jordan). All rights reserved. 

Source: Department of Statistics (Jordan)

Department of Statistics (Jordan) - NIS Focal Point: Housing and Population 

Population Changes 

Population Density 51.5 Person / km 2 

Source: (Technical Notes on Population Projections of Jordan 1995-2025 ) 

By: Dr. Arjoon Adlakha, Dr Timothey Flowler & DOS Staff 

Crude Birth Rate (C.B.R) 30 Per Thousand 

Crude Death Rate (C.D.R) 5 Per Thousand 

Life Expectancy at Birth 68 Years for Male 

70 Years for Female 

Natural Increase 25 Per Thousand 

Source: Jordan Population Family Health Survey (J.P.F.H.S.) 1997 

Total Fertility Rate (T.F.R) 4.4 Birth / Woman 

Infant Mortality Rate (I.M.R) 29 Per Thousand 

DOS Home * DOS-NIS: Population and Housing * DOS-NIS: Population 

Copyright 2001 by Department of Statistics, Amman (Jordan). All rights reserved. 

Source: Statistical Year Book 1997

Distribution of Population Living in Jordan by Age (in Single Years), Nationality and Sex 

Total Jordanians Non jordanians 

Total Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female 

0 123,768 63,282 60,486 117,258 59,947 57,311 6,510 3,335 3,175 

1 128,980 66,220 62,760 122,303 62,751 59,552 6,677 3,469 3,208 

2 126,301 64,596 61,705 119,753 61,237 58,516 6,548 3,359 3,189 

3 121,521 62,497 59,024 115,336 59,316 56,020 6,185 3,181 3,004 

4 115,454 59,249 56,205 109,489 56,218 53,271 5,965 3,031 2,934 

5 116,653 59,686 56,967 110,922 56,746 54,176 5,731 2,940 2,791 

6 115,412 58,911 56,501 110,076 56,227 53,849 5,336 2,684 2,652 

7 112,461 57,484 54,977 107,301 54,938 52,363 5,160 2,546 2,614 

8 112,206 57,499 54,707 107,137 54,897 52,240 5,069 2,602 2,467 

9 109,103 55,869 53,234 104,196 53,352 50,844 4,907 2,517 2,390 

10 110,953 56,354 54,599 106,238 53,930 52,308 4,715 2,424 2,291 

11 105,756 54,454 51,302 101,395 52,222 49,173 4,361 2,232 2,129 

12 107,454 55,087 52,367 103,112 52,799 50,313 4,342 2,288 2,054 

13 103,099 52,760 50,339 99,009 50,606 48,403 4,090 2,154 1,936 

14 101,297 52,267 49,030 97,198 50,080 47,118 4,099 2,187 1,912 

15 101,663 51,926 49,737 97,465 49,724 47,741 4,198 2,202 1,996 

16 99,158 50,780 48,378 94,989 48,460 46,529 4,169 2,320 1,849 

17 95,167 49,634 45,533 90,123 46,610 43,513 5,044 3,024 2,020 

18 93,270 48,635 44,635 86,609 44,190 42,419 6,661 4,445 2,216 

19 91,237 47,622 43,615 83,670 42,438 41,232 7,567 5,184 2,383 

20 92,127 48,107 44,020 83,484 42,070 41,414 8,643 6,037 2,606 

21 89,166 46,595 42,571 81,121 41,093 40,028 8,045 5,502 2,543 

22 90,806 47,749 43,057 81,749 41,322 40,427 9,057 6,427 2,630 

23 85,850 45,845 40,005 76,034 38,500 37,534 9,816 7,345 2,471 

24 87,073 47,828 39,245 74,581 37,848 36,733 12,492 9,980 2,512 

25 83,489 45,848 37,641 70,714 35,603 35,111 12,775 10,245 2,530 

26 78,953 43,368 35,585 67,157 33,866 33,291 11,796 9,502 2,294 

27 73,545 40,302 33,243 61,821 30,952 30,869 11,724 9,350 2,374 

28 69,503 37,954 31,549 59,315 29,955 29,360 10,188 7,999 2,189 

29 66,754 35,854 30,900 57,327 28,544 28,783 9,427 7,310 2,117 

30 64,346 34,667 29,679 53,851 26,582 27,269 10,495 8,085 2,410 

31 56,587 29,682 26,905 49,263 24,218 25,045 7,324 5,464 1,860 

32 56,338 29,977 26,361 49,037 24,528 24,509 7,301 5,449 1,852



33 43,769 23,043 20,726 38,250 18,978 19,272 5,519 4,065 1,454 

34 47,740 25,018 22,722 41,420 20,364 21,056 6,320 4,654 1,666 

35 40,477 20,709 19,768 34,780 16,603 18,177 5,697 4,106 1,591 

36 40,543 20,424 20,119 35,826 17,100 18,726 4,717 3,324 1,393 

37 38,043 20,259 17,784 33,939 17,450 16,489 4,104 2,809 1,295 

38 34,613 18,174 16,439 30,543 15,414 15,129 4,070 2,760 1,310 

39 33,255 17,431 15,824 29,861 15,108 14,753 3,394 2,323 1,071 

40 32,655 17,024 15,631 28,439 14,112 14,327 4,216 2,912 1,304 

41 27,429 14,173 13,256 24,684 12,305 12,379 2,745 1,868 877 

42 28,002 14,490 13,512 24,881 12,329 12,552 3,121 2,161 960 

43 25,488 13,185 12,303 23,077 11,581 11,496 2,411 1,604 807 

44 26,590 13,422 13,168 23,823 11,547 12,276 2,767 1,875 892 

45 23,050 11,477 11,573 20,629 9,849 10,780 2,421 1,628 793 

46 26,822 12,711 14,111 24,502 11,256 13,246 2,320 1,455 865 

47 25,417 12,707 12,710 23,496 11,466 12,030 1,921 1,241 680 

48 24,989 12,661 12,328 23,263 11,523 11,740 1,726 1,138 588 

49 26,244 12,928 13,316 24,455 11,820 12,635 1,789 1,108 681 

50 26,945 14,003 12,942 25,032 12,778 12,254 1,913 1,225 688 

51 22,321 12,282 10,039 21,017 11,448 9,569 1,304 834 470 

52 22,163 11,967 10,196 20,839 11,122 9,717 1,324 845 479 

53 18,255 10,231 8,024 17,321 9,630 7,691 934 601 333 

54 23,813 12,012 11,801 22,458 11,167 11,291 1,355 845 510 

55 19,479 10,516 8,963 18,467 9,846 8,621 1,012 670 342 

56 19,068 9,826 9,242 18,216 9,335 8,881 852 491 361 

57 15,970 8,460 7,510 15,203 7,978 7,225 767 482 285 

58 18,195 9,841 8,354 17,354 9,373 7,981 841 468 373 

59 18,341 9,249 9,092 17,593 8,839 8,754 748 410 338 

60 16,201 7,928 8,273 15,291 7,422 7,869 910 506 404 

61 12,694 6,831 5,863 12,187 6,558 5,629 507 273 234 

62 12,570 6,750 5,820 12,048 6,459 5,589 522 291 231 

63 9,814 5,596 4,218 9,410 5,371 4,039 404 225 179 

64 16,432 7,953 8,479 15,781 7,663 8,118 651 290 361 

65 10,112 5,543 4,569 9,643 5,294 4,349 469 249 220 

66 8,877 4,790 4,087 8,590 4,653 3,937 287 137 150 

67 8,163 4,618 3,545 7,787 4,409 3,378 376 209 167 

68 6,610 3,671 2,939 6,331 3,523 2,808 279 148 131



69 8,329 4,088 4,241 8,022 3,954 4,068 307 134 173 

70 8,567 3,653 4,914 8,130 3,463 4,667 437 190 247 

71 4,692 2,475 2,217 4,504 2,395 2,109 188 80 108 

72 4,710 2,349 2,361 4,487 2,242 2,245 223 107 116 

73 3,703 1,878 1,825 3,565 1,824 1,741 138 54 84 

74 7,867 3,229 4,638 7,611 3,129 4,482 256 100 156 

75 3,698 1,763 1,935 3,567 1,712 1,855 131 51 80 

76 3,500 1,959 1,541 3,420 1,917 1,503 80 42 38 

77 2,552 1,315 1,237 2,445 1,270 1,175 107 45 62 

78 2,220 1,212 1,008 2,146 1,182 964 74 30 44 

79 2,501 1,242 1,259 2,442 1,221 1,221 59 21 38 

80 3,318 1,278 2,040 3,173 1,224 1,949 145 54 91 

81 1,236 639 597 1,198 624 574 38 15 23 

82 1,435 715 720 1,370 688 682 65 27 38 

83 1,182 630 552 1,143 612 531 39 18 21 

84 3,062 1,341 1,721 2,954 1,297 1,657 108 44 64 

85 1,175 506 669 1,129 494 635 46 12 34 

86 783 413 370 759 402 357 24 11 13 

87 642 354 288 616 343 273 26 11 15 

88 604 359 245 582 344 238 22 15 7 

89 732 376 356 701 366 335 31 10 21 

90 1,038 427 611 992 415 577 46 12 34 

91 327 199 128 316 195 121 11 4 7 

92 338 185 153 328 179 149 10 6 4 

93 392 206 186 383 204 179 9 2 7 

94 634 317 317 606 310 296 28 7 21 

95 105 44 61 101 43 58 4 1 3 

96 42 25 17 40 24 16 2 1 1 

97 35 15 20 35 15 20 0 - - 

98+ 685 286 399 667 278 389 18 8 10 

Unspec. 3,318 1,870 1,448 2,155 963 1,192 1,163 907 256 

TOTAL 4,110,0 2,135,8 1,974,1 3,795,0 1,926,7 1,868,2 314,965 209,068 105,897 

21 39 82 56 71 85 

* Definitions * DOS Home * DOS-NIS: Population and Housing * DOS-NIS: Population * How to Download/Print the Table? * 

Note: All values are absolute figures collected in the above-mentioned census 

Source: General Census of Population and Housing of Jordan 1994

Table 2 Economic Growth Rates (Percentages) 

Current Prices 

GDP at 

market GNDI* 

prices 

Constant Prices 

(1994=100) 

GDP at 

market GNDI* 

prices 

1997 4.6 5.1 3.3 3.8 

1998 9.2 6.6 3.0 0.6 

1999 2.8 5.5 3.1 5.8 

2000 (1) 3.9 7.7 4.0 7.8 

2001 (1) 4.5 2.8 4.2 2.6 

*: Represents GDP at market prices plus net workers’ remittances, 

net investment income, and net current transfers. 

(1) : Preliminary.

Table 3 - Growth Rates of Economic Sectors (at Constant Basic Prices)* (Percentages) 

1997 1998 1999 2000 (1) 2001 (1) 

Agriculture -8.5 13.0 -29.3 6.4 1.1 

Mining and quarrying 13.2 1.8 2.8 -1.3 4.1 

Manufacturing 10.8 9.3 4.9 5.8 4.9 

Electricity and water 5.5 2.8 6.6 4.0 2.3 

Construction -7.9 -17.0 7.0 1.9 11.1 

Total commodity producing sectors 3.2 3.2 -0.2 4.3 5.2 

Trade, restaurants, and hotels 5.2 -14.3 5.0 8.6 4.4 

Transport and communications 1.6 18.8 6.4 4.6 5.6 

Finance, real estate, and business services 2.6 5.3 0.1 4.1 3.7 

Social services 20.9 10.7 7.9 1.8 5.9 

Producers of government services 3.2 2.0 3.3 6.6 1.7 

Non-profit institutions -0.8 3.3 2.3 -16.2 7.1 

Domestic services of households -10.5 27.5 20.0 25.5 -4.9 

Total services sectors 3.8 3.1 4.1 5.0 3.8 

GDP at constant basic prices 3.6 3.1 2.8 4.8 4.2 

*: Based on the Department of Statistics data. 

(1): Preliminary.

Table 4 The Relative Importance of Economic Sectors to GDP (at Constant Basic Prices)* (Percentages) 

1997 1998 1999 2000 (1) 2001 (1) 

Agriculture 4.5 4.9 3.3 3.4 3.3 

Mining and quarrying 3.2 3.2 3.2 3.0 3.0 


Electricity and water 2.6 2.6 2.7 2.7 2.6 

Construction 6.3 5.1 5.3 5.1 5.5 

Total commodity-producing sectors 31.1 31.1 30.2 30.0 30.3 

Trade, restaurants, and hotels 13.5 11.2 11.5 11.9 11.9 

Transport and communications 14.7 17.0 17.5 17.5 17.8 

Finance, real estate, and business services 20.2 20.6 20.1 20.0 19.8 

Producers of government services 17.4 17.2 17.3 17.6 17.2 

Other services 3.1 2.9 3.4 3.0 3.0 

Total services sectors 68.9 68.9 69.8 70.0 69.7 

GDP at basic prices 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 

* : Based on the Department of Statistics data. 

(1) : Preliminary.

Contribution of Economic Sectors to Economic Growth (at Constant Basic Prices)* 

(Percentage Points) 

1999 2000 (1) 2001 (1) 

Agriculture -1.44 0.21 0.03 

Mining and quarrying 0.09 -0.04 0.12 

Manufacturing 0.76 0.91 0.77 

Electricity and water 0.17 0.11 0.06 

Construction 0.36 0.10 0.57 

Total commodity producing sectors -0.06 1.29 1.55 

Trade, restaurants, and hotels 0.56 0.98 0.52 

Transport and communications 1.09 0.81 0.99 

Finance, real estate, and business services 0.02 0.83 0.74 

Producers of government services 0.57 1.14 0.30 

Other services 0.62 -0.25 0.10 

Total services sectors 2.86 3.51 2.65 

GDP at constant basic prices 2.80 4.80 4.20 

* : Based on the Department of Statistics data. 

(1): Preliminary. 

Inflation Rates of Main Component Groups of the Cost of Living Index (Percentages) 

Percentage change in the index 

Groups 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 

Food items 6.6 4.0 -0.9 -0.7 0.3 

Housing 0.8 1.8 0.8 1.4 1.8 

Clothing and footwear -3.6 3.8 5.3 0.6 1.2 

Other goods and services 1.8 2.6 2.0 2.8 4.7 

General index 3.0 3.1 0.6 0.7 1.8

Economic developments in 2001 

Table 1 Main Economic Indicators (JD Million) 

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 

Population (In Thousands) 4,600 4,756 4,900 5,039 5,182 

Output and Prices 

Gross National Product (GNP) at Current Market Prices 5,090.2 5,604.0 5,758.6 6,087.6 6,391.5 

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at Current Market Prices 5,137.6 5,609.8 5,767.3 5,992.1 6,258.8 

Growth Rate of GDP at Constant Market Prices (%) 3.3 3.0 3.1 4.0 4.2 

Nominal Gross National Disposable Income (GNDI) 6,302.3 6,718.3 7,086.9 7,636.1 7,851.1 

Growth Rate of GNDI at Constant Market Prices (%) 3.8 0.6 5.8 7.8 2.6 

Change in Cost of Living Index (%) 3.0 3.1 0.6 0.7 1.8 

Change in GDP Deflator (%) 1.2 6.0 -0.2 -0.1 0.3 

Ratio of Total Consumption to GDP at Current Market Prices (%) 96.5 97.6 92.7 99.5 N.A 

Ratio of Gross Fixed Investment to GDP at Current Market Prices (%) 25.8 21.2 23.5 25.6 N.A 

Ratio of Domestic Saving to GDP at Current Market Prices (%) 3.5 2.4 7.3 0.5 N.A 

Money and Banking (1) 

Average JD Exchange Rate against US Dollar 1.410 1.410 1.410 1.410 1.410 

Money Supply (M2) 5,576.6 6,026.3 6,747.6 7,434.7 7,866.1 

Net Foreign Assets of Banking System 2,263.5 2,374.8 3,003.4 3,852.1 3,991.0 

Net Domestic Assets of Banking System 3,313.1 3,651.5 3,744.2 3,582.6 3,875.1 

Claims on Government (Net) 501.1 1,052.3 1,157.3 1,070.8 1,276.0 

Claims on Private Sector (Resident) 3,535.3 3,872.6 4,062.1 4,243.9 4,723.6 

Other Items (Net) (2) -723.3 -1,273.4 -1,475.2 -1,732.2 -2,124.5 

Deposits in JD Held at Banks 4,076.7 4,178.5 4,681.4 5,000.2 5,203.7 

Deposits in F.C Held at Banks 2,311.2 2,632.9 2,821.0 3,224.3 3,517.6 

Rediscount Rate (%) 7.75 9.00 8.00 6.50 5.00 

Interest Rate on 3-month Treasury Bills (%) 8.90 9.20 - - - 

Interest Rate on 6-Month Treasury Bills (%) - - 6.00 5.88 3.924 

Interest Rate on 3-Month CDs (%) (3) 6.25 9.45 6.00 6.00 3.90 

Interest Rate on 6-Month CDs (%) (3) 6.50 9.50 8.25 6.05 4.00

Table 1 Main Economic Indicators (Contd.) (JD Million) 

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 

Public Finance 

Total Revenues and Grants 1,574.9 1,699.5 1,783.8 1,800.9 1,885.1 

Ratio to GDP (%) 30.7 30.3 30.9 30.0 30.1 

Total Expenditures and Net Lending 1,906.1 2,055.1 2,007.4 2,004.7 2,075.5 

Ratio to GDP (%) 37.1 36.6 34.8 33.5 33.2 

Deficit/ Surplus (Excluding Grants) -536.2 -558.6 -422.1 -444.0 -437.4 

Ratio to GDP (%) -10.4 -10.0 -7.3 -7.4 -7.0 

Deficit/ Surplus (Including Grants) -331.2 -355.6 -223.6 -203.8 -190.4 

Ratio to GDP (%) -6.4 -6.3 -3.9 -3.4 -3.0 

Gross Domestic Public Debt - 1,119.0 1,024.0 1,203.0 1,369.0 

Ratio to GDP (%) - 19.9 17.8 20.1 21.9 

External Public Debt Outstanding (4) 4,580.6 5,009.8 5,186.2 4,794.7 4,742.8 

Ratio to GDP (%) 89.2 89.3 89.9 80.0 75.8 

External Trade and Balance of Payments 

Commodity Exports (f.o.b.) 1,301.4 1,277.9 1,298.8 1,346.6 1,625.7 

Commodity Imports (c.i.f.) (5) 2,906.5 2,712.4 2,622.5 3,245.2 3,407.3 

Trade Deficit -1,605.1 -1,434.5 -1,323.7 -1,898.6 -1,781.6 

Ratio to GDP (%) -31.2 -25.6 -23.0 -31.7 -28.5 

Workers’ Remittances Receipts 1,173.5 1,093.8 1,179.8 1,308.2 1,426.0 

Current Account 20.8 15.5 287.1 41.5 40.1 

Ratio to GDP (%) 0.4 0.3 5.0 0.7 0.6 

Capital Account 211.9 205.3 133.3 408.1 -86.5 

Ratio to GDP (%) 4.1 3.7 2.3 6.8 -1.4 

Change in Net Foreign Assets/ Surplus (-) -499.1 -127.5 -656.4 -840.7 -130.8 

(1): New classification for both government and public entities accounts at the banking system has been adopted since January 2000. Data for 

1998 and 1999 was reclassified accordingly. 

(2): Includes claims on public entities, claims on financial institutions, and other items (net) as shown in the Monetary Survey Table. 

(3): Represents unified interest rate on the last issue. 

(4): Figures represent disbursed loans minus repayments (excluding collateralized Brady Bonds). 

(5): Excluding imports of non-residents. 

Sources : Monthly Statistical Bulletin / Central Bank of Jordan.

Table 1 Industrial Origin of Gross Domestic Product at Current Prices (JD Million) 

1997 1998 1999 2000 (1) 2001 (1) 

Agriculture 148.3 144.7 115.9 116.7 115.9 

Mining and Quarrying 169.9 170.4 163.8 157.4 156.9 


Electricity and Water 117.9 121.2 129.4 134.6 135.1 

Construction 240.5 214.6 207.1 203.9 227.2 

Trade, Restaurants, and Hotels 510.4 532.4 543.2 602.5 650.5 

Transport and Communications 672.7 717.1 762.2 831.6 876.7 

Finance, Insurance, Real Estate, 

and Business Services 918.6 979.1 990.5 1,071.2 1,136.2 

Social and Personal Services 178.3 200.3 224.3 242.9 265.0 

Producers of Government Services 896.1 943.2 995.7 1,079.1 1,112.7 

Producers of Private Non-Profit 

Services for Households 52.9 56.1 57.4 63.2 73.5 

Domestic Household Services 5.2 6.6 7.9 9.7 9.2 

Less: Imputed Bank Service Charge -81.0 -107.5 -93.5 -108.5 -116.6 

GDP at Basic Prices 4,451.4 4,720.2 4,854.1 5,196.3 5,471.0 

Net Taxes on Products 686.2 889.6 913.2 795.8 787.8 

GDP at Market Prices 5,137.6 5,609.8 5,767.3 5,992.1 6,258.8 

Net Factor Income from Abroad -47.4 -5.8 -8.7 95.5 132.7 

GNP at Market Prices 5,090.2 5,604.0 5,758.6 6,087.6 6,391.5 

Source : Department of Statistics. 

(1) : Preliminary.

Table 2 Expenditure on Gross Domestic Product at Current Prices (JD Million) 

1997 1998 1999 2000 (1) 

Total Consumption 4,959.7 5,477.4 5,348.2 5,964.2 

Public 1,312.5 1,367.0 1,386.7 1,502.9 

Private 3,647.2 4,110.4 3,961.5 4,461.3 

Gross Capital Formation 1,321.8 1,225.4 1,451.6 1,630.4 

Gross Fixed Capital Formation 1,325.1 1,189.8 1,353.5 1,532.3 

Buildings and Constructions 809.7 656.4 688.1 677.5 

Machines and Equipments 515.4 533.4 665.4 854.8 

Change in Stocks -3.3 35.6 98.1 98.1 

Total Domestic Demand 6,281.5 6,702.8 6,799.8 7,594.6 

Net Exports of Goods and Non-Factor Services -1,143.9 -1,093.0 -1,032.5 -1,602.5 

Exports 2,532.8 2,515.7 2,505.4 2,507.0 

Imports 3,676.7 3,608.7 3,537.9 4,109.5 

GDP at Market Prices 5,137.6 5,609.8 5,767.3 5,992.1 

Source : Department of Statistics. 

(1): Preliminary.

Table 28 Summary of Government Budget (JD Million) 

1997 1998 1999 2000 

Budget 

Law 

2001 

Preliminary 

Total Revenues and Grants 1,574.9 1,699.5 1,783.8 1,800.9 2,079.1 1,885.1 

Domestic Revenues 1369.9 1496.5 1585.3 1560.7 1,837.1 1,638.1 

Tax Revenues 798.5 858.6 884.2 961.9 1,059.0 1,020.0 

Non-tax Revenues 571.4 637.9 701.1 598.8 778.1 618.1 

Foreign Grants 205.0 203.0 198.5 240.2 242.0 247.0 

Total Expenditures and Net Lending 1,906.1 2,055.1 2,007.4 2,004.7 2,257.6 2,075.5 

Current Expenditures, of which: 1,524.8 1,644.6 1,643.1 1,718.3 1,843.1 1,786.9 

Interest Payments (Commitment) 268.7 247.7 278.1 293.1 300.0 275.0 

Capital Expenditures 287.4 365.5 299.0 288.4 445.1 325.5 

Net Lending 93.9 45.0 65.3 -2.0 -30.6 -36.9 

Primary Deficit/Surplus -267.5 -310.9 -144.0 -150.9 -120.4 -162.4 

Current Deficit/Surplus -154.9 -148.1 -57.8 -157.6 -6.0 -148.8 

Current Deficit/Surplus, Excluding Interest 113.8 99.6 220.3 135.5 294.0 126.2 

Overall Deficit/Surplus, Excluding Grants -536.2 -558.6 -422.1 -444.0 -420.5 -437.4 

Overall Deficit/Surplus, Including Grants -331.2 -355.6 -223.6 -203.8 -178.5 -190.4 

Rescheduled Interest 67.8 59.0 83.2 84.0 73.6 68.8 

Overall Deficit/ Surplus (Cash Basis) -263.4 -296.6 -140.4 -119.8 -104.9 -121.6 

Source : Ministry of Finance.

Table 30 Components of Public Expenditures (JD Million) 

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 (1) 

1- Current Expenditures 1,524.8 1,644.6 1,643.1 1,718.3 1,786.9 

Wages and Salaries 342.0 339.0 343.4 366.0 380.3 

Purchases of Goods & Services 68.5 63.1 72.6 72.2 81.7 

Interest Payments (Commitment Basis) 268.7 247.7 278.1 293.1 275.0 

Internal 19.1 26.0 47.3 48.6 56.0 

External 249.6 221.7 230.8 244.5 219.0 

Food Subsidies 71.2 38.0 15.0 0.0 0.0 

Other Transfers 287.9 371.4 376.7 408.4 452.5 

Pensions 213.4 235.0 238.5 268.6 292.7 

Social Security 7.2 8.2 9.3 9.8 10.7 

Decentralized Agencies 44.8 62.7 66.8 67.2 77.4 

Relief Operations 7.9 5.8 5.1 5.0 9.0 

Universities & Municipalities - 43.0 43.0 43.0 48.0 

Other 14.6 16.7 14.0 14.8 14.7 

Defense and Security 444.5 491.0 512.1 531.2 537.2 

Others 42.0 94.4 (2) 45.2 47.4 60.2 

2- Capital Expenditures 287.4 365.5 299.0 288.4 325.5 

Wages and Salaries 18.6 19.8 18.9 19.9 20.3 

Studies and Research 5.2 4.3 6.3 5.7 5.3 

Equipment, Machines, Apparatuses, and Supplies 46.7 45.5 46.4 40.9 40.2 

Lands, Buildings & Constructions, and Other 216.9 295.9 227.4 221.9 259.7 

3- Net Lending 93.9 45.0 65.3 -2.0 -36.9 

Gross Lending 139.8 77.6 97.4 47.4 35.1 

Repayments -45.9 -32.6 -32.1 -49.4 -72.0 

Total Expenditures and Net Lending 1,906.1 2,055.1 2,007.4 2,004.7 2,075.5 

Source Ministry of Finance. 

(1) : Preliminary. 

(2) : Includes JD 64.0 million for domestic payments arrears on public sector.

Table 31 Central Government Domestic Debt (Budgetary Central Government and Own-Budget Agencies) (JD Million) 

1998 1999 2000 2001 

Gross Domestic Debt 1,119 1,024 1,203 1,369 

1) Budgetary Central Government 1,007 889 1,120 1,261 

A) Treasury Bills and Bonds 238 330 480 740 

Bank Sources 184 319 412 629 

Non-Bank Sources 54 11 68 111 

B) Development Bonds 156 137 172 160 

Bank Sources 80 74 85 69 


C) Loans & Advances 613 422 468 361 

Central Bank 509 322 272 272 

Licensed Banks 79 79 119 79 


2) Own-Budget Government Agencies 112 135 83 108 

A) Corporate Bonds 25 61 31 63 



B) Direct Credit Facilities 87 74 52 45 


Gross Government's Deposits with the Banking System 300 146 291 250 

1) Budgetary Central Government's Deposits 142 -8 114 94 

A) Ministry of Finance -92 -318 -225 -256 

With the Central Bank (1) -118 -345 -277 -307 

With Licensed Banks 26 27 52 51 

B) Other Ministries 234 310 339 350 

With the Central Bank 141 187 195 207 

With Licensed Banks 93 123 144 143 

2) Own-Budget Government Agencies Deposits 158 154 177 156 

Net Budgetary Central Government Domestic Debt (2) 865 897 1,006 1,167 

Net Central Government Domestic Debt (3) 

(Budgetary and Own-Budget Agencies) 819 878 912 1,119 

Source : Ministry of Finance. 

(1): Represents net treasury overdraft (treasury overdraft account minus Ministry of Finance gross deposits with 

the Central Bank). 

(2): epresents gross domestic debt of budgetary central government minus gross budgetary central government's 

deposits with the banking system. 

(3): Represents gross domestic debt minus gross government's deposits with the banking system.

Table 32 Outstanding External Public Debt (1) (JD Million) 

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 

1) Long-Term Loans 4,276.1 4,698.8 4,868.2 4,669.0 4,634.9 

A) Arab and Foreign Governments, of which: 2,913.7 3,142.6 3,179.5 3,036.5 2,963.4 

Saudi Arabia 120.4 120.5 88.5 - - 

Germany 286.4 316.6 270.5 233.3 219.3 

Japan 1,121.0 1,270.4 1,438.6 1,270.4 1,106.1 

France 493.0 533.2 478.9 410.4 408.3 

United Kingdom 398.1 408.7 417.7 397.7 382.6 

United States 109.6 89.2 87.1 232.8 280.8 

B) Multilateral Institutions, of which: 1,289.0 1,506.6 1,646.2 1,597.0 1,643.1 

Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development 218.1 266.4 337.7 339.3 341.7 

Islamic Development Bank 86.5 88.3 87.1 81.7 72.1 

IBRD and IDA 540.2 580.1 647.9 633.5 705.6 

IMF 286.8 332.5 353.4 328.1 307.1 

European Investment Bank 90.9 163.7 154.6 162.5 164.4 

C) Foreign Banks & Companies 73.4 49.6 42.5 35.5 28.4 

2) Short-Term Loans - - - - - 

3) Other (2) 304.5 311.0 318.0 125.7 107.8 

Outstanding External Public Debt (Excluding collateralized Brady Bonds) 4,580.6 5,009.8 5,186.2 4,794.7 4,742.8 

Collateralized Brady Bonds 417.5 323.9 323.9 251.0 226.6 

Outstanding External Public Debt (Including Collateralized Brady Bonds) 4,998.1 5,333.7 5,510.1 5,045.7 4,969.4 

Source : Ministry of Finance. 

(1): Represents balance of disbursed loans minus repayments. 

(2): Includes bonds and leases.

Table 33 Distribution of External Loans Disbursed in 2001 According to Source 

Source 

Disbursements 

(JD Million) 

Relative Share 

(%) 

Industrial Countries: 80.6 28.4 

United States 39.8 14.0 

Spain 13.8 4.9 

Japan 11.0 3.9 

Germany 6.3 2.2 

Denmark 3.5 1.2 

Italy 3.2 1.1 

Other 3.0 1.1 

Multilateral Institutions, of which: 203.0 71.6 

IBRD 112.5 39.7 

IMF 27.3 9.6 

Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development 22.5 7.9 

European Investment Bank 16.7 5.9 

Arab Monetary Fund 14.0 4.9 

Islamic Development Bank 6.1 2.2 

Other 3.9 1.4 

Total 283.6 100.0 

Source : Ministry of Finance.

Table 34 Distribution of External Loans Contracted in 2001 According to Source and Economic Sector (JD Million) 

Foreign 

Governments 

Multilateral 

Institutions 

Total 

Relative 

Share (%) 

Adjustment Program 6.7 126.5 133.2 56.4 

Imports Financing 39.7 - 39.7 16.8 

Education 30.4 - 30.4 12.9 

Water & Irrigation 7.1 16.5 23.6 10.0 

Health 5.0 - 5.0 2.1 

Transportation 4.1 - 4.1 1.8 

Total 93.0 143.0 236.0 100.0 

Source : Ministry of Finance

GREECE 

Dr. Nicholas P. Glytsos




According to the 2001 Greek population census, the population of Greece 

was 10,964,020, of which 5,431,816 were men and 5,532,204 were women. 

The population is aged, with people over 65 representing 17.1 per cent of 

the total and children below 14 representing 5.4 per cent, whereas 31 per 

cent of the population is between 40 and 64 years of age (Table A1). 

Between 1991 and 2001, population grew at an annual average rate of 0.67 

per cent compared to a corresponding growth rate, in the previous decade, 

of 0.52 per cent. Greece, as the other Western European countries, has been 

experiencing a declining natural population growth. During the period 1991- 

2001, the average annual growth rate was of the order of 0.4 per cent. 

Particularly in recent years, the situation has been aggravated, with the 

number of deaths exceeding since 1997 the number of births. The birth rate, 

in 2001, has dropped to 0.98 per cent and the death rate has climbed to 1.01 

per cent. The total fertility rate per woman of reproduction age, from an 

average of 2.3 children, during 1970-75, dropped to 1.3 children during 

1995-2000. Thus, if it wasn’t for immigration, the Greek population would 

have been roughly at the same level as 10 yeas ago. 

Net migration, calculated as the difference of population between 1991 and 

2001 minus the total number of births plus the total number of deaths during 

the decade, was of the order of 700,223. The 2001 census of population 

registered 796,713 persons (436,225 men and 360,488 women) with a 

foreign citizenship, the Albanians representing 56 per cent of all foreigners 

(Table A2). In reality, however, the number of foreigners in Greece is 

believed to approach 1,000,000, given first, the considerable number that 

did not apply for legalization in the recent government call, becoming thus 

‘’invisible” during the census day, and second, the additional arrivals in the 

meantime. 

The overwhelming majority (98 per cent) of population is ethnic Greeks and 

94 per cent belong to the Greek Orthodox Christian persuasion. The official 

and spoken language is Greek of which the immigrants of various 

nationalities seem to get rather quickly at least a minimum knowledge for 

the bare communication with the native population. 


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Due to the demographic deterioration and the ageing population, the number 

of children in primary education decreased from about 900,000 in 1981 to 

647,000 in 1999 and remained pretty stable thereafter, most probably 

because of the rising enrollments of immigrant children. The number of 

pupils in secondary general education is also down, from 716,000 in 1991 to 

590,000 in 2002. However, at the same time, the number of students in 

secondary technical and vocational education has increased by about 16.5 

per cent, from 135,000 in 1991 to 157,000 in 2001, pushed by the rising 

unemployment of youth with only secondary general education. 

In tertiary education, despite the demographic hold down effect of 

enrollments at the earlier educational levels, the demand for higher 

education has been rising to a considerable degree. Thus, the number of 

students in Universities from 86,000 in 1981 climbed to 117,000 in 1991 

and to 149,000 in 2001, experiencing an increase of 27.4 per cent in the last 

ten years. Analogous is the situation with the third level technical education, 

in which the number of students increased from 29,000 in 1981 to 78,000 in 

1991 and to 91,000 in 2001. In addition, due to the numerus clausus 

restriction in Greek tertiary education, a very substantial number of Greek 

students are studying currently in foreign universities. 

Illiteracy is now insignificant in Greece and concerns very high ages. The 

adult literacy rate (% of age 15 and above), although high even by mid- 

1980s (93.2 per cent), has increased by the year 2000 to 97.2 per cent, 

whereas the youth literacy rate (% of ages 15-24) is now 99.8 per cent, up 

from 99.4 per cent in 1985. Adult women literacy rate is only very slightly 

lower than that of men (female/male ratio 0.97 in 2000), while female youth 

literacy is the same as male youth. We may note in this context, that the 

female enrollment in secondary and tertiary education is higher than the 

enrollment of male (female as a % of male 103 and 107, respectively for the 

two levels of education, in 1998). Although the inability to read and write 

has been eradicated in Greece, the ‘’functional illiteracy’’ is widespread, 

creating problems of integration in the labour market. 

1.2. Economy and Labour 

The Greek GDP was, in 2002, of the order of 141 billion Euros, divided by 

major economic sector as follows: agriculture 9.1 billion (6.4 per cent); 


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industry 27.7 billion (19.6 per cent); and services 104.3 billion (74.0 per 

cent) (table 1). 

In the same year, the gross national per capita income was 12,923 Euros and 

the net per capita national disposal income 11,957 Euros. The average 

annual growth rate of GDP per capita was, 0.9 per cent, during the period 

1975-2000, doubled to1.8 per cent, between 1990 and 2000. The share of 

investment in GDP has been rising in recent years, ending up in 2002 with a 

23.2 per cent. The share of private consumption expenditure has been 

declining since 1995 to reach 67.3 per cent in 2002, while public 

consumption expenditure is more or less stable around 15.5 per cent. The 

share of exports in GDP declined by almost 4.5 percentage points, but the 

share of imports declined even more, by 5.0 percentage points (Table 2). As 

table 1 shows, employment amounted to 3,917,500 persons, in 2001, 

representing 52.8 per cent of the 15-64 years old population. The lion’s 

share in employment 61.8, in 2002, belongs to services, 15.8 per cent to 

agriculture and 13.7 per cent to industry. The unemployment rate was, in 

2002, 9.6 per cent, dropping from 11.7 per cent in 1999. Female 

unemployment rate is more than double the male unemployment rate (14.6 

per cent as against 6.2 per cent). Youth unemployment is much higher than 

the average for the whole population. At the end of 2002, the less than 25 

years old youth had an unemployment rate of 21.0 per cent. Inflation 

(change in the consumer price index) averaged, during the period 1990- 

2000, 9.0 per cent per annum, dropping to an average of 3.2 per cent over 

the 1999-2000 period, whereas in 2002 rose by 3.6 per cent. 

Exports of goods from Greece amounted, in 2002, to 29.0 billion Euros and 

imports of goods to 37.9 billion Euros, generating a trade deficit of 8.9 

billion Euros. Exports were equal to 20.5 per cent of GDP and imports equal 

26.8 per cent of GDP. Compared to 2001, exports decreased by 2.4 per cent 

and imports by 1.2 per cent, widening thus the balance of trade deficit. But 

things have subsequently changed. During the first quarter of 2003, despite 

the increased exports, the increased value of imports including oil led to a 

deterioration in the overall balance of current account, raising the deficit 

from 3.7 billion EUR, the first quarter of 2002 to 4.3 billion EUR in the first 

quarter of 2003 (Table 3). 


126

Table 1 - Industrial Composition (%) of GDP and Employment in Greece, in selected years of the period 1980-2002 

Economic 

GDP Employment 

Sector 1980 1990 2000 2002 1981 1991 2001 2002 

Primary 25.0 10.5 6.6 6.4 30.7 22.2 16.015.8 

Mining 0.6 0.9 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 

Manufacturing 15.2 15.3} 12.5} 12.2 19.3 19.2 14.2 13.7 

Utilities 1.8 2.7 0.8 1.0 0.9 0.8 

Construction 7.7 7.6 6.5 7.4 8.3 6.8 7.3 7.4 

Services 49.7 63.0 74.4 74.0 40.4 50.3 61.1 61.8 

Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 

Size 1 4,477 34,729 121,628 141,132 3,529.3 3,632.4 3,917.5 3,948.9 

Sources: Ministry of Economics and Finance, National Accounts Statistics (various issues) Statistical Service of 

Greece (NSSG), Labour Force Survey (various issues) 

1 GDP at current prices, in million EUR. Employment in thousand persons

Table 2 - The Composition of Greek GDP by Expenditure Category, 2000-2002 (At current prices) 

Expenditure Category Years 

1995 2000 2001 2002 

Private Consumption 73.1 69.5 68.4 67.3 

Public Consumption 15.3 15.7 15.3 15.8 

Investment 18.9 22.5 22.9 23.2 

Exports 17.6 24.1 22.7 20.5 

Imports -24.9 -31.8 -29.3 -26.8 

GDP 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 

Size of GDP (million EURO) 79,927 121,628 130,927 141,132 

Source: Greek National Accounts Statistics (www.statistics.gr tables/S900).

Table 3. Greek Balance of Payments (million EUR) 

January-April 

Items 2001 2002 2003 2003/2002 

(%) 

Balance of Current Account -2,441.7 -3,722.1 -4,330.9 16.35 

Balance of Trade (without oil) -6,057.6 -6,381.8 -5,856.5 -8.23 

Balance of Oil -1,143.1 -1,156.7 -1,687.0 45.85 

Exports 3,712.7 3,350.5 3,627.5 8.27 

Imports 10,913.4 10,889.0 11,171.0 2.59 

Source: Kathimerini, 21.6.2003 (original source: Bank of Greece)


1.3. Geography and Territorial Characteristics 

Greece’s surface is 131,957 sq. km. Islands – more than 2000 in number of 

which only 170 are inhabited – occupy 20 per cent of this surface. Eighty 

per cent of the land is mountainous, whereas Greece’s very long coastline 

sums to 13,700 km. Cultivated fields and orchards occupy about 30 per cent 

of the territory. The climate of Greece varies substantially among its 

regions. In southern and central Greece the climate is Mediterranean with 

hot dry summers and mild winters. In northern Greece, winters are colder. 

Regions in the west receive far more rain compared to the east. The average 

annual rainfall in Athens and central Greece is 400 mm, whereas the 

mountains receive much snow. The average temperature in Athens is in 

January 10 degrees centigrade and in July 28 degrees centigrade. Greece is 

divided into 9 geographic departments, the two of which, Attica and 

Macedonia are respectively dominated by the two large cities of the country, 

Athens and Thessaloniki, with a corresponding population of 3.0 and 2.3 

million, representing 52 per cent of the country’s 11 million population. The 

third major department is Peloponnesos with 1.2 million, while the other 6 

departments have each a population ranging between 215,000 and 796,000 

inhabitants (Clogg, 2003). 

The principal natural resources of the country include lignite, with an annual 

production of 58 to 62 million tons. The certain reserves of lignite number 

9,500 million tons, but are not all exploitable. Lignite is used almost 

exclusively for electricity production. There is also bauxite, whose 

production, in recent years, reaches roughly 1.8-1.9 million tons a year. 

Minerals, such as chromium, copper, uranium and magnesium are also 

present in small quantities. Petroleum also exists in very small quantities 

while there are no considerable reserves of natural gas (ibid.). Mild forms of 

energy, i.e. solar, aeolic and geothermic, exist in substantial quantities bur 

are only very little exploited. Water resources give annually about 65-69 

trillion m 3 , of which 80-84 per cent are used for irrigation, 13-15 per cent in 

households and 2.5-4.0 per cent for energy production. However, the 

distribution of water resources is unequal and creates often tensions, 

although things are getting better over time. Greece cannot cover all its 

energy needs from local natural sources and depends on imported energy. 

Finally, the islands and the coasts of Greece supporting the tourist industry 

are also, in a way, part of its natural resources. 


130


Concerning the environment, the per capita emissions of carbon dioxide 

from a level that was 10 per cent lower than the European average, in 1990, 

today it exceeds substantially that average, despite the lower than the 

European per capita consumption of energy. This is due to the heavily 

polluting energy mix of lignite for electricity production and the 

conventional oil use in transportation. Air pollution becomes at times severe 

in the larger cities, Athens being the champion. Due to the industrial activity 

and the densely populated city, in conjunction with the great number of 

circulating automobiles compared to the capacity of the streets, Athens 

suffers considerably from air pollution, which has implications to the health 

of its inhabitants, particularly those suffering from respiratory problems. It 

also damages the Greek antiquities, primarily Parthenon. The city’s 

industrial wastes and sewage find an outlet in the gulf of Saronikos in the 

vicinity of Athens (Clogg, 2003). It is true that as a result of an antipollution 

policy, poisonous air emissions have been reduced in recent years, but 

Greece is still far above the European average. 

In respect to solid wastes, Greece has doubled in ten years’ time the 

production of wastes, which is though lower than in Europe as a whole. 

Furthermore, the increased use of fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture 

deteriorates the water horizon, whereas industry has a rather low share in air 

pollution, i.e. 17 per cent in carbon dioxide and 16 per cent in sulphur 

dioxide emissions. 

It is evident, that the energy sector has the main responsibility for all 

categories of pollutants. Overall, the ratio of energy consumption to GDP is 

about double the European average, indicating the non-efficient use of 

energy in the Greek economy (Kathimerini, 20.6.2003, referring to a report 

of the National Center of Environment). 

Regarding the social consciousness on environmental issues and the reaction 

of people to environmental problems, a recent opinion poll conducted at the 

New York College in Athens showed that these issues are placed seventh in 

terms of importance on a priority list of contemporary problems. 

Environment is preceded by unemployment, the economy, education, 

criminality, drugs and poverty. Emphasis was given in this poll on the lack 

of adequate information concerning the nature and the various aspects of 

environmental degradation, as well as the factors that cause it. A majority of 

73 per cent of the interviewees are of the opinion that despite the efforts 

made by the state, the environment continues to deteriorate, due primarily to 

industrial activity and to a lesser extent the automobiles. The poll further 

showed that the participation of youth in environmental organizations is 


131


practically non-existed, while the participation in volunteer programmes for 

environmental issues is small. 


Apart from the significant problems of health, poverty and crime to be 

discussed shortly, some other important issues for consideration are 

highlighted in this section. The ‘’historical’’ paternalism and nepotism 

characterizing Greek politics dominates the ‘’way of doing things’’ in 

Greece. This, and the large scale interconnection between politicians and the 

business community do not allow the healthy development of class politics 

and the unaffected decision making in government for the general good. 

This kind of situation makes often politicians shy away from the real 

practical problems of the people, while the political debate often refers 

either to the general abstract ideals of freedom, democracy and socialism or 

to the past historical behaviour of opposing political parties, taking 

sometimes the form of personal confrontation. 

Related to this is the corruption, at a small or larger scale, of public officials. 

Due to the bureaucracy and the malfunctioning of the various government 

departments, citizens are often forced by the circumstances to pay either for 

avoiding delays in having their problems solved or bribing for illegal or 

irregular favours. The GRECO (2002) group of the Council of Europe 

maintains that ‘’corruption appears to merge into the much more global 

problem of administrative malfunctioning, in which individual acts of 

corruption pass unnoticed’’. It continues to say that ‘’the problem of 

transparency of rules and regulations seem to be crucial and is likely to 

contribute to the persistence of certain forms of corruption’’ (page 18). In 

regard to transparency, GRECO is placing Greece as 42 nd on a list of 

countries, which is the lowest place among EU members. Particular Public 

Services that are often discussed in the press as nests of corruption are the 

city planning authorities, the internal revenue service and the police, among 

others. 

The ageing population and the low reproduction rate have become chronic 

problems of concern in the Greek society. Any rise in population comes 

from the inflow of immigrants in the country. However, as it is generally 

accepted, immigration cannot, in the long run, contain demographic 

deterioration. 


132


The environment, already touched upon earlier, particularly the pollution in 

the larger cities, notably Athens, although reduced a little in recent years as 

a result of appropriate policies, its level is still unacceptable and much 

higher than the European average. 

At the macroeconomic level, a particular problem that raises concern is the 

difficulty to overcome low competitiveness of the Greek economy vis-à-vis 

its partners in the EU and the third countries that are associated with it. The 

low productivity and the relatively higher inflation of Greece compared to 

its European partners are major contributing factors. This leads to the 

chronic problems in the balance of payments, accumulating the external 

public debt. 

Persisting unemployment, especially of youth even educated youth, but also 

women, is a disturbing and painful problem affecting a considerable number 

of households, has economic, social and psychological implications and is a 

factor contributing to deviance and crime. 

The large number of illegal immigrants that still exist, despite the recent two 

efforts for their legalization, is a concern both of the government and the 

general public, and is also a source of poverty and crime, as will be further 

discussed in this report. 


133


2. HEALTH 

2.1. Definitions, Facts and Figures 

The health care services are provided in Greece by a mixed public-private 

system consisting of the National Health System (NHS), established in 

1983, the health units of certain Social Insurance Funds - the largest of 

which is IKA, covering just about half of the population – the military 

hospitals and a private network of health care facilities, which include 

physicians with specialties, clinics, diagnostic centers and laboratories. Part 

of the NHS are the Health Centers, located all over the country, particularly 

for servicing the countryside, providing primary health care and prevention. 

In the NHS that includes the public hospitals and the primary health care 

centers, all services are provided free of charge to everyone. 

In 2002, the health care capacity of the country consisted of 59,518 hospital 

beds, of which 36,621 (67.7 per cent) belonged to the NHS and 15,397 (25.9 

per cent), contained in 234 hospitals, to the private sector. Primary health 

care is serviced by about 25,000 private practices and laboratories, and 250 

diagnostic centers. Half of these centers are situated in Athens and are 

equipped with high quality expensive medical technology. They are 

financed by signing contracts with the social insurance Funds, on a case by 

case basis. Most of the private hospitals are general and maternity units and 

are financed, as the diagnostic centres, by the social insurance funds through 

contracted arrangements and also by the patients themselves. Greece, with 

5.44 hospital beds per 1000 inhabitants holds a low place among the EU 

countries. It has however the lowest occupancy rate (70.4 per cent), stable 

over the last decade. 

Concerning the medical and nursing staff of health care delivery in Greece, 

a study by the National School of Public Health in Athens shows the 

existence of a ‘disequilibrium’ between physicians with specialties and 

general physicians and family doctors. According to this study, Greece has 

41.5 physicians per 10,000 inhabitants, but only one general practitioner. 

General practitioners make up 1.8 per cent of the total number of physicians 

in the country. This compares very badly with, for instance, Great Britain 

where 46 per cent of all physicians are general practitioners. Analogous, 

unfavorable for Greece, is the comparison with other countries, such 

Austria, Portugal and Italy, with correspondingly 50, 31 and 34 per cent of 


134


general practitioners (Kathimerini, 22.6.2003). More specifically, the above 

study finds a ‘surplus’ of 34 per cent of special physicians and a great 

shortage of general and family doctors who should increase six times if this 

gap is to be bridged. Nurses and related personnel are also lacking and 

should be doubled to come to a satisfactory level. This study is also pointing 

out the lop-sided emphasis on the NHS hospitals and the neglect of 

preventive efforts concerning the risks of the modern way of living 

(smoking, lack of exercise, overweight, drugs, etc.), which are responsible, 

as it is noted, for the 90 per cent of premature deaths. Finally, the study 

recommends the connection between the health care services and the social 

services, given that several health problems, especially the chronic ones, are 

related to social factors. 

One very important aspect of the health insurance in Greece is the inequality 

in insurance benefits among different insurance funds, and consequently, the 

different burden on family budgets for health cost. Among the 40 or so 

health insurance funds, 5 are the major ones (Table 4). Each one of these 

funds has its own rules and regulations; some funds are healthier and more 

generous to their beneficiaries, others weaker and less generous. This has 

implications on health care delivery, particularly with respect to the primary 

health care. Despite the efforts made by the government for the unification 

of some of these funds, the task is difficult, facing the opposition of the 

beneficiaries of the more wealthy funds. 

The IKA that is the major fund for private employees, having by far the 

largest number of beneficiaries, of the order of 5.5 million people, has, as 

we noted, its own polyclinics for the delivery of health care. However, the 

quality of services offered and the accessibility of patients to this system is 

not satisfactory. In a survey, it was found that 40 per cent of patients at the 

IKA clinics visit at least once a year a private physician either because of 

lack of confidence (41.1 per cent) or for getting a second opinion (19.4 per 

cent) (Theodorou, 1993, p.127). 


135

Table 4: Health (and Pension) Insurance Funds in Greece, 2001 

Insurance Funds Insured Population Proportion of Beneficiaries 

(%) 

Social Insurance Fund (IKA) 5,530,000 46.5 

Social Insurance Fund for Farmers (OGA ) 2,150,000 18.1 

Fund for Merchants, Business Owners, taxi and Lorry drivers, etc. 1,422,000 12.0 

(OAEE) 

Fund for Civil Servants (OPAD) 1,289,000 10.8 

Fund for Sailors and Shipment 203,000 1.7 

Rest of Funds 1,300,000 10.9 

TOTAL 11,894,000 2 100.0 

Source: Ministry of Health and Welfare, Health, Health Care and welfare in Greece, 2003, 

p.39 (Adjusted and complemented). 

2 The number of beneficiaries of all funds together exceeds, the size of the population, due to the fact that, for 

various reasons, in some cases one person may be registered to more than one fund.


The OGA for farmers, with 2.2 million insured persons, has no clinics of its 

own, its beneficiaries having a free access to the Health Centers of the NHS. 

The beneficiaries of the fund for civil servants have a free of charge access 

to any physician on a list of contracting physicians paid by the fund on a 

case by case basis with very low fixed fees. Finally, the beneficiaries of the 

fund for merchants and business owners may visit physicians of 9 

specialties who are paid by the fund according to the number of patients 

registered with them. 

Apart from these, the rest of the numerous funds cover special groups of 

beneficiaries, such as employees of banks, public utilities, or certain 

occupational groups, such as lawyers, physicians, engineers, etc. Among 

them, they offer health insurance coverage to about 1.3 million people. A 

few of them have their own clinics. 

Turning to the financial issues of health care, we may note that the NHS is 

financed by the state budget, the Social Insurance Funds in a case by case 

manner and the households that make use of the health services. Despite the 

supposedly free of charge services to all citizens by the NHS, a high share 

of the overall cost for health is incurred by households, feeding a flourishing 

private sector supply of health services. By 1989, the share of each of the 

above three sources of finance was roughly one-third of total expenditure. 

These shares changed however over time. In 2000, social insurance funds 

represented 46 per cent of total health expenditure, the private sector 42 per 

cent and the rest 12 per cent came directly from the government budget. In 

other words, the two major sources of finance took a much higher burden 

than in the past. Concerning the allocation of expenditure, the non-private 

spending, i.e. social insurance funds plus the government budget, goes 

mostly to hospital treatment (56 per cent in 1998), whereas primary health 

care absorbed only 28 per cent. Households’ medical expenses are heavily 

(72 per cent) directed to the primary health care, including dental treatment 

that takes almost half of it (34 percentage points). Households spent 12 per 

cent of their health expenditure for hospital treatment and 15 per cent for 

pharmaceuticals, just about the same proportion as paid by the public sector 

at large (table 5). 


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Table 5: Composition (%) of Health Care Expenditure in Greece, 1998 

Category 

Hospital 

Expenses 

Primary 

Health 

Pharmaceuticals 

Care 

Total 

Public expenditure (Including social 

insurance) 

55.91 28.27 15.82 100.0 

Private expenditure 12.36 72.26 15.38 100.0 

Total Expenditure 37.11 47.26 15.63 100.0 

Source: Ministry of Health and Welfare, Health, Health Care and Welfare in Greece, 2002.


In 2000, total public and private health care expenditure in Greece 

represented 9.1 per cent of GDP, up from 4.2 per cent in 1990. This figure is 

considered by researchers as an underestimate of the actual expenses by 1- 

1.5 per cent of GDP, due to the inaccurate calculation of the private 

expenditure – missing the underground economy in health care in the form 

of expenses not included in GDP or tax evasion. These expenses are under 

the table payments for quicker access to NHS or extra charges by the 

physicians in public hospitals, e.g. for an operation or tips to nurses. For 

instance, by mid-1990s, the ‘’unregistered’’ expenditure on health was 

estimated to represent 1.1 per cent of GDP (table 6). 


The NHS was established in 1983 (L. 1397/1983) after the socialist 

government took office, setting as a basic principle that health care is a 

social good not subjected to the laws of profit and is offered free of charge 

equally to each and every citizen independently of his or her socioeconomic 

position. The protection of the citizens’ health is the exclusive responsibility 

of the state. The law sets in motion a process of decentralization of health 

services; their integrated planning; the development of primary health care 

at the Health Centers; and the institution of the hospital physician with ‘full 

and exclusive’ employment. Private hospitals that until then were subsidized 

by the government were turned into state hospitals. 

Over time, it was realized that the NHS was not functioning in the way 

expected and the provisions of the law were, for a number of reasons, not 

properly implemented. Thus, in 1992, a new law (L. 2071/1992) was passed 

by the conservative government that came to power, for the ‘modernization’ 

and organization of the NHS. Changing partly the philosophy of the 

previous system, the new legislation moved towards a more ‘neoliberal’ 

approach. They tried, in effect, to fix some of the weaknesses and flaws of 

the NHS after ten years’ experience with it. 


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Table 6 Estimated ‘’Unregistered’’ Health Expenditure as a Proportion of GDP and 

of Total Expenditure on Health 

Unregistered health Expenditure as % of 

Years GDP Total health expenditure 

1982 1.06 17.5 

1988 1.56 25.1 

1994 1.13 16.9 

Note: Unregistered health expenditure is taken as the difference between expenditure on 

health given in the household survey and income from the National Accounts Statistics. 

Source: Souliotis, 2002


The new legislation made an effort for a more competitive market in health 

care services and a better control of public expenditure, limiting the 

responsibility of the state. This resulted in a greater share of households in 

health care expenditure. The new legislation introduced, in parallel with the 

‘full and exclusive’ employment of the previous regime, the practice of 

‘part-time employment’ of physicians, allowing them in compensation to 

have also a private practice. Every physician of the NHS had, in effect, the 

option of either of the two possibilities. Due to the much lower wages of the 

part-time alternative, the response of physicians to it was very small. 

Furthermore, the new law allowed, under certain qualitative conditions, the 

operation of private clinics and hospitals. 

After the socialist government returned to power anew, legislation (L. 

2194/1994) was passed to restore the NHS to its original philosophy, 

abolishing, in effect, the 1992 law, but with the ambition of setting the NHS 

to a new operational framework. Subsequently, with the purpose of fixing 

some of the malfunctioning of the system, after consideration of the findings 

of a Commission of International Experts, a new legislation (L. 2519/1997) 

was voted, in 1997. This law established some Organs for the protection of 

the rights of hospital patients; emphasized the preventive health care and the 

need for more and better information, and it provided for the development 

of facilities for the care of children’s health. Attention was also given to the 

continuous training of the health personnel and the cooperation of public 

health services with the welfare and social protection services. The new 

legislation further provided for regional workshops of public health and a 

better finance management and control of hospitals and other medical units. 

In this framework, physicians of general practice were hired in clinics and 

Health Centers of primary health care, while as an innovative initiative, 

networks of primary health care were connected with the NHS hospitals. 

Finally, the National Organization of Drugs prepared an exclusive list of 

medicines that could be financed by the various health insurance funds, on 

behalf of their beneficiaries. 

One step further, new legislation (L. 2889/2001) followed, in 2001, with the 

main objective of changing the organizational structure and management of 

the NHS. Administrative managers were appointed in all public hospitals, 

while health care facilities were further decentralized, by creating a 

‘Regional Health System’ (PeSYs). The purpose was to create unified and 

comprehensive quality regional services in all stages of health care, 

including medical care at home. The PeSYs, 17 in number, have, according 

to the law, extensive responsibilities for the coordination of regional 


141


activities and the effective organization and management of all health care 

units within their jurisdiction. All health care units operate as decentralized 

and independent units of the PeSYs they belong to (Ministry of Health and 

Welfare Report). Specific actions in this context include the ‘’Asterias 

Programme’’, which promotes networking between local authorities in order 

to strengthen services to citizens and the ‘’Hippocrates Programme’’ that 

improves the access of small islands to health care services (EC, 2002, p. 

66). Another important innovation of this legislation is the instituted 

possibility of physicians to receive patients in hospitals after regular hours 

in the afternoon, charging a predetermined fee that is allocated to the 

hospital and those involved in the after hours practice. At no other 

circumstances may the physicians of the NHS exercise private practice in or 

out of the hospital. 

According to a recent statement of the undersecretary of the Ministry of 

Health and Welfare, the main policy objective for 2003 is prevention, 

subscribing to the philosophy that it is better to have fewer patients in 

hospitals rather than more hospital beds. A ‘’smoke free environment 

everywhere’’ and a warning to people, especially the young generation, 

about the harmful effects of modern dietic habits and alcohol, as well as the 

benefits of more exercise are the primary concern. Building new hospitals in 

various parts of the country and staffing them with the appropriate medical 

and nursing personnel are also in the agenda of this year’s activities. 


142


3. POVERTY 


The EU considers as poor “persons, families or groups of persons who have 

so limited means (material, cultural and social) that they are excluded from 

the minimum bearable mode of life in the countries where they live” (OKE, 

2000, p.20). This abstract conception is conventionally quantified by 

Eurostat, defining as “the line of poverty the 50 per cent of the arithmetic 

mean of equivalent adult per capita net monetary income, on the basis of a 

country’s measurement”. The 50 per cent definition seems to be preferred in 

Greece, for policy purposes, as also in most of the EU countries and the 

OECD. We may note here the emphasis given by the Greek Economic and 

Social Committee (OKE) on the qualitative rather than the quantitative 

aspect of poverty, claiming that ‘’the qualitative dimension of poverty refers 

to the inability of access of an individual in the basic social, political, 

cultural and professional opportunities and possibilities of a society at a 

particular time period’’ (OKE, 2000, p.3). On the basis of this definition, 

Eurostat data from a European wide investigation show that, by the end of 

2000, 1,000,000 people, i.e. 10 per cent of the population fell, for three 

consecutive years, below the poverty line (http://ta-nea.dolnet.gr). 

Although this seems to be the prevalent, it is not the only quantification of 

the poverty line, since the alternative of the 60 per cent mean is also used, 

giving 17 per cent of Greeks below the poverty line (Eurostat August, 

2000). Of them, one-fourth were 16-24 years of age, 61 per cent 25-49 and 

14 per cent 50-64 (the corresponding figures for the EU were 20, 62 and 19 

per cent) (www.in gr/news,2000/Greece). As is noted, however, these figures 

underestimate the true poverty, because official statistics don’t include the 

foreigners, who would raise, as is guessed, the proportion of poor by 43 per 

cent. 

Being that as it may, the NAP for social inclusion makes it clear that Greece 

has neither adopted an official definition of poverty line nor has it arranged 

for a universal minimum guaranteed income. We may note in this context 

that a Eurostat Task Force on Social Exclusion and Poverty Statistics 

‘’declined to define social exclusion arguing that this was just not possible’’ 

(Micklewright, 2000, p.8). Although in Greece, relative poverty is measured 

by various studies on the basis of either consumption or income, the use of 


143


consumption is justified, because it incorporates to some extent some of 

these missing elements (EC, 2002, p. 79). However, as it appears, this 

consumption-income dichotomy in calculating poverty in Greece has some 

meaning only for the 50 per cent definition or below, concerning people for 

whom the non-inclusive elements just described are relatively more 

noticeable (Table 7). 

In counterpart, and aside from official income statistics, a more accurate 

assessment of the actual dimensions of poverty, particularly for international 

comparisons, would require the consideration of some additional elements 

not included in these figures. Such elements refer to the high proportion of 

self-occupancy housing, even among poor households, the still considerable 

agricultural sector and the extra non-registered income of various groups, 

such as farmers working seasonally in tourism or others in jobs in the 

unregistered economy that is flourishing in Greece (it is estimated to about 

30 per cent of GDP). As noted in the Greek Action Plan for Social Inclusion 

2001-2003, counting the contribution of the owner-occupied housing alone, 

would reduce the proportion of poor by 3 percentage points, or 15 per cent. 

This suggests that the poverty measured by the official statistics is very 

likely overestimated, especially when it is calculated from the internal 

revenue data collection. 

Among the causes of poverty, it is found that unemployment is, par 

excellence, the major contributor, whereas 31 per cent of the pensioners live 

at the margin of poverty. What is even more disturbing is that these 

proportions tend to increase over time. Other groups exposed to poverty 

include the uninsured, the elderly, the ill and persons with disabilities (The 

Nea, 17.10.2000). The incidence of poverty is much lower for working 

household heads, while is not terribly different from the overall average for 

unemployed household heads, given that the majority of unemployed in the 

country do not belong to this group. In contrast, poverty is found to be 

remarkably higher for households with female than male head (Glytsos and 

Kanellopoulos, 1999). 


144

Table 7 Poverty line in Greece according to alternative 

definitions. (Calculated from the Greek Household 

Survey 1998/1999) 

Definition of Proportion of people 

below the poverty line: 

On the basis 

of 

consumer 

On the basis 

of income 

expenditure 

poverty line 

40% of median income 4.9 6.0 




Gini coefficient 0.307 0.322 

Source: Adapted from the Greek National Action Plan for Social 

Inclusion 

Note: Expenditure and income are per equivalent adult in the 

household, taking account of the size and the age composition of the 

household, on the basis of the OECD scale.


Comparing Greece with the EU average shows that the risk of poverty (60 

per cent definition) is 23 per cent against 16 per cent for the Union. The risk 

of poverty varies among different groups of people. For example, 

unemployed males have a risk of 45 per cent-the highest- the retired females 

40 per cent; and the economically inactive males 29 per cent. The 

corresponding average figures for the Union are, 43, 19 and 25 per cent. 

While the figures for unemployed males and inactive males are only a little 

higher than those of the Union, the risk of poverty of retired females is 

double the figure of the Union (EC, 2002, pp.186, 188). In Greece, 46 per 

cent of one-person households over 65 live below the poverty line as against 

an average of 27 per cent for the EU (50 per cent definition of poverty line). 

Poor men over 65 represent 37.8 per cent of all aged men and poor women 

59.6 per cent of all aged women. It is particularly interesting that the level 

of education of the Greeks who are below the poverty line is much higher 

than the corresponding average of the EU. About 23 per cent of the poor 

Greeks have a relatively higher level of education compared to a 

corresponding 9 per cent in the EU (Eurostat, August, 2000). 


Let me note at the outset the interesting observation that the Greek National 

Action Plan for Social Inclusion, which is, in effect, directly and indirectly a 

plan for poverty, is the responsibility of five ministries, namely Labour and 

Social Security as coordinator; Health and Welfare; Interior, Public 

Administration and Decentralization; National Education and Religion; and 

the National Economy and Finance. The lack of a specific official definition 

of poverty for policy purposes, explains, according to the NAP for social 

inclusion, the co-existence of a great variety of policies and income transfer 

schemes to certain population groups, which in fact include people with a 

high incidence of poverty (Glytsos and Kanellopoupos, 1999). Such 

measures, with evidently other objectives that in reality alleviate poverty 

include welfare assistance; jobs for the unemployed; training; solidarity pay 

to low pension beneficiaries; tax reductions; family allowances based on the 

number of children, or income transfers to persons with disabilities, 

unemployed, ex-prisoners, uninsured, women, etc. It must be emphasized in 

this context that the particular weight of the Greek social security system on 

work, is making it incapable of sufficiently covering those with a poor 

employment record, including young job seekers, the long term unemployed 


146


and persons with disabilities. The unification of policies and the application 

of uniform criteria to the disparate benefits, as the Plan goes, remains a task 

for the future (p. 106). The NAP for Social Inclusion identifies key issues 

and concentrates on certain target groups in a nexus of economic, 

employment and social reforms. New targeted initiatives, such as income 

support to households, and low pension receivers, or cash benefits to long– 

term unemployed aged 45-65 and to families with children in school up to 

16 years of age, are all part of this effort. 

The Eurostat Task Force, mentioned above, suggests that the statistical 

analysis concerning exclusion should focus on the labour market, given 

‘’the importance of employment as the core of the social tie, as the entrance 

to social protection, as it gives a social identity, social status, satisfaction 

social contacts and prevents families from long term poverty’’ 

(Micklewright, 2000, p. 8). This, and the recognition that ‘’participation in 

employment is emphasized by most member states [including Greece] as the 

best safeguard against poverty and social exclusion’’ (EC, 2000, p.12), led 

to a two-way link between the NAP for Social Inclusion and the NAP for 

Employment. On the one hand, the aim is to increase employability and 

create new job opportunities, and on the other to focus on actions facilitating 

participation in employment for individuals, groups, or communities found 

at a distance from the labour market. The trend towards more active and 

preventive policies reflects experience gained under the Luxembourg 

process (ibid.). 

In this spirit, the Greek Action Plan for Social Inclusion considers as the 

major challenge and a policy priority the preservation of social cohesion, 

including measures for the smooth integration of immigrants. The policies 

adopted in the NAP for Employment for the purpose of fighting 

unemployment are to the direction of meeting this challenge. But apart from 

these rather general measures, the NAP for Social Inclusion proposes also a 

series of more concrete reforms linked to exclusion (health, welfare, 

education, social security, public administration and decentralization).A 

case in point is the development of a system in schools offering second 

opportunities for the reintegration of persons over 18 in the educational 

system through individual teaching, as an alternative to basic qualifications. 

Furthermore, for acquainting people in remote areas and islands with 

computers, certain internet information centers are conveniently located for 

the promotion of ‘’eInclusion’’, including possibilities that favour the access 

of persons with disabilities to information and communications 

technologies. 


147


Adopting the proposition of ‘higher employment for lower poverty’, the 

Action Plan for Health and Welfare initiates and encourages policies 

“aiming primarily at the prevention and eradication [sic] of phenomena of 

poverty and social exclusion”. In this respect, the plan discusses active 

measures for employment and social inclusion on an “individual basis” and 

promotes equal opportunities to employment, improving the access of 

sensitive groups of people and of women to the labour market. This is 

pursued with family-friendly measures of employment in a decentralized 

system of social protection, aiming at the “support of the individual or 

groups of individuals in a context of self-determination and active 

involvement vis-à-vis the problem emerged”. The welfare system favours 

the “open” as opposed to institutionalized care of sensitive groups, making 

also provisions for the association of the welfare services with the NHS and 

the psychiatric health services, as well as with the services that promote 

employment and the prevention of social, economic and labour market 

exclusion. 

The OKE report, mentioned above, maintains that although poverty in 

Greece is considerable, the attention given to it by the political and social 

dialogue is not up to the severity of the problem, maintaining that ‘’the 

Greek state but also the Greek society never had a comprehensive policy for 

poverty as an autonomous phenomenon’’(p. 6). They continue to suggest 

that existing policies on poverty involve passive financial assistance without 

offering outlets of escaping it. Poverty is basically attributed by OKE to 

technological unemployment, globalization and, to a considerable extent, 

the inadequacy of the educational system to reorient the labour force to 

alternative directions of employment. Relevant active policies ought, as the 

report goes, to fight poverty along with social exclusion, the two being an 

undivided issue. 

The EU project EQUAL for fighting discrimination and inequalities with 

respect to the labour market is certainly expected to have some relief on 

poverty. This programme is targeted to groups that are usually consisting of 

persons exposed to high risks of poverty, such as high unemployment youth 

and women; persons with low education; asylum seekers; deviants; exprisoners; 

drug addicts etc. In this project Greece participates with 40 

partnerships most of which concern ‘’employability’’. Among the objectives 

of several of these partnerships are the access and return to the labour 

market of discriminated against workers and the fighting against racism and 

xenophobia in respect to the labour market. The theme “equal opportunities 

for men and women’’ concerns family-friendly employment projects and the 


148


eradication of professional distinction between the sexes. Some of the more 

specific actions taken are the cooperation and networking of bodies 

supportive of employment; improvement of the systems that promote 

employment of disadvantaged persons; programmes of long-term training 

for such groups, and many more. 

In the framework of adopted or planned policies just discussed, a sample of 

very specific measures, taken or proposed, targeted to various disadvantaged 

groups, but working towards alleviating poverty, are now presented. Some 

of them are ‘’passive’’ and others ‘’active’’. To begin with, since 1996, all 

receivers of low pensions (below 6,340 Euros in 2003) get an Allowance of 

Social Solidarity (EKAS), ranging inversely according to the level of 

pensioner’s income, between 27.80 to 111.18 Euros in 2003, under the 

condition that the family taxable income is below a certain level (11,511 

Euros in 2003). About 360,000 persons are currently the beneficiaries of this 

allowance. 

In the summer of 2002 started a new programme providing financial 

assistance to 270,000 household heads of extremely poor families in 

mountainous and disadvantaged areas. The allowance amounts to 300-600 

Euros annually, depending on the beneficiaries’ income. In addition, a 

school allowance of 300 Euros is given per child of poor families until 

finishing the 9-year compulsory education, in case the annual family income 

is below 3,000 Euros (Kathimerini, 3.7.2002). 

One recent active measure, on which special emphasis is given in the draft 

of the Action Plan for Employment 2003, is part-time employment – in 

Greece it is only 5 per cent of total employment - in the public sector, with 

the expressed objective of containing poverty and safeguarding social 

cohesion (Kathimerini, 24.7.2003. The part-time employment is considered 

appropriate by the government on grounds that an unemployed person is 

2.15 times more at risk of being poor compared to someone holding a job. 

Furthermore, a housewife who welcomes part-time employment is given 

this outlet, reducing substantially her household risk of poverty and social 

exclusion. 

Currently, the Greek government is preparing a bill – to be submitted to the 

parliament this Fall – that proposes a three-year programme of incentives, 

for the establishment of ‘’social cooperatives’’. These incentives - social 

security contribution allowances - are addressed to ‘’groups of high 

unemployment’’ and to ‘’socially vulnerable groups’’. More specifically, 

the beneficiaries are planned to be mainly women, young people, long-term 


149


unemployed, persons with disabilities, one-parent families and ex-drug 

addicts. These cooperatives of social scope may offer a range of services 

and products. They will be able to contract with private enterprises, the 

public sector and local authorities for the purpose of developing the ‘’third 

sector’’, which in other Mediterranean countries is known to have 

contributed to employment creation, as claimed by the planners of this 

policy. 


150


4. CRIME 


In the last 20 or so years crime has been rising at a rather fast pace. Figures 

presented by the Vice-Chief of Police show a rapid rise of criminal activity, 

particularly of heavy crimes. Until the late 1980s, 87-90 homicides were 

committed annually. In 1990, homicides reached 104, in 1997, 251 and in 

1998, 258. He concluded that foreigners, especially the Albanians, had a 

significant share in these crimes. Analogous has been the situation with 

robberies. As he stated, until 1995, there were 825 robberies on the average 

per annum. From 1996 onwards, the number started to increase, reaching 

2,368 robberies in1998. The Vice-chief further stated that the organized 

crime has no solid organizational structures and strategies in Greece and 

does not operate through an integrated and stable network. 

(www.patris.gr/archive/99/10/23/1stpage.htm). This exacerbation of criminal 

activity has subsequently receded, at least for heavy crime. In 2002, 

homicides were 94; attempted homicides 115, rapes 222 and robberies 

2,266, but other crimes have increased. Per 100,000 of population, total 

recorded crimes were 834.62, in 2002, which is the same as in 1996 (Table 

8). We may point out that with reference to 1996, although homicides 

dropped substantially by the year 2002 - and the same is true for thefts and 

burglaries - rapes and robberies have increased. 

Referring to more recent years, the major opposition party of New 

Democracy suggested that criminal activity of heavy crime has increased in 

2002.They presented data in the parliament, according to which, in the 11month 

period of 2002 the number of burglaries amounted to 44,211 

compared to 41,000 in the corresponding period of the previous year, 

robberies reached 1,800 up from 1,500 in 2001. Without disputing these 

figures - they are official in any case – the Minister of 

Public Order stated in the parliament that, nevertheless, ‘’Greece is the last 

country in criminal activity and the more secure in Europe. It is the least 

violent country in the world’’. He went on to say that criminality, especially 

homicides, has decreased in recent years. In the city of Thessaloniki alone, the drop 

reached 50 per cent, compared to the previous year, recognizing, however, that the 

problem exists with robberies in Greater Athens. 


151

Table 8 Crimes recorded in criminal (police) statistics, including attempts to commit crimes 

Crime category Number of Crimes Rate per 100,000 inhabitants 

1991 1996 2002 1991 1996 2002 

Grand total of recorded crimes 59,897 87,312 90,874 587.22 834.32 834.62 

Homicides completed 138 169 94 1.35 1.61 0.86 

Homicides attempted 93 149 115 0.91 1.42 1.05 

Frauds 587 544 821 5.75 5.20 7.54 

Rapes 243 183 222 2.38 1.75 2.04 

Animal thefts 575 599 559 5.64 5.72 5.13 

Thefts-Burglaries 42,938 63,699 49,641 420.96 608.68 455.92 

Automobile thefts 8,653 12,498 17,889 84.83 119.42 164.30 

Contraband 99 186 471 0.97 1.78 4.32 

Robberies 1,207 1,531 2,266 11.83 14.63 20.81 

Sexual assault 974 564 409 9.55 5.39 3.76 

Drug offences 2,449 4,695 10,424 24.00 44.86 95.74 

Other crimes 3 1,941 2,495 7,963 19.03 23.84 73.14 

Source: Ministry of Public Order, Crime Statistics (http://www.ydt.gr/main). 

3 Includes smuggling of antiquities, blackmail, beggaring, copyright, forgery, guns.


One important issue widely debated in Greece is the extent to which 

immigrants are involved in criminal activities. Popular belief, formed partly 

by exaggerating TV reports, has it that illegal immigrants are responsible for 

the majority of crimes. Relevant figures show that among arrested criminals, 

illegal immigrants committed, in 1999, 34 per cent of homicides, 25 per cent 

of rapes, 42 per cent of thefts-burglaries and 35 per cent of robberies 

(Eleftherotypia, 5.4.2000, presenting data of the Ministry of Public Order). 

It is believed that these comparative figures give an underestimate of the 

true share of foreigners in crime, due to the relative difficulty of 

apprehending them (no papers, no fingertips, no specific address, etc). Data 

from the ministry of Public Order, referring to the wanted by the police 

criminals in Athens and Thessaloniki show that out of the 643 robberies, in 

2002, 64 per cent were committed by foreigners, and out of 105 rapes, 51 

were committed by foreigners too. In the attempted 47 homicides, the 

offenders are foreigners in 33, whereas of the 266 premeditated murders, 

207 were committed by foreigners, in which the Albanians have the higher 

share. For the ‘’lighter’’ crimes, on the other hand, such as theft and drugs, 

the Greeks have the greater responsibility (Ethnos, 25.10.2000). A report 

submitted by the ministry of Public Order to the President of the Greek 

Parliament, indicates a high share of foreigners in organized crime, pointing 

out the particular threat of Albanian, Russian and Turkish gangs (1998). 

It is very disturbing that, according to the special Juvenile Tribunal of 

Athens, juvenile crime climbed up in the region of Attica, mostly Athens 

conurbation, by 23 per cent in 2001. Of the 5,106 cases processed by the 

court, 4,885 concerned boys over half of which aged 13-17 years. Robberies 

increased by 23 per cent and violence (body injuries) by 14 per cent. 

Driving misdemeanors went up by 56 per cent, beggaring 21 per cent, and 

theft 9 per cent. Drugs concerned only 5 per cent of the cases in the Juvenile 

court, but the problem is believed to be in reality much more severe. Most 

of young criminals have a low educational level, including dropouts and 

they come from disturbed families, living mostly in the poor 

neighbourhoods of Greater Athens. There is a great concern about the 

criminality of teenagers 15-19 years of age that is related to drugs. Some 

consider TV as a major causing factor, acquainting youth with crime as a 

means of success. Data show that the deaths o youngsters below 17 caused 

by the use of drugs have increased, in ten years’ time, 1987-97, by a factor 

of 11, while the access to drugs of 16 year olds increased 20 times, between 

1991 and 1997, and of people of all ages the access has tripled. 


153


A study of the Council of Europe by GRECO, referring to the case of 

Greece, maintains that corruption is not limited to the ‘’little envelop’’ got 

by certain civil servants for complementing their income, but it has become 

wide scale, taking advantage of international networks, including those of 

organized crime. This is the case, for instance, with illegal migration 

trafficking and prostitution networks (p. 17). According to this report, no 

official study exists on corruption in Greece. The GRECO evaluation team 

(GET) refers however to a 1998 study, drafted on the initiative of a 

parliamentarian, showing that ‘’corruption was on a larger scale than had 

been imagined, affecting in particular the police, the tax authorities and the 

construction sector’’. Furthermore, from the replies to a questionnaire, 

corruption takes the form of bribery (passive or active). Among the different 

forms is the bribery of public officials to assist people to get subsidies or aid 

from the EU funds, or to help immigrants from Central and Eastern Europe 

to obtain the Greek citizenship. On the basis of these developments, it is 

suggested that Greece needs a global comprehensive strategy, not a 

fragmentary one, against corruption (p.25). Money laundering is a separate 

criminal offense (L. 2331/1995). This law has established a body 

responsible for centralizing information on laundering operations (GRECO, 

p.6). The ‘’Section 7 Committee’’ is an independent administrative 

authority funded by the ministry of finance. 

Crime is proved to be a lucrative business endeavour. Data presented in a 

colloquy at the Technical University of Crete in Greece, in 1999, show that 

about 1000 persons were murdered, in the preceding five years and 6,200 

were injured by criminals during the process of crimes and terrorists’ 

attacks. It is estimated that out of the 292,000 criminal acts, robberies, 

burglaries, etc, criminals made about 323 million Euros. This figure does 

not include the proceeds from the sale of drugs and the trafficking of women 

and illegal migrants, neither the proceeds from the counterband of 

cigarettes, cosmetics and alcoholic beverages, all of which are a flourishing 

business in Greece. On a world-wide basis, UNICEF presents data of the 

annual trafficking of women and children for the purpose of prostitution, 

amounting respectively to 700,000 and 1,000,000, with Greece having a fare 

share at least for women trafficking from Central and Eastern Europe. Out 

of this global crime, it is noted that traffickers make about 30,000 USD per 

head, totaling a revenue of the order of 51 billion USD annually. 


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In support of the government efforts, the Minister of Public Order claims 

that the policy adopted in recent years against crime was effective and has 

decreased considerably criminal activity. He admits, nevertheless, the rising 

uneasiness of citizens regarding crime. Summarizing the measures taken 

against crime, the Vice-chief of the police referred particularly to the steps 

made for the modernization of police methods and technology; 

improvement in the organization of the police and the training and retraining 

of the police force; the disengagement of police from non-policing services; 

the learning from the good practices applied in other EU countries; the 

putting into effect already signed bilateral agreements with neighbouring 

countries and other Central and Eastern European countries for deterring 

trafficking of people, drugs and guns and he pointed out the active 

involvement of citizens in fighting crime. Recent legislation (L. 2928/2001) 

on the ‘’Protection of Citizens from Criminal Acts committed by Criminal 

Organizations’’ is a law against organized crime and terrorism, providing 

new court practices and much stiffer penalties than the previous legislation. 

The Vice-chief of the police also drew the attention to the priority given in 

enhancing the pedestrian and mounted police patrols as a deterrent to 

robberies, theft and other crimes. For small crime prevention, the 

‘’neighbourhood policeman’’ in cooperation with people and local bodies 

intervenes for solving problems of security and reassuring the feeling of 

safety to the citizens. This new police service was put in force on a pilot 

basis on 17 March this year in 35 police precincts in Attica and 2 in 

Thessaloniki, involving 354 policemen in an equal number of 

neighbourhoods. Before starting, these policemen attended special seminars 

on the philosophy of this institution and their specific duties. So far, the 

results of this experiment are judged encouraging by the competent ministry 

and they plan to expand the project to the rest of the country (Table A3). 

A new institution, announced by the Minister of Public Order, is the 

establishment of Local Councils of Criminal Prevention, which is a policy, 

decided three years ago, but had not the expected appeal to the 

municipalities. Through the Councils, the government offers its support for 

the drafting of local preventive programmes. As the minister explained, the 

idea is not that the Councils ‘’take the law in their own hands, neither to 

create islands of informers’’. Their main role is to register and study the 


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criminality in their neighbourhood and prepare an annual report; to 

encourage citizens to participate in programmes of prevention; to assist in 

the social action of the police; to develop social solidarity; to establish 

centers of assistance and information, in cooperation with local social 

bodies, for the crime victims (Kathimerini, 19.5.2002). These Councils can 

be created in localities with more than 3,000 inhabitants and are staffed with 

volunteer scientists and functionaries of the region. As the initiators of this 

idea note, the experience of other countries has shown that this is a difficult 

task to accomplish, since the Councils run the risk of becoming bureaucratic 

and have their role confused with that of the police. 

The prevention of youth criminality falls under the domain of the ministry 

of justice and its Societies of Adolescence Protection (EPA), established 

in1940 and brought up to date with recent legislation (L. 2298/1995, L. 

2331/1995). These societies are public entities under the supervision and 

finance – except of some donations - of the ministry of justice, and they are 

situated at the seats of the courts of First Instance. Their task is to prevent 

the commitment of juvenile crimes by the antisocially behaving youth, or 

youth who, according to their family and social conditions, are in danger of 

becoming offenders or victims. Another body with responsibilities ‘’after 

the fact’’ is the Supervisor Service (L. 378/1976 and Presidential Decree 

49/1979) at the Juvenile Courts. This is the most important noninstitutionalized 

caretaker of adolescences who have committed offenses or 

are in danger of doing so. In the competence of the ministry of justice also 

belong the 2 Special Centers for Therapy (L. 2721/1999) of imprisoned 

youth with drug offenses. These centers can accommodate in all 610 

persons. Their therapy goes through four different stages of treatment of 26 

month duration until they are prepared and ready to reintegrate into the 

society. For helping the discharged persons to integrate into the labour 

market, the ministry of justice in cooperation with the ministry of labour and 

social security has programmes of subsidizing new jobs for them. 

Speaking on behalf of the EU, in a UN conference for the prevention of 

crime, during the recent Greek presidency, the Greek Minister of Justice 

emphasized the role of the newly established European Network for the 

Prevention of Crime, pointing out its significance for juvenile delinquency 

and the criminality in the cities. He praised the progress made in dealing 

with the trafficking of women and children and its connection with the 

cross-border organized crime, which is this year’s primary objective. This 

effort, as he stated, cannot be successful without cooperation between the 

state and the citizens and without international cooperation. Greece is 


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greatly concerned with this kind of criminal activity and welcomes and 

shares in any EU relevant policies and interventions. In this respect, Greece 

supports and has participated actively in the project of ‘’small arms and 

light weapons’’ (SALW) control concerning the South East Europe. 

Technical support was also offered and seminars were given to the Albania 

police, and in addition, Greece is financing the SALW programme for 

Albania with 50,000EUR annually for the period 2002-2006. Furthermore, 

Greece is cooperating under a bilateral agreement with Bulgaria police on 

border control issues. Similar agreements are also signed with Russia and 

Ukraine (europa.eu.int/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc). 

The two consecutive legalizations of immigrants in 1998 (Presidential 

Decrees 357 and 358/1997) and in 2001 (L. 2910) seem to have contributed 

to the containment of their criminal activity, by offering them the possibility 

of making some first steps to their gradual integration into the Greek 

economy and society. A byproduct of this legalization is that it facilitates 

the search and control of immigrants’ criminal activity through the 

requirement that the applicants are fingerprinted. The legalization also 

contributes to the reduction of their poverty and the related to it tendency of 

offensive behaviour and criminal actions. 


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5. TRENDS AND CORRELATION 

5.1. Evolution and Structural Developments over time 

Health: Five major laws for the reformation of the health care system in 

Greece were passed in the last 20 years (1983-2003). This series of 

legislation started up, in1983, with the establishment of the NHS and ended 

in 2001, with the setting up of major Regional Health Systems. The creation 

of the NHS in 1983 was by itself, despite its several weaknesses and 

inefficiencies, a great step towards the democratization of health care 

delivery in Greece. It put an order to the previous situation of a disorganized 

and inaccessible to all citizens health care system, and offered a relief to the 

low income and poor people. Of particular interest has been the 

decentralization introduced with the establishment of NHS, which was more 

recently enhanced by the regional organisation and coordination of health 

care by the creation of the Regional Health System (PeSYs). The increasing 

attention over time to the primary health care and the connection of primary 

health care networks to the NHS hospitals has also been a welcomed 

development. The improvement in the management of the system by 

appointing, in 2001, administrative managers in the NHS hospitals and the 

hiring of more physicians of general practice filled partly a long standing 

gap in primary health care. Positive is also the cooperation of public health 

services with the welfare and social protection services, introduced in 1997. 

The part-time employment of NHS physicians, introduced in 1992, did not 

seem to work due to low wages, whereas the possibility of full-time 

physicians to receive private patients in after hours inside the hospitals they 

work is a controversial issue, standing to criticism on grounds that it refutes 

the essential NHS philosophy of free health services for all. It serves 

however the practical purpose of keeping the interests of good doctors to the 

NHS alive, without an excessive financial burden to the system that would 

have been necessary for raising salaries to a competitive level. The rising 

share of the state, over time, in total health expenditure, although very far 

from satisfying the principle of free health services for all, is in the right 

direction. The establishment of the exclusive list of approved medicines, to 

be paid by the social insurance funds for their beneficiaries, is an effort to 

control the tremendous expenses for pharmaceuticals, aiming at a more 

efficient use of the funds’ financial resources devoted to health care. 


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Without disregarding the various weaknesses of the health care system, the 

government seems to be content with the progress made so far. They 

consider as a satisfactory development the creation of modern infrastructure 

at the regional level, succeeding in covering geographically the needs of the 

population and reducing regional inequalities, as a result of which the flow 

of patients to the city hospitals has been declined. They believe that the 

regional improvements in the health care facilities are ‘’a prerequisite for 

the balanced social and economic development of the regions’’ (Action Plan 

for Health and Welfare, p. 20). The government finds also adequate the 

coverage of needs in the secondary and tertiary health care. All these 

developments and improvements in the health care supply services leave, 

however, much to be done for satisfying the patients and restore their 

confidence in NHS. Their dissatisfaction is very vividly indicated by the 

still high ‘unofficial’ private health expenses, representing, as we have 

mentioned, 1.1 per cent of GDP. 

Poverty: Although, in the 1970s, poverty was mostly a characteristic of 

farmers, it has increasingly become, in the 1980s and 1990s, an urban 

characteristic as well, due mainly to the rise of urban unemployment. 

Between 1982 and 1994, poverty of scientists and executives more than 

doubled, has increased for office clerks, and has declined a little for farmers 

and blue collar workers. This notwithstanding, farmers continued to have 

the highest incidence of poverty, 36.3 per cent (1994) as compared to 

scientists and executives who carry the lowest incidence rate, 19.0 per cent 

(Table A4). 

Using the Greek Household Survey data, an econometric study found that, 

between 1974 and 1994, income inequality and poverty (absolute and 

relative) was reduced. The reduction took place particularly during the 

period 1974-82, then, after an intermittent increase it was reduced again 

(Mitrakos and Tsakloglou 2000). Taking, in addition, into account a number 

of non-monetary welfare indexes (housing conditions, durable consumer 

goods, etc), the standard of living of the poor has been continuously 

improving. A primary contributing factor is considered by these authors the 

rise of the educational level and the greater urbanization (ibid. p. 46). 

According to other econometric findings (Sarris and Zografakis, 1997), 

presented in table A4, education is indeed a reducing factor of poverty in 

Greece. In 1994, the incidence of poverty for household heads without 

primary education was 40.8 per cent; for those with primary education 28.4 

per cent; with secondary education 13.6 per cent and with tertiary education 

7.7 per cent. However, over time, especially since 1989, the situation of 


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secondary and tertiary education degree holders has substantially 

deteriorated, while people with primary education have seen their poverty to 

decline slightly. The intensity of poverty changes are inversely related with 

age. For persons under 24, the incidence of poverty almost doubled, 

whereas for ages 55-64 poverty has increased slightly and for persons over 

65 declined a bit. 

A distinctive and varied role in poverty has been played over time by 

emigration from and immigration to Greece. First, the exodus of Greeks, in 

the 1960s and early 1970s, reduced the number of poor, while the inflows of 

migrant remittances raised the incomes of their poor families at home. 

Second, the termination of the great emigration had on both counts a reverse 

negative impact on poverty. Third, the great inflows of unskilled foreigners, 

starting in the early 1990s and continued to the present time, raise both 

inequality and poverty. Apart from adding to the cohorts of poor with their 

presence, the illegal immigrants among them, working often for low wages, 

displace to some extent unskilled Greek workers (see, for instance, Glytsos 

and Katseli, 2003). 

To answer the question whether the various government transfers to low 

income people reduces poverty and to what extent, if any, consider the 

following information. According to Eurostat data presented by ESSPROS, 

Greece has increased social protection expenditure to 24.5 per cent of GDP 

in 1998 (EU average is 27.7 per cent). More than half of social expenditure 

goes to old age and survivors’ pensions (52.6 per cent, as against 45.7 per 

cent in EU), leaving fewer resources for funding other social transfers. The 

greater proportion of pensions in Greece, such as the minimum IKA pension 

and the farmers’ (OGA) pensions, which are at or near the poverty line, are, 

in fact, for their major part, social welfare payments. They are justified as a 

means of reducing poverty for people over 65, which is the main age group 

affected by poverty. It has been estimated that this kind of state 

‘’intervention’’, including the EKAS, i.e. the allowance of social solidarity 

for receivers of low pensions, has cut in half the 1999 proportion of poor (50 

per cent definition), from 22.6 per cent without these transfers to 11.4 per 

cent after they are counted in the relevant calculations. As a result, the 

proportion of poor was kept stable in the face of an increasing poverty trend 

(1988-1999) without these transfers (National Action Plan for Social 

Inclusion, 2001). In absolute terms, on the basis of the 1994 poverty line, 

the proportion of poor has been reduced by 34 per cent, the above transfers 

having contributed to this reduction (ibid.). Let me note, in this context, the 

government’s claim that the cost for Greece’s accession to the European 


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Monetary Union was not borne by the poor since their economic conditions 

had improved during the adjustment period for satisfying the Maastricht 

criteria. They explained this by the increasing social expenditure that took 

place, notwithstanding the efforts for the accession. 

Eurostat’s findings show, however, that, apart from the redistributing impact 

of pensions, any other state transfers, in the context of the welfare policies, 

have very weak redistributive effects, reducing the proportion of people 

below the poverty line only by one percentage point. This figure is the 

lowest among the EU countries, in which such transfers reduce poverty even 

up to 18 percentage points. In the same spirit, the Greek Economic and 

Social Committee (OKE) has expressed the ‘’opinion’’ that the taxation 

system in Greece is incapable of playing its redistributive role, on grounds 

that the share of the indirect taxes in total tax revenue is high. In addition, 

the great tax evasion, particularly within the extensive unregistered 

economy, is not a poverty reducing factor. In the same tone, the leading 

daily newspaper Kathimerini (20.11.2002), discussing the 2003 Greek 

government budget, expressed doubts about its poverty relieving 

possibilities. As the argument goes, the expected increase of indirect taxes, 

weighing heavily on total tax burden falls unequally on the poor, whereas 

the proposed income tax cut, does not in reality concern the poor without a 

taxable income. On the other hand, the proposed increases in wages and 

pensions or the unemployment benefits would give only a marginal relief to 

the main part of the poor who are chronically in that situation. 

Crime: Up until the 1980s, Greece was a country experiencing a very 

limited criminal activity, mainly light offenses and minimal heavy crime, 

the offenders being Greeks, without imported crime. Along with economic 

development and the restructuring of the economy towards more urbanized 

production, in the following years, there came higher urban unemployment, 

greater income inequality and urban poverty, as well as the invasion of 

drugs and the uncontrolled flocking of illegal immigrants from neighbouring 

and Eastern European countries. These developments and the collapsed 

regimes in the countries just referred to, have also opened up the possibility 

of a lucrative business of cross-boarder trafficking of illegal workers, 

women for prostitution and drugs, through established inter-country 

networks of smugglers and traffickers, as well as a rising mobilization of 

foreign criminals within Greece. As a result, criminal activity of all sorts 

was accelerated, particularly in the 1990s. Foreigners and foreign organized 

gangs – mostly from Central and Eastern Europe – have more than a fare 

share in the criminal activity in Greece, particularly in homicides, robberies 


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and burglaries. Juvenile crime, which is an altogether different type of 

crime, to some extent with different motives and modes of operation, has, in 

recent years, increased greatly, especially in certain Athens neighbourhoods. 

The overwhelming majority of these crimes are not however related to 

drugs, despite their tremendous proliferation in these years. 

Several measures have been taken for fighting crime in the past couple of 

years, including legislation for improving courts efficiency, prison 

infrastructure and management and providing for more stiffening penalties 

for certain crimes. The police have been reorganized, better equipped with 

modern technology and adopted new police practices for policing and 

investigation. Many illegal immigrants have been legalized, which helps 

them to be better integrated in the Greek economy and society, and by 

implication, reduce their poverty and the tendency to commit crime. All 

these measures seem to have contributed to the drop of crime. Although in 

2002 a resurgence of burglaries and robberies is observed, homicides, as 

well as the overall criminal activity are reduced considerably compared to 

the 1998 level. 

Despite the recession in criminal activity, Greeks consider crime as one of 

the most serious problems in the country (Kathimerini, 19.5.2002). A 

relevant opinion poll, in 1999, indicated that crime is the second most 

serious problem after the economy but before unemployment. They are not 

generally convinced, about this crime setback, and they connect the overall 

rising criminality, in the last decade, to the presence of large numbers of 

immigrants in the country. Newspaper reports suggest, however, that despite 

the impressions given by TV, statistics show that the crimes committed by 

foreigners are a much lower proportion than the crimes committed by 

Greeks. One of the reasons for the ‘’explosive’’ criminality is, according to 

this view, the unprepared police, including the inadequate training, despite 

the serious steps of improvements made. It is suggested – and this is another 

angle to the problem in hand - that the police has been socially disgraced, 

originally during the seven-year dictatorship, but also afterwards by the 

socialist and leftist political parties. It is interesting, however, that today 

there is no political party of the extreme right persuasion to have 

extravagant views and propose ‘’radical’’ measures against crime, 

especially with respect to immigrants. 

The Youth Club of the New Democracy party, now in opposition, 

underlines the increasing criminality after 1994 and the inability of the 

government to deal with it. Referring to a recent opinion poll, they note that 

76.9 per cent of people are scared and feel unprotected even in their own 


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neighbourhood. The Club is disputing the international statistics, which 

show that Greece occupies a low position on a list of European countries 

regarding crime. They explain their view on grounds that the Greeks don’t 

trust the effectiveness of the police to resort to when they become victims of 

certain criminal acts. 

An opinion poll by the Greek section of Transparency International, in 

February 2001, presented evidence that 83 per cent of the 920 interviewees 

considered Greek society to be infected by corruption, 45 per cent had given 

a bribe or ‘’backhander’’ and 18 per cent admitted of having used 

connections. This survey found however no connection between corruption 

and organized crime. On a scale of 0-10 (10 being the best – the least 

corrupted), Greece with a score of 4.2, occupied, in 2001, the 42 nd place in 

the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index, which is the 

lowest place among the EU countries. 

5.2. Correlation Between poverty, Health and Crime 

Despite the improvements made in the poverty front, the EC maintains that 

‘’as a result of the problems in labour market, and of structural 

developments – such as the change from a rural to an urban society, the 

ageing population, the weakening of family support mechanisms and the 

strong immigration flows – poverty and social exclusion continue to 

represent a serious challenge’’ (EC, 2002). Greece is experiencing the wellknown 

connection between long –term unemployment and low income, 

which makes it vulnerable to poverty, in fact, ‘’this risk is considered as a 

major factor behind poverty and social exclusion [in Greece]’’ (ibid., p. 24). 

The malfunctioning of the Greek labour market and the related to it 

unemployment are key factors in generating poverty and of keeping many 

young people for lengthy period of times out of work. Economically 

suffering households constitute an unhappy and miserable environment for 

raising children who become vulnerable to bad influences that may push 

them to social deviance and crime. A good experiment that economic and 

social exclusion tends to offensive behaviour, and, conversely, that 

economic and social integration and employment contains criminality. For 

instance, the legalization of immigrants may affect their social conduct. 

Stepping out of illegality and being treated equally with the Greeks in the 

labour market, they won’t have to resort to crime for their survival. Not that 


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legalization solves all the problems of immigrants, but it makes them equal 

at least in the eyes of the law, giving them the opportunity to have social 

insurance, better paid jobs and working conditions, in other words, a first 

serious step for their integration into the Greek society and the sense of 

belonging and not being always on the run. 

Several studies confirm the a priori positive association of economic growth 

with poverty reduction. This connection varies among countries according 

to income inequality. In countries of low income inequality, ‘’growth is 

twice as effective in reducing poverty as in countries with high inequality’’ 

(Lusting and Stern, 2000, p.3). And inversely, reducing inequalities in 

people’s assets, including land and education, can improve efficiency and 

growth, while reforms bringing down inflation and raising growth are good 

for the poor (ibid. p.4). These authors also suggest that the containment of 

bureaucracy and corruption encourages private investment. Pursuing 

policies that benefit small firms and small producers makes market work 

better for the poor (ibid.). Other writers maintain as a general corollary that 

growth benefits the poor and poverty reduction is good for growth. In 

general, policies such as investment in primary education; rural 

infrastructure; health and nutrition that increase the income of the poor tend 

to enhance the productive capacity of the whole economy, boosting the 

incomes of all groups (Rodrik, 2000, p.8). This seems to fit the case of 

Greece. The NAP for social inclusion, highlights the strong correlation 

between poor health and poverty and exclusion. An EU-wide survey found 

that of people below the poverty line, 13 per cent had bad health as against 9 

per cent of people above the poverty line. 

On the controversial issue of the connection between globalization and 

poverty, Berg and Krueger (2002), discussing cross-country evidence and 

reviewing some of the vast microeconomic literature on the effects of trade 

liberalization on income distribution, reached the conclusion that ‘’there is 

no systematic relationship between openness and the income of the poorest, 

beyond the positive effect of openness on overall growth’’ (p.18). The 

income of the poor is growing one-for -one with average income. They note, 

however, that in some countries the poor do better than average and in 

others worse than average. It has been argued that corruption is higher in 

countries where domestic firms are sheltered from foreign competition, 

while trade liberalization ‘’combats the corruption that flourishes wherever 

there is too much red tape and protectionism’’ (Sutherland, 2002). 

A report of the ‘’Transparency International’’, called ‘’World Barometer of 

Corruption’’ concludes that, generally, ‘’the poor suffer more seriously and 


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more directly from political corruption compared with their privileged 

fellow countrymen’’. In this context, interpreted properly, our preceding 

analysis gives some clues as to the implications of various factors, such as 

macroeconomic development, social and political changes, and the policies 

adopted on health, poverty and crime, on Greece’s structural development, 

growth and quality of life. Inferences may also be made regarding the 

interconnection among these three issues and their feedback effects on the 

economy and society. 

The linking of the NAPs for Social Inclusion, Employment and Health and 

Welfare in a concerted action for attacking this complex set of problems is 

evidence that the Greek government is well aware of the connection 

between employment and social exclusion, with all the undesirable 

ramifications that entails with respect to poverty and crime and their 

interrelationships. However, in certain respects, a better tighting of policies 

would probably be needed. The NAP for Social Inclusion gives some hints 

on such inconsistencies, noting that the measures proposed ‘’to prevent the 

risks of exclusion’’ cover most population groups at risk of poverty, but 

they appear to be fragmented and not tied up to the measures proposed for 

employment and the access to resources. For instance, the policy ‘’to help 

the most vulnerable’’ has ‘’no evident link between the actions foreseen and 

the accompanying social support services that are needed for the specific 

groups’’ (ibid.). 

Although most of the particular measures are targeted to specific population 

groups, some of them are innovative with an integrated approach. A case in 

point is the Integrated Action Plan for Roma, which combines 

infrastructural investment and investment in human and social capital. In the 

administrative context, the Plan provides a decentralized delivery 

mechanism of 50 Employment Promotion Centers. As it has been observed, 

if decentralization is accompanied by the provision of financial resources, 

technical assistance and participatory mechanisms ‘’can make state 

institutions more responsive to poor people by increasing the interaction 

with them’’ (Lusting and Stern, 2000, p.6). 

The mixture of the policies, in this framework, concern economic and social 

measures; the improvements made in the NHS and the educational system; 

the legalization of immigrants; the technical and organizational updating of 

police methods and practices for crime prevention and the apprehension of 

criminals; and the intensified participation of Greece in transnational 

projects and networks against crime. This collection of policies has the 

potentials – and there are already some good signs – of improving the 


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economic wellbeing of disadvantaged people and of weakening the povertycrime-poverty 

vicious circle in the years to come. 

One characteristic of the Greek society and its mode of operation, which 

needs particular consideration in the context of this report, is that many 

problems are beautifully solved in paper by laws and regulations, but if one 

looks at the real world, things are not working as they are supposed to. Law 

requires, for instance, that all workers, irrespective of nationality etc, should 

be treated equally, are socially insured and they and their employers pay 

social security contributions. And yet, the reality is different for thousands 

of Greeks and legalized immigrants alike, who may still work without social 

security and at wages below the legal minimum, or long hours without 

analogous pay. Thence, equality and regularization in paper may solve some 

of the problems of workers in general, but do not necessarily help them 

escape poverty or remove the causes of crime. 

The ‘paper-versus-reality’ situation is vivid in Greece in the case of the 

NHS. Its philosophy expressed practically in the law by the declaration that 

all citizens have a free of charge access to the NHS is in its implementation, 

for various reasons, far from being true. As a result, poor people who cannot 

afford the private health care services may not have the appropriate medical 

attention, with implications on their health condition. By the same token, 

people are inadequately protected against various diseases by the ineffective 

primary health care and the unsuccessful efforts of preventive medicine, in 

respect to smoking, drinking, drugs, dietary habits, lack of exercise, which 

are all important factors of sickliness. Recall the non-negligible proportion 

of poor that are found with health problems. People found in that situation 

have difficulties with the labour market, which in turn leads to more poverty 

with feedbacks in a process of poverty-health-poverty vicious circle. 

Another ‘’free of charge’’ public good supposed to be equally accessible to 

all, according to the law, is education from kindergarten all the way up to 

the university. In reality, however, students bear a considerable cost of their 

education for extra-school private tutorials, which is an old tradition in 

Greece, signalizing the inadequacies in all levels of public education. In 

addition, students enrolling in higher education institutions incur additional 

living expenses - especially when they have to study in a place other than 

the place of their parents’ residence - or are deprived of their education by 

lack of family finance or the non-affordable foregone income. This situation 

is equivalent to an actual inequality in the access to education, raising the 

risk of unemployment, with further implications on poverty, youth 

delinquency and crime, already mentioned. As our earlier presentation has 


166


shown, low education workers with low wages, at the margin of the labour 

market, have a high participation in the cohorts of poor people. 

The taxation system in Greece is not generally a successful policy 

instrument for redistributing income in favour of the poor. Although various 

income tax arrangements are often made in the name of low income 

households, the exceptionally high proportion of indirect taxes in total tax 

revenue renders the taxation system as a whole regressive, turning it against 

the poor. Furthermore, any transfers by the government to low income 

people, except pensions, have only a marginal beneficial effect on poverty. 


Health: Although the chain legislation of the last 20 years brought 

considerable improvements in health care delivery, it has been incapable of 

resolving certain chronic problems and inadequacies of the system. A 

Commission of foreign experts appointed by the government in 1994 to 

study the NHS drew the attention to the underdevelopment of the system; 

the unprofessional behaviour of the staff; the excessive number of 

specialists; the unsatisfactory organization of the supply of primary health 

care; and the low satisfaction of patients. They also noted the problems 

generated by the discontinuity and inconsistency of health care policies and 

legislation over time. Such inadequacies that pose today a big challenge 

concern the infra-structure, staffing and management of the NHS, in 

particular the excessive number of physicians in hospitals and clinics in the 

large cities and the shortages in regional and rural areas; the general 

shortages of nurses all around; and the inadequacies of primary and 

preventive health care. While the Health Centers in the countryside are 

inadequately staffed with personnel that lacks the appropriate professional 

experience, in the cities the problem is that there is no integrated network 

system of primary health care, which has negative implications on the 

quality and the cost of the services offered (Action Plan on Health and 

Welfare). Furthermore, the traditional form of management and the slow 

introduction of information technologies, particularly in the public sector, 

contain the effectiveness and efficiency of the primary health care system. 

The lack of a coherent system with a core stable framework has left 

unresolved major problems, such as great inequalities in the accession to 

health care services, which among others is the consequence of the 


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inequality in health insurance by different social security funds, resulting in 

unequal health care coverage and imposing excessive financial burdens on 

the beneficiaries of the weaker funds. It is thus pertinent to improve the 

efficiency and accessibility for all in the NHS, so that low and middle 

income patients are not forced to resort to the expensive private clinics. This 

is a problem to which relatively more attention should be given both in the 

cities and the countryside. The situation could be improved by the merging 

of certain funds, a difficult task that has been unsuccessfully attempted by 

the government, meeting strong opposition by the more wealthy funds and 

their beneficiaries. For avoiding some of the disadvantages in the supply of 

health services, it has been suggested that it would be better – less expensive 

and more efficient - that certain social security funds, which have their own 

clinics, such as IKA, ‘buy’ health services at good prices and offer them to 

their beneficiaries. Certain efforts made by the government to that direction 

were, however, met with strong opposition by the management and the 

employees’ organizations, having reservations as to the ways of 

implementing this cooperation, or simply opposing the idea of surrendering 

their sovereignty. 

Our analysis has shown that appropriate staffing of hospitals and clinics 

should be a priority. Particularly pertinent is the increase in the ratio of 

general physicians over specialists, which at present is extremely low, and 

the setting into operation the institution of the ‘’family doctor’’. At the 

regional level, and in the framework of the recent Regional Health System, 

a more complete and balanced staffing with physicians and nurses is 

needed, safeguarding a necessary minimum of specialties in regional 

hospitals –recall that in Athens they are in surplus. This way, the large city 

hospitals, notably in Athens and Thessaloniki, would not be overcrowded by 

patients from all over the country. Particular attention should be given, in 

this respect, to the reformation of the IKA clinics – the major social security 

fund in the country – in all aspects of health care delivery, but more so in 

staffing and the accessibility of patients to the system without long delays 

and queues. 

According to a survey of the Greek National Center for the Quality of Life, 

concerning the satisfaction of patients with the NHS, half of the 

interviewees characterize as ‘’very bad’’ the cleanness of the hospitals and 

39 per cent as ‘’very bad’’ the information offered inside the hospitals. 

Thirty-five per cent characterize the accessibility of the hospital health 

services as below average. Only 6.8 per cent is satisfied with the 

accessibility to these facilities (Medical Press, 1999). This forces several 


168


people to resort to expensive health services abroad. According to an older 

opinion poll, 72.3 per cent of those hospitalized in Greece expressed their 

intention of going abroad (Douli et al, 1992). I believe that things have 

improved materially since then, so that the number of patients to seek 

hospitalization in other countries has decreased. This is indicated by an 

opinion poll, a couple of years ago, which showed that 85,9 per cent of the 

sample were satisfied with the standards of the private health services, as 

against 59.2 per cent with the NHS hospitals (Souliotis, 2000, p.260). Some 

of the more specific aspects of these inadequacies, detected by the Greek 

ombudsman concern great delays in medical appointments for planned nonemerging 

tests, both at the NHS hospitals and the IKA clinics The fact that 

all appointments are fixed for the same hour, results to a long waiting until 

one’s turn comes around, whereas absenteeism or delays in arrival of 

physicians in their posts are also witnessed. All these inefficiencies can 

explain why patients are resorting to private health care services. 

Poverty: There is no specific official definition of poverty for policy 

purposes in Greece, probably because there is no targeted policy for poverty 

per se. This notwithstanding, various measures addressed to different groups 

of people, such as the unemployed, the low educated, the low pension 

receivers, the large families, persons with disabilities or ex-prisoners, to 

mention only some, seem to cut across the poor segment of society, given 

that these are the groups with a high incidence of poverty in any way it may 

be conceived. As we have seen, the unemployed workers, particularly men, 

experience the highest risk of poverty along with retired women and people 

over 65 years of age. 

Several of the measures that, one way or another, may alleviate poverty 

offer passive relief assistance rather than constituting an active effort for 

helping the poor escape long-term poverty. On the side of active policies are 

the measures proposed by the link between the NAP for Employment and 

the NAP for Social Inclusion, offering a potential outlet from poverty. 

Measures related to education and training, or ‘’family friendly 

employment’’, such as the currently decided part-time employment 

openings in the public sector, favouring especially women, are pointing to 

this direction. How effective they would be remains to be seen, since until 

now no follow up studies exist to give some clues. 

One important corollary of our presentation is that the poverty line, defined 

on the basis of official statistics, leaves out some significant elements of 

income or wellbeing, which in a country as Greece are contributing to the 

standard of living of individuals and families. The non-inclusion of these 


169


elements in the calculation of poor results in an overestimation of the extent 

of poverty computed from official statistics. Missing wellbeing elements of 

this category include self-consumption by the still high number of farmers; 

the high proportion of owner-occupied housing; probably the unregistered 

incomes from the extensive underground economy in Greece; and, finally, 

certain incomes from the seasonal and occasional employment in tourism. 

This situation is problematic both for knowing the extent of the true poverty 

in the country and for valid international comparisons with countries in 

which such sources of income or wellbeing are limited. 

EC has proposed for fighting poverty in Greece what seems to be the 

obvious to say but not so easy to implement, by suggesting that ‘’the major 

challenge lying ahead is to elaborate and implement specific policies to 

improve the interventions in the social protection area in favour of all those 

citizens at risk of social exclusion and poverty. Other major challenges are 

to promote the employment prospects of the most vulnerable population 

groups, given the link between unemployment and situations of poverty and 

social exclusion, and the need for a major pensions reform to safeguard 

pensions adequacy and sustainability in the long term’’ (EC, 2002, p. 104). 

In this framework, one must take seriously into consideration that Greece is 

moving rapidly towards the knowledge economy. 

New technologies have the power of restructuring the skill pattern of labour 

demand – rendering obsolete certain traditional skills - and of increasing 

productivity, but the bad news come first. The various inflexibilities in the 

Greek labour market and the educational system prolong the required 

restructuring of the labour force, as a result of which the response of supply 

is dragging behind the new labour demand. This process may hold back the 

positive effects of the new technologies and most probably postpone the 

‘’eInclusion’’ process, with further implications on labour market 

mismatches, persisting unemployment and a slow moving exit from poverty. 

Any emerging low pay job opportunities for unskilled workers are filled by 

immigrants, since Greeks have relatively high reservation wages for this 

kind of jobs. They can afford this through the protective role of the family 

that finances the waiting during the search for good employment 

opportunities. The Greek government itself admits, in its Action Plan for 

Employment 2001, that ‘’despite the implementation of a plethora of 

measures for the labour market, unemployment and particularly the 

discrimination and inequalities in the labour market are sustained at high 

levels’’. 


170


The increasing flow of immigrants in Greece has accumulated a 

disproportional number of foreign workers compared to the native 

workforce. This is particularly the case in certain depopulated and small 

areas of the country, e.g. islands. This concentration, although economically 

desirable, generates various cultural, religious and educational problems that 

may have potential serious implications on policies that aim at social 

inclusion and the strengthening of social cohesion (EC, 2002). The 

Commission has stressed that ‘’failure to develop an inclusive and tolerant 

society which enables different ethnic minorities to live in harmony with the 

local population of which they form part leads to discrimination, social 

exclusion and the rise of racism and xenophobia’’ (ibid. p. 23). 

Crime: Although overall criminal activity has dropped substantially in the 

very recent years, juvenile crime, e.g. robberies, body injuries and theft is in 

the rising in the large cities. Drugs are only a limited cause of this increase 

Youth with low education coming from unstable family environments and 

poor city neighbourhoods are mainly the criminal offenders. Organized 

crime has no deep roots in Greece and there is no network to operate 

through. Corruption exists in various departments of the Greek 

administration, some forms of which, such as trafficking of illegal 

immigrants and women for the purpose of prostitution, are connected to 

international networks. And yet, the knowledge concerning the extent of the 

various forms of corruption is still scanty, since there is no comprehensive 

study on the issue but only bits and pieces of evidence and popular belief. 

Efforts for fighting crime come from various directions, namely the EU; 

international cooperation; bilateral agreements between Greece and Central 

and Eastern European countries; and at the national level, the Greek 

legislation and the Greek police. Policies concern both the prevention of 

crime and the apprehension of criminals. Preventive measures with 

reference to youth are taken by the Ministry of Justice, while for the 

population as a whole, new police practices are introduced, including 

pedestrian police patrols and the ‘’neighbourhood policeman’’. The latter, in 

cooperation with local authorities, various local bodies and the citizens has 

the job of preventing light crimes and provide relief assistance to victims. 

The experience is still short to have any solid information on the 

effectiveness of these practices. The legalization of immigrants seems also 

to play some positive role in containing their criminal activity. 

Some important policy actions concern as much the courts, as the police and 

the prison system, all of which are characterized by major inefficiencies and 

need adjustment and reformation. Legal regulations have become recently 


171


more severe for crimes committed by ‘’criminal organizations’’. A recent 

law (L. 2928/2001) is passed for expediting the prosecution of cases related 

to organized crime and terrorism. These cases are judged in the Court of 

Appeals by professional judges without jury. The heavy burden of cases to 

be processed, in conjunction with the inadequate staffing of the courts, make 

for a very slowly moving award of justice and a long waiting before cases 

come to the hearing. The prison system needs great reformation both in 

terms of improving its operational effectiveness and for preventing prisons - 

overcrowded as they are - of becoming schools of crime and drug 

trafficking. In this respect, the idea of privatized prisons of the type already 

existing in France and England has been thrown on the table to be tried on a 

pilot basis. The proponents of this idea evoke the experience of good 

practice in these two countries. Apart from the comparatively lower cost of 

running these prisons, they are very effective in reforming prisoners, as 

evidenced by the fact that only 3 per cent of the discharged convicts from 

these prisons revert to criminal activity. Despite its potential benefits, this is 

an institution that, for reasons of trust, would probably be difficult to 

introduce in Greece. 

At the police level, new technologies, new training and new more 

systematic methods of investigation have made the police more effective in 

fighting crime and eradicating terrorism. Witness to this is the successful 

dismantling of the terrorist group 17N. This progress notwithstanding, there 

are still several technical and organizational inadequacies and practical 

malfunctioning to fix, so that police becomes up to date. A case in point is 

police corruption that should be dealt with the development and 

improvement of Internal Affairs, a service introduced in recent years in the 

Greek police. 


172


6. SOURCES AND DATA 

6.1. Health 

Sources 

WHO, The World Health Statistics (annual) 

WHO, The World Health Report 2000: Health Systems, Improving 

Performance 

Ministry of Health and Welfare, Yearbook of Statistics on Health 

Ministry of Health and Welfare (various pieces of information) 

Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Social Budget (annual) 

[Data on number of beneficiaries, pensioners, social security agencies, 

expenditure on health and social welfare] 

NSSG, Social Welfare and Health Statistics (Series) 

NSSG, Annual Survey of Activities of Organizations of Social Security 

NSSG, Household Surveys 

Social Insurance Fund (IKA) 

Social Insurance Fund for Civil Servants 

Social Insurance Fund for Farmers (OGA) 

Various Surveys and Opinion Polls 


173


Data 

Let me note, in a way of introduction, that the Greek data on health are 

inadequate or, in certain cases, unreliable or non-existed. As a consequence, 

the figures provided to European and international organizations, such as 

Eurostat or WHO, often cover a limited spectrum of statistical information, 

thence the blank spaces in data presentation. 

Category Years Number Proportion 

Population using adequate sanitation facilities n.a. 4 

Population using improved water resources n.a. 

Population with access to essential drugs 1999 95- 100 

Oral rehydration therapy use rate n.a. 

Contraceptive prevalence n.a. 

Births attended by skilled health staff n.a. 

Physicians (per 100, 000 people) 1990-02 392 

Health expenditure per capita 2000 1,349 

(PPP.USD) 

Undernourished people n.a. 

Children underweight of age (% under 5) n.a. 

Infants with low birth weight (%) 1995-00 7.00 

People living with HIV/AIDS 15-49 years of 

age 

2001 0.17 

Malaria cases 1998 18 

Tuberculosis cases (per 100,000people) 2001 11 

Cigarette consumption per adult (annual 

1992-00 3,230 

average) 

Health expenditure, public (%GDP) 2000 4.6 

Health expenditure, private (%GDP) 2000 3.7 

Source: U.N. Development Report: Greece 2003 (www.undp.org) 

NSSG, Household Survey, 1998/99 

NSSG, Social Welfare and Health Statistics, 1997 (published 2001). 

4 not available 


174


6.2. Poverty 

Sources 

NSSG, Household Surveys 

[This is the main statistical source, appearing at four to five years’ intervals, 

from which one can calculate income distribution and poverty, on the basis 

of income or expenditure. The figures given in this publication have some 

advantages of better accuracy compared to the European Community 

Household Panel (ECHP). This is because, as we maintained earlier, in a 

country like Greece, at least some of the incomes generated in the still 

considerable small agriculture and the related self-consumption, the 

seasonal employment of farmers and the incomes in the significant 

unregistered economic activity, as well as the value of the high owneroccupied 

housing, are calculated in the Greek Household Survey but not in 

the European.] 

Ministry of Finance, Internal Revenue Service 

[The taxation figures of the Internal Revenue Service can and, on occasion, 

have been used in research on income distribution and poverty. However, 

using these data, one runs the risk of getting a gravely distorted picture of 

income distribution and poverty due to the high income tax evasion of the 

more wealthy people.] 

Eurostat, European Social Statistics: Income, poverty and Social Exclusion, 

Luxembourg, EC 

Eurostat Task Force, Recommendations on Social Exclusion and Poverty 

Statistics, CPS 98/31/2, December 1998, Eurostat, Luxembourg, 1998. 


175


Data 

Category Year Figures 

Human poverty index (HPI) value n.a. 

Probability at birth of not surviving to age 60 (% cohort) 2000-05 9.1 

Adult illiteracy rate (% age 15+) 2001 2.7 

% of population not using improved drinking water sources n.a. 

Underweight children under age-five n.a. 

Population below income poverty line -50% definition-(%) 1998/99 11.2 

Human poverty index rank n.a. 

People who are functionally illiterate n.a. 

Long-term unemployment (as % of labour force) 2002 5.1 

Sources: U.N. Human Development Report, 2003. 

NSSG, Labour Force Survey, 2002 (www.statistics.gr) 

6.3. Crime 

Sources 

Ministry of Public Order, Statistical Yearbook 

[Criminal statistics, police statistics, statistics on foreigners]. 

Juvenile Tribunal of Athens 

[Data on juvenile delinquency and crime] 

Ministry of Justice, Supervisor Services for Adolescence). 

[It provides figures on adolescence criminal activities, the number of cases 

and the causes of adolescence deviant behavior.] 


176


Data 

Category 


Year Figures 

Proportion per 

100,000 

Population 

Police 

Offenses Committed 1999 373,680 3,809 

crimes 1999 4,994 51 

Prosecution 

indictable offenses 1999 368,686 3,758 

Number of cases presented for trial 

(Administrative courts) 

Courts 

1996 214,147 2,185 

Decisions issued 1996 72,228 737 

Persons sentenced (For indictable offenses 1996 88,974 908 

or crime) 

Prison 

Accommodating capacity of prisons 

(1/1/2001) 

4,825 

Number of prisoners # 8,295 

Prisoners pending trial # 2,296 

Foreign prisoners # 3,783 

Juvenile # 570 

Crimes 

Property crimes (see table 8) 

Robbery # 

Sexual assault # 

Assault # 

Bribery (corruption) n.a. 

Sources: NSSG, Statistical Yearbook for Greece, 2001 (published 2002). 

177

7. STATISTICAL ANNEX

Table A1. Population of Greece by sex and age, 2001 

Age 

brackets 

Both sexes Age 

Composition 

(%) 

Males Females 

0-4 531,636 4.8 272,548 259,088 

5-9 547,241 5.0 281,642 265,599 

10-14 588,011 5.4 306,528 281,483 

15-19 728,440 6.6 382,115 346,325 

20-24 834,026 7.6 436,128 397,898 

25-29 843,609 7.7 436,427 407,182 

30-34 871,496 7.9 443,413 428,083 

35-39 784,426 7.2 393,477 390,949 

40-44 781,319 7.1 388,232 393,087 

45-49 711,697 6.5 356,192 355,505 

50-54 684,288 6.2 338,540 345,748 

55-59 553,901 5.1 272,177 281,724 

60-64 630,687 5.8 299,755 330,932 

65-69 615,964 5.6 291,567 324,397 

70-74 547,672 5.0 246,413 301,259 

75-79 337,373 3.1 143,230 194,143 

80-84 195,493 1.8 76,444 19,049 

85-89 114,571 1.0 43,813 70,758 

90-94 45,047 0.4 16,594 28,453 

95-99 11,944 0.1 4,385 7,559 

100+ 5,179 0.05 2,196 2,983 

Total 

Population 

10,964,020 100.0 5,431,816 5,532,204 

Source: Greek Census of Population, 2001

Table A2 - Population in Greece by Country of Citizenship 

Country of citizenship Both sexes Males Females 

Total population 10,964,020 5,431,816 5,532,204 

Greek citizenship 10,077,722 4,955,613 5,122,109 

Greek and other (double) 89,207 39,796 49,411 

Australia 8,699 4,020 4,679 

Georgia 8,666 4,070 4,596 

USA 13,314 6,146 7,168 

Canada 7,111 3,351 3,760 

Cyprus 3,280 1,457 1,823 

Ukraine 3,083 1,027 2,056 

Russian federation 9,507 4,207 5,300 

Rest of the world 35,547 15,518 20,029 

Foreign Citizenship 796,713 436,225 360,488 

Albania 443,550 261,502 182,048 

Bulgaria 37,230 15,058 22,172 

Germany 15,303 6,525 8,778 

Georgia 23,159 9,980 13,179 

USA 22,507 11,013 11,494 

United Kingdom 15,308 6,450 8,858 

Cyprus 19,084 9,031 10,053 

Ukraine 14,149 3,633 10,516 

Pakistan 11,192 10,703 489 

Poland 13,378 6,140 7,238 

Rumania 23,066 13,176 9,890 

Russian Federation 18,219 6,901 11,318 

Turkey 8,297 4,338 3,959 

Philippines 6,861 1,942 4,919 

Egypt 7,846 6,087 1,759 

Armenia 7,808 3,648 4,160 

Australia 9,677 4,580 5,097 

France 6,513 2,733 3,780 

India 7,409 6,876 533 

Iraq 7,188 5,062 2,126 

Italy 7,953 3,962 3,991 

Canada 6,909 3,337 3,572 

Moldavia 5,898 1,799 4,099 

Syria 5,638 4,464 1,174 

Rest of the world 52,571 27,285 25,286 

Source: NSSG, Census of Population, 2001

Table A3 - Activities of the Neighborhood Policeman in the Region of Attica in Greece, 

during the period 17.3-30.5.2003) 

Action Taken Number of 

Cases 

Communication with representatives of Local Authorities, Associations, Institutes, 

Organizations and other bodies and citizens 

31,550 

Response to requests by various bodies and citizens 2,493 

Cooperation with pedestrian and riding police patrols 919 

Intervention in cases of offenses and conduct with victims 856 

Interventions or assistance in various occurrences 828 

Participation in local events 455 

Direct intervention in other Services, public and private Organizations or public 

enterprises 

270 

Reports on problems in neighborhoods, with actions taken and results 165 

Cases of intervention from the office 123 

Cooperation with Psychologists and Social Workers 66 

Source: Ministry of Public Order (www.ydt.gr/main/Article.jsp?)

Table A4 - Incidence of Poverty (Percentage of people below the poverty line of 

corresponding categories) 

Household Head Characteristics Incidence of poverty (%) 

1982 1988 1994 

Education 

Tertiary 4.2 5.1 7.7 

Secondary 9.6 9.6 13.6 

Primary 29.1 29.4 28.4 

Not-completed Primary 38.0 39.5 40.8 

Age 

Under 24 7.7 4.2 14.2 

25-34 25.4 22.2 19.5 

35-44 27.6 24.6 27.2 

45-54 23.3 22.5 22.1 

55-64 21.3 21.0 23.5 

65-74 26.8 29.1 25.7 

75+ 37.5 38.6 35.0 

Occupation 

Scientists and Executives 7.5 8.5 19.0 

Office Clerks 11.5 11.0 16.2 

Farmers 40.4 41.5 36.3 

Blue collar workers 27.6 24.6 26.4 

Not employed 24.4 27.1 24.7 

Source: Adapted from Sarris and Zografakis, 1997


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Soulis S. (1998). Economics of Health, Papazissis, Athens (in Greek). 

Souliotis K. (2000), The Role of Private Sector in the Greek Health System. 

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Theodorou, M. (1993). “Primary Health Care in IKA: A Comparative 

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Berg A. and a. Krueger (2002). ‘’Lifting All Boats: Why Openness Helps 

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188

ITALY 

Dr. Rosario Sapienza 

Dr. Marta Picarozzi


1. PROFILO DEL PAESE: DATI ESSENZIALI 

1.1. Popolazione 

La popolazione italiana al 1 gennaio 2001 conta 57.844.017 persone, di cui 

29.749.160 femmine e 28.094.857 maschi. L’Italia è oggi il Paese con 

l’indice di vecchiaia più alto del mondo (133 persone di 65 anni e oltre ogni 

100 persone sotto i 15 anni). Quasi un italiano su cinque ha più di 65 anni (il 

18,5% della popolazione). La popolazione con meno di 15 anni rappresenta 

soltanto il 14,4% del totale (Istat). Secondo stime Eurostat, l’indice di 

accrescimento della popolazione italiana è nel 2001 del 3 per mille. 

La presenza degli stranieri in Italia è in crescita. Tuttavia, rispetto agli altri 

paesi dell’Unione Europea, la popolazione straniera residente in Italia, che 

conta 1.464.589 persone, rappresenta ancora una quota poco rilevante della 

popolazione (2,5% nel 2001 rispetto alla media europea del 5,2). 

Il tasso di natalità del 2001 è del 9,4 per mille mentre quello di mortalità del 

9,3. Il numero medio di figli per donna è in diminuzione e questo calo della 

riproduttività risulta agli studi come un fenomeno di lungo periodo, il più 

radicato fra tutti i Paesi sviluppati, associato alla progressiva posticipazione 

del momento del primo parto nella vita media delle donne. L’età media delle 

madri alla nascita del primo figlio è, infatti, di oltre 27 anni (Istat). Nel 

2001, secondo stime Eurostat, il numero medio di figli per donna è di 1,24, 

con livelli leggermente più elevati al Sud Italia e più bassi al Centro e al 

Nord Italia. Il tasso di mortalità infantile, relativo al primo anno di vita, è 

del 4,3 per 1000 nati vivi. 

La speranza di vita alla nascita ha raggiunto quasi i 77 anni per gli uomini e 

83 per le donne, senza grandi differenze a livello regionale. 

Il legame tra nuzialità e riproduttività è ancora molto forte, oltre il 90% dei 

figli nasce ancora all’interno del matrimonio (Istat). Le unioni coniugali 

sono instabili: ogni anno, ogni quattro matrimoni celebrati viene 

pronunciata una sentenza di separazione e sono quasi 2,5 milioni gli italiani 

che hanno sperimentato nel corso della loro vita lo scioglimento del 


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matrimonio (Istat, 2001). Il numero di famiglie è aumentato negli ultimi 

anni (sono quasi 22 milioni nel 2001, secondo l’Istat), sebbene le loro 

dimensioni si stiano riducendo (2,6 componenti in media). 

1.2. Economia e lavoro 

I dati sull’economia italiana nel 2001 rispecchiano l’andamento negativo del 

ciclo economico mondiale e in particolare dei Paesi più industrializzati. La 

crescita del Prodotto interno lordo nel 2001 è dell’1,8%, mentre quella del 

2000 era stata del 2,9%. La crescita dell’agricoltura nel 2001 è negativa, - 

1%, mentre l’industria cresce dello 0,5% e i servizi del 2,5% (Istat). 

L’andamento dell’inflazione in Italia ha risentito della conversione dei 

prezzi dalla lira all’euro, la moneta unica europea entrata in circolazione nel 

gennaio del 2002. In base a stime Eurostat, il tasso di inflazione è stato del 

2% nel 1998, 1,7% nel 1999, 2,6% nel 2000 e 2,3% nel 2001, mentre 

secondo l’Istat è stato del 2,5% nel 2000, 2,7% nel 2001 e 2,5% nel 2002. 

Tuttavia, l’inflazione percepita dagli italiani e le stime delle associazioni 

dei consumatori sono di molto superiori alle stime ufficiali. 

Il rallentamento della congiuntura internazionale ha prodotto nel 2001 una 

battuta d’arresto del commercio internazionale. Le esportazioni, dopo 

l’eccezionale incremento del 17,8% registrato nel 2000, sono cresciute nel 

2001 solo del 3,6%. Le importazioni sono invece cresciute nello stesso 

anno dello 0,6%, un valore modesto grazie soprattutto al calo dei prezzi dei 

prodotti energetici. L’ammontare delle esportazioni nel 2001 è di 269.634 

milioni di euro, mentre l’ammontare delle importazioni è di 260.162 

milioni di euro. Il saldo tra esportazioni e importazioni è quindi positivo e 

ammonta a 9.472 milioni di euro. Lo stesso dato nel 2000 era di 1.852 

milioni di euro e nel 1999 di 14.679 milioni di euro (Istat). La pressione 

fiscale nel 2002 è pari al 41,6% del prodotto interno lordo (Istat). 


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1.3. Geografia e caratteristiche territoriali 

L’Italia è una penisola di 301.333 

Kmq, con una estensione massima di 

1.200 Km. Il 35% del territorio è 

montagnoso e il 42% collinare. Gran 

parte del territorio è bagnata dal 

mare e l’estensione delle coste 

marine è pertanto molto elevata, 

7.375 Km, di cui il 65,7% 

balneabile. 

Da un punto di vista 

amministrativo, l’Italia si divide in 

20 regioni, 103 province e 8.100 

comuni. La densità media della 

popolazione è di 192 abitanti per 

Kmq. Le città più popolose sono 

Milano (4.251.000 abitanti), Napoli 

(3.012.000 abitanti), la capitale Roma (2.646.000 abitanti) e Torino 

(1.294.000 abitanti). 

La superficie forestale è di 68.475 Kmq. Il patrimonio boschivo, che nel 

2000 è di 6.853 migliaia di ettari, è ubicato per il 59,4% in montagna, per il 

35,5% in collina e per il 5,1% in pianura. La superficie italiana ad alta 

sismicità è pari a 14.463 Kmq, quasi il 23% della superficie totale. 

A luglio 2000, le aree protette iscritte nell’Elenco ufficiale risultano 669 

con un’estensione territoriale pari a 3.013.944 ettari. Il clima in Italia è 

generalmente temperato. Solo raramente si hanno temperature più alte di 40 

gradi centigradi d’estate, o temperature inferiori ai 10 gradi sotto lo zero 

d’inverno. Essendo molto estesa da Nord a Sud, l’Italia può essere divisa in 

tre fasce climatiche distinte: a) il Nord, ovvero la parte compresa tra le Alpi 

e l’Appennino Tosco-Emiliano, è la zona meno influenzata dall’azione 

temperante del mare e ha un clima molto rigido d’inverno, mentre l’estate è 

molto calda e con alti livelli di umidità; b) il Centro, compreso 

approssimativamente tra la Liguria e Roma, ha un clima temperato, che non 

presenta grandi differenze tra le stagioni estreme, anche se si può passare da 

un inverno piuttosto rigido ad una stagione estiva molto calda; c) il Sud (che 

comprende anche le isole maggiori, la Sicilia e la Sardegna) ha un clima 


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secco e generalmente caldo, con scarse precipitazioni e periodi di vera e 

propria siccità. Il Mediterraneo ha una grande influenza sul clima italiano: le 

zone costiere sono meno calde durante l’estate e meno fredde durante 

l’inverno rispetto alle zone interne. Le differenze climatiche contribuiscono 

ad aumentare le differenze socioeconomiche nelle tre aree della penisola. 

I minerali di cui l’Italia è ricca sono mercurio, potassio, marmo e zolfo. Nel 

2000 le riserve di greggio ammontano a 621,8 milioni di barili. La 

produzione di energia elettrica è di 247.679 milioni di kWh nel 2001. La 

quota di produzione interna di energia rispetto all’offerta totale, necessaria a 

soddisfare le esigenze del paese, è più limitata che negli altri paesi europei. 

Nel 1990 la quota di produzione di energia sull’offerta totale di energia 

primaria è del 16,2%, all’incirca uguale a quella del 1999 (16,4%). La 

produzione in Italia di energia da fonti rinnovabili costituisce il 38% circa 

della produzione totale. 

I risultati di un’indagine Istat sulle famiglie nel 2001 mostrano come i 

problemi ambientali maggiormente sentiti dalle famiglie sono il traffico 

(47,6%), la possibilità di bere acqua dal rubinetto (42,0%), la difficoltà di 

parcheggio (41,6%), l’inquinamento dell’aria (39,9%) e il rumore (38,5%). 

Minore rilevanza viene data ad aspetti quali la sporcizia nelle strade 

(33,8%), il rischio di criminalità (30,8%) e le difficoltà di collegamento con 

i mezzi pubblici (30,9%), mentre l’irregolarità nell’erogazione dell’acqua 

viene considerato un problema dal 16,3% delle famiglie. Quest’ultimo 

fenomeno è molto più diffuso nel Mezzogiorno ed in particolare in Calabria 

(51,1%), Sardegna (42,8%) e Sicilia (39,6%). 

1.4. Temi chiave 

La bassa fecondità e l’invecchiamento della popolazione espongono 

l’Italia a grandi rischi per quanto riguarda la sostenibilità dei sistemi di 

welfare e in particolare di quelli pensionistici. L’economia è specializzata in 

settori a basso contenuto tecnologico. Le imprese sono scarsamente 

propense a una crescita di dimensioni e hanno spesso una visione locale del 

mercato. Il Sud Italia versa ancora in grandi difficoltà rispetto al resto del 

Paese, nonostante alcuni segnali positivi in anni recenti come una riduzione 

del tasso di disoccupazione e una crescita del Pil superiore alla media 

nazionale: le migrazioni verso il Centro-Nord del paese sono ricominciate e 


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la quota di disoccupati di lunga durata è sensibilmente più alta rispetto al 

resto d’Italia. Si possono notare alcuni segnali positivi quali la vitalità delle 

piccole e medie imprese e lo sviluppo dell’occupazione femminile, che ha 

trainato il mercato del lavoro. 

1.5. Fonti 

- Censis, 36° Rapporto sulla situazione sociale del Paese 2002, 

(www.censis.it) 

- Istat, Annuario Statistico Italiano 2002 (www.istat.it) 

- Istat, Italia in cifre 2002 (www.istat.it) 

- Istat, Rapporto annuale sulla situazione del Paese 2002 (www.istat.it) 

- Istat, Relazione Generale sulla Situazione Economica del Paese 

(www.istat.it) 

- Eurostat (europa.eu.int/comm/eurostat) 

- Istituto Tagliacarne (www.tagliacarne.it) 

- Nucleo di valutazione spesa previdenziale (www.welfare.gov.it) 


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2. HEALTH 


Secondo l’Art. 32, la Repubblica Italiana tutela la salute come fondamentale 

diritto dell’individuo e interesse della collettività, e garantisce cure gratuite 

agli indigenti. Al di là di questo presupposto generale la legislazione in 

ambito sanitario è estesa e in continua evoluzione perché rincorre i 

cambiamenti che si susseguono in campo medico e nella ricerca scientifica i 

quali arrivano a mutare ruoli e contesti tradizionali, implicano maggiore 

attenzione al rapporto medico paziente e aprono sempre nuovi interrogativi 

sul diritto universale alla Salute. 


Le principali leggi che attualmente ordinano la materia sono: 

Legge 23.12.1978, n. 833 Istituzione del servizio sanitario nazionale 

D. Lgs. 30.12.1992, n. 502 

Riordino della disciplina in materia sanitaria, a norma 

dell’articolo 1 della legge 23 ottobre 1992, n. 421. 

Razionalizzazione della organizzazione delle 

Decreto Legge 03.02.1993, n. 29 

amministrazioni pubbliche e revisione della disciplina in 

materia di pubblico impiego a norma dell’art. 2 della 

legge 23 ottobre 1992, n.421. 

Modificazioni al Decreto Legislativo 30.12.1992 n. 502 

D. Lgs. 07.12.1993, n. 517 recante riordino della disciplina in materia sanitaria, a 

norma dell’art. 1 della Legge 23.10.1992 n. 421. 

Norme per la razionalizzazione del Sistema Sanitario 

D. Lgs. 19.06.1999, n. 229 Nazionale, a norma dell’art. 1 della legge 30.11.1998, n. 

419 (riforma Bindi). 

D. Presidente consiglio 

Ministri 29.11.2001 

dei 

Definizione dei livelli essenziali di assistenza. 

Piano sanitario nazionale 2002- 

Presentato al Consiglio dei Ministri il 28/03/2002 

2004 

D.P.R. 23/05/2003 

Approvazione del Piano Sanitario Nazionale 2003-2005 

(G.U. n. 139 del 18/06/2003). 


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2.3. Fonti 

- Istat, Indagine Multiscopo (www.istat.it) 

- Istat, Stili di vita e condizioni di salute, anno 2001 (www.istat.it) 

- Istat, Sistema sanitario e salute della popolazione, anno 2002 

(www.istat.it) 

- Istituto Superiore di Sanità (www.iss.it) 

- Ministero della Salute (www.ministerosalute.it) 

- Farmindustria (www.farmindustria.it) 

2.4. Dati 

In base a un’indagine effettuata dall’Istat, il 74,9% della popolazione 

italiana dichiara nel 2001 di essere in buona salute, mentre il resto della 

popolazione è affetto da una o più malattie croniche. Rispetto al totale dei 

cronici, il 19,1% di essi è affetto da artrosi o artrite, l’11,7% da ipertensione, 

l’8,2% da malattie allergiche. Sono invece scarsamente diffusi il diabete 

(3,9% dei malati cronici), le malattie del cuore (3,7%) e i disturbi nervosi 

(4%). Oltre il 90% della popolazione con meno di 35 anni e oltre il 50% di 

quella con meno di 65 anni è in stato di buona salute. La fascia di età 

compresa tra i 65 e i 74 anni è in buona salute per il 43,3% mentre oltre i 75 

anni la percentuale di persone in buona salute scende al 27,5%. La 

percentuale di uomini in buona salute è superiore in media di quasi 7 punti 

percentuali a quella delle donne e questa differenza tra i sessi è più 

accentuata nelle fasce di età più elevate. 

Secondo l’Istituto Superiore di Sanità, nel 2001 i casi notificati di Aids in 

Italia sono 2,9 ogni 1000 residenti, più al Nord e al Centro Italia (3,6) 

rispetto al Sud (1,4). Dal 1995 (in cui ogni 1000 residenti si avevano 9,6 

casi) ad oggi i casi sono costantemente diminuiti. 


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La causa principale di decessi è attribuibile alle malattie del sistema 

circolatorio (41,6 decessi ogni 10.000 abitanti nel 2000), seguita dai tumori 

(27,7 decessi ogni 10.000 abitanti). Tutte le altre cause di decesso 

provocano meno di 6,5 decessi ogni 10.000 abitanti. I dati riguardanti i 

decessi a causa di malattie del sistema circolatorio e di tumori sono rimasti 

sostanzialmente invariati negli ultimi sei anni. 

In Italia esistono 778 istituti di cura pubblici e 530 istituti accreditati che, 

rispettivamente, hanno a disposizione 236.308 e 51.317 posti letto, 5,05 

ogni 1.000 abitanti (dati del Ministero della Sanità, 2001). Il numero più 

elevato di posti letto si registra al Centro Italia (5,51 ogni 1.000 abitanti) e il 

più basso al Sud (4,41). Il Sud dispone tuttavia di un numero più elevato di 

strutture sanitarie pubbliche diverse dagli ospedali, 4.036, rispetto al Centro 

(3.399) e al Nord (3.472). 

Sempre secondo i dati del Ministero della Sanità, nel 2001 ogni medico 

generico aveva 1.065 adulti residenti e ogni pediatra 1.075 bambini in cura, 

con differenze scarsamente rilevanti tra le aree geografiche del paese. 

Secondo dati Farmindustria, la spesa farmaceutica pubblica e privata in 

Italia nel 2001 ammonta a 296.805 milioni di euro ed è in crescita (nel 1999 

era di 247.726 milioni di euro e nel 2000 di 264.460 milioni di euro). 


«Più mercato e meno Stato» è lo slogan che, dalla seconda metà degli anni 

Ottanta, accompagna anche in Italia una radicale rivisitazione della Pubblica 

Amministrazione. L’Italia è attualmente in una fase di drastico 

ridimensionamento delle spese sanitarie per ridurre il debito pubblico. 

L’orientamento liberista ha però in Italia un profilo meno esplicito che nel 

mondo anglossassone. Il ripensamento nei confronti del vecchio “Stato 

sociale” si è soprattutto concentrato a ridurre le disfunzioni ed anche le 

degenerazioni del sistema politico che sono culminate negli scandali della 

fase di Tangentopoli nella prima metà degli anni ‘90. 

La spinta a contenere la spesa e a correggere alcune involuzioni gestionali 

trova in Italia una mai risolta esigenza di riforme che dalla prima metà degli 

anni ‘90 hanno affrontato le principali questioni lasciate irrisolte dalla Legge 


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n. 833, che nel 1978 aveva istituito il Servizio Sanitario Nazionale (SSN). 

Tali questioni possono essere così riassunte: 

- il problema di separare le funzioni di finanziamento e di programmazione 

da quelle di gestione e di organizzazione dei servizi; 

- la regionalizzazione della spesa; 

- l’incremento di un sistema misto, attraverso la creazione di Aziende 

Sanitarie Locali (ASL) in competizione tra loro e con le strutture private 

accreditate; 

- l’introduzione del sistema di rimborso più funzionale e meno oneroso da 

parte degli utenti; 

Tali argomenti, delicati e difficili da risolversi, sono inseriti in un contesto 

politico e legislativo instabile e contraddittorio, soprattutto per quel che 

riguarda i rapporti tra pubblico e privato, e in un quadro di drastica 

contrazione delle risorse pubbliche per la salute. 

La Legge 502/1992 segna, ad esempio, il passaggio da un diritto alla 

tutela della salute costituzionalmente garantito a un diritto 

finanziariamente condizionato. A partire dalla riforma del 1992 la spesa 

diventa una variabile indipendente (stabilita annualmente dal Governo in 

funzione delle compatibilità economiche e finanziarie del Paese), mentre i 

bisogni di salute rappresentano una variabile dipendente. Alle nuove 

Aziende Sanitarie Locali (ASL) viene affidato il compito di garantire 

anzitutto il pareggio del bilancio, a prescindere dai risultati di salute degli 

assistiti. Il metodo delle risorse definite ex ante produce una inevitabile e 

costante riduzione dei fondi a disposizione e il finanziamento pubblico 

risulta decisamente sottostimato rispetto al fabbisogno. 

Per quanto riguarda il rapporto tra pubblico e privato, la competizione è 

affidata a un modello di accreditamento delle strutture private debole, 

svincolato dalla programmazione, ancorato ai soli criteri quantitativi; sul 

versante pubblico, essa fa perno sulla separazione degli ospedali dalle 

aziende territoriali e sulla loro trasformazione in aziende ospedaliere 

autonome, le cui prestazioni sono pagate secondo tariffe prestabilite. È il 

primo passo verso la separazione tra la funzione di programmazione e di 

tutela della salute e la funzione di erogazione delle prestazioni. La 

concorrenza tra aziende pubbliche e strutture private accreditate non è 


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compiuta ma risulta fittizia perché chi finanzia, ovvero rimborsa la struttura 

pubblica e quella privata accreditata, è alla resa dei conti sempre il Servizio 

Sanitario Nazionale. In definitiva, il mercato sanitario è un mercato 

assistito in cui non esiste un vero e proprio rischio d’impresa. 

Altro aspetto problematico, l’organizzazione dei servizi privilegia le 

strutture ospedaliere piuttosto che la prevenzione, la medicina di base, la 

riabilitazione, e più in generale tutti i servizi territoriali (salute mentale, cura 

tossicodipendenze, consultori familiari, assistenza a persone portatrici di 

handicap, ecc.). 

Anche sul versante della spesa i tentativi di riforma sono tutt’altro che 

«virtuosi» e, insieme al drastico sottofinanziamento della Sanità, 

comportano un aumento considerevole dei deficit delle Regioni. 

Anche la regionalizzazione del sistema procede in modo del tutto 

insoddisfacente, pur essendo la Sanità il terreno più avanzato di autonomia 

organizzativa e gestionale. La maggiore autonomia locale produce 

conflittualità a tutti i livelli: tra Regioni e Comuni, perché i sindaci non 

hanno alcuna voce in capitolo sulle scelte regionali; tra Governo centrale e 

Governi regionali, impegnati soprattutto in una estenuante contrattazione 

delle risorse sempre più scarse. Le Regioni procedono in ordine sparso e il 

Ministero non ha né strumenti efficaci di verifica e controllo sullo stato di 

attuazione del processo di riordino, né poteri per sanzionare i ritardi e le 

omissioni. Ad esempio, dal 1988 al 1996, la maggioranza delle Regioni ha 

utilizzato poco o male i fondi per l’edilizia sanitaria e il Ministero non aveva 

strumenti per sanzionare i ritardi. Si accentuano il divario tra Nord e Sud del 

Paese e le disuguaglianze nelle opportunità di cura. 

Si impone l’esigenza di correggere le ambiguità e le contraddizioni di un 

modello di aziendalizzazione e regionalizzazione che rischia di aggravare il 

debito senza migliorare la qualità. La Sanità italiana si trova oggi davanti a 

un bivio: abbandonare il sistema universalistico, sostituendolo con forme 

assicurative private più o meno estese, o rafforzare il SSN e gli strumenti di 

governo del sistema. 


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3. POVERTY 


Sono molti gli strumenti forniti dalla Costituzione della Repubblica Italiana 

a sostegno delle politiche contro la povertà e l’esclusione sociale: 

Articoli 1, 4, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40 per il diritto al lavoro 

Articoli 29, 30, 31 - diritti della famiglia, matrimonio, tutela genitoriale, 

maternità, l’infanzia e la gioventù 

Articoli 3, 37, 38, per le pari dignità sociali ed i diritti di pari opportunità 

per categorie svantaggiate 

Articoli 34, diritto all’istruzione 

E’ probabilemte l’Articolo 3 quello che più incarna il principio ispiratore 

delle politiche di welfare e di inclusione sociale : “Tutti i cittadini hanno 

pari dignità sociale e sono eguali davanti alla legge, senza distinzione di 

sesso, di razza, di lingua, di religione, di opinioni politiche, di condizioni 

personali e sociali. È compito della Repubblica rimuovere gli ostacoli di 

ordine economico e sociale, che, limitando di fatto la libertà e l’eguaglianza 

dei cittadini, impediscono il pieno sviluppo della persona umana e l’effettiva 

partecipazione di tutti i lavoratori all’organizzazione politica, economica e 

sociale del Paese.” 


Anche il sistema del welfare sta subendo una rapida e drastica evoluzione e i 

principali più recenti provvedimenti legislativi riguardano il diritto al lavoro 

e la previdenza sociale, il diritto alla cittadinanza degli immigrati e alle pari 

opportunità per categorie svantaggiate. Anche il sistema della pubblica 

istruzione è al centro di una serie di dibattiti parlamentari e di riforme. Per 


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ciascuno di questi ambiti sono allo studio nuove proposte di legge e i temi 

vengono discussi intorno ad alcune questioni chiave: 

- Per le politiche sul lavoro e sulla previdenza sociale la recente Legge 14 

febbraio 2003, n.30 “Biagi” apre a nuovi scenari di flessibilità rispetto ad 

un sistema tradizionale italiano caratterizzato da forti garanzie per i 

lavoratori e buone condizioni previdenziali per gli ex lavoratori che non 

risulta però più sostenibile; 

- Per le pari opportunità ed il diritto alla cittadinanza degli immigrati la 

recente Legge 30 luglio 2002 n.189 “Bossi/Fini” ha legato strettamente i 

flussi di entrata allo status di lavoratore, inasprendo le sanzioni contro la 

immigrazione irregolare e imponendo l’emersione dalla black economy; 

- Il sistema della pubblica istruzione in seguito alla legge del Legge 28 

marzo 2003, n. 53 sta sperimentando nuove forme in sintonia con il resto 

delle politiche del welfare verso una maggiore autonomia degli organi 

periferici ed un’apertura al settore privato; 

E’ opinione diffusa il fatto che su tutti questi ambiti si sia in mezzo ad un 

processo avviato ma i cui risultati a regime stentano a percepirsi. 

3.3. Fonti 

- Censis, 36° Rapporto sulla situazione sociale del Paese 2002, 

(www.censis.it) 

- Istat, La povertà in Italia nel 2002, 2003 (www.istat.it) 

- Istat, Quanto hanno speso le famiglie nel 2002, (www.istat.it) 



- Istat, Rapporto annuale sulla situazione del Paese 2002 (www.istat.it) 


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3.4. Data 

Nel 2002, in base a dati Istat, l’11% delle famiglie italiane e 7.140 mila 

individui vivono sotto una soglia relativa di povertà, fissata a 823,45 euro di 

spesa mensile per una famiglia di due componenti; il 4,2% delle famiglie e 

2.916 mila individui vivono invece al di sotto di una soglia assoluta di 

povertà basata sul valore monetario di un paniere di beni e servizi fissato a 

573,63 euro mensili per una famiglia di due componenti. 

La povertà colpisce soprattutto il Mezzogiorno, le famiglie più numerose e 

le famiglie di anziani. Al Sud Italia il 22,4% delle famiglie è al di sotto della 

povertà relativa. Le famiglie con tre o più figli sono povere nel 25% dei casi 

all’incirca. Le famiglie con due o più anziani sono povere nel 17,4% dei 

casi. 

Riguardo all’Istruzione, in Italia la scuola è obbligatoria dai 6 ai 15 anni. 

Nel 2002, secondo i dati dell’Istat, la popolazione italiana senza alcun titolo 

di studio o con la sola licenza elementare è il 30% (il 24,8% dei maschi e il 

34,8% delle femmine) mentre il 32,9% ha raggiunto la licenza media (il 

36,4% dei maschi e il 29,7% delle femmine); il 29,6% della popolazione ha 

terminato la scuola superiore (il 30,8% dei maschi e il 28,5% delle 

femmine) mentre solamente il 7,5% ha concluso gli studi universitari (l’8% 

dei maschi e il 7,1% delle femmine). 

Il reddito pro capite del 2001 è di 15.037 euro, con differenze rilevanti tra 

le aree geografiche del paese: 17.903 euro al Nord-Ovest, 16.977 euro al 

Nord-Est, 16.620 euro al Centro e 11.100 euro al Sud. 

Nel 2002, in base a dati Istat, l’11% delle famiglie italiane e 7.140 mila 

individui vivono sotto una soglia relativa di povertà, fissata a 823,45 euro 

di spesa mensile per una famiglia di due componenti, e il 4,2% delle 

famiglie e 2.916 mila individui vivono al di sotto di una soglia assoluta di 

povertà basata sul valore monetario di un paniere di beni e servizi fissato a 

573,63 euro mensili per una famiglia di due componenti. La povertà 

colpisce soprattutto il Mezzogiorno, dove il 22,4% delle famiglie è al di 

sotto della povertà relativa, le famiglie più numerose e le famiglie di 

anziani. Circa il 25% delle famiglie con tre o più figli risulta povero. Le 

famiglie con due o più anziani sono povere nel 17,4% dei casi. 


202


Il tasso di disoccupazione negli ultimi anni ha iniziato a scendere. Nel 2001 

le persone disoccupate erano 2.267.000 (9,1% in meno rispetto al 2000) e il 

tasso di disoccupazione era del 9,5% (10,6% nel 2000, dati Istat). Nel 2002 

i disoccupati sono 2.163.000 (4,6% in meno rispetto al 2001) e il tasso di 

disoccupazione è del 9%. Tuttavia, il tasso di disoccupazione tocca livelli 

preoccupanti al Sud, dove è ancora del 18,3% nel 2002 (al Nord e al Centro 

è rispettivamente del 4% e del 6,6%, secondo dati Istat). La disoccupazione 

riguarda le donne più degli uomini: nel 2002 il tasso di disoccupazione 

femminile è del 12,2%, rispetto al 7% degli uomini, e al Sud Italia è 

addirittura del 26,4%. I lavoratori indipendenti sono nel 70,8% dei casi 

uomini e i lavoratori dipendenti di alto livello (dirigenti e direttivi-quadri) 

sono ugualmente, nel 70,7% dei casi, uomini (Istat 2002). 

Il tasso di disoccupazione giovanile in Italia è del 27,2%, 31,4% tra le 

donne e 24% tra gli uomini. Anche in questo caso le differenze regionali 

sono notevoli: al Sud i giovani tra 15 e 24 anni sono disoccupati nel 49,4% 

dei casi (Istat, 2002). Si può tuttavia osservare negli ultimi anni una 

tendenza decrescente del tasso di disoccupazione giovanile: nel 1999 era 

infatti del 56,6%, nel 2000 del 55% e nel 2001 del 50,8% (Istat). 

La spesa pensionistica per i lavoratori dipendenti ha raggiunto nel 2001 i 

138.015 milioni di euro (nel 2000 l’importo era di 130.846 milioni di euro). 

La pensione media annua è di 17.250 euro (nel 2000 era di 16.500 euro) ma 

esistono differenze a seconda delle tipologie di lavoratori: il fondo pensioni 

lavoratori dipendenti dell’Inps dà diritto in media a soli 8.000 euro l’anno 

mentre l’istituto giornalisti a 44.000 euro l’anno (dati del Nucleo di 

valutazione spesa previdenziale). 

Per quanto riguarda i lavoratori autonomi e i professionisti, la spesa nel 

2001 ammonta a 26.161 milioni di euro (25.043 milioni nel 2000) con una 

pensione media annua di 5800 euro l’anno (dati del Nucleo di valutazione 

spesa previdenziale). 


203



La crisi che dagli anni ‘70 si è sempre più configurata nei termini di una 

rottura dell’equilibrio che la protezione sociale, attraverso la sua continua 

espansione, garantiva nei decenni precedenti caratterizzati da una fotre 

espansione economica. Questa crisi sembra avere, in linea di principio, due 

ordini di cause: a) il problema della crisi fiscale dello Stato, dello squilibrio 

tra le entrate e le spese delle istituzioni; b) l’unificazione dei mercati delle 

monete e del credito e l’accelerazione dell’innovazione tecnologica ed 

organizzativa 

Entrambe queste cause hanno ridotto i margini di manovra a disposizione 

degli Stati nazionali per trasformare i vincoli generati dall’economia 

mondiale in opportunità di sviluppo da cogliere localmente. I nuovi scenari 

sembrano inoltre minare gli equilibri storici del mercato del lavoro e 

produrre nuova incertezza per quote sempre più ampie della popolazione 

locale, anche nelle asce medie tradizionalmente al riparo da regimi di 

incertezza sconosciuti negli ultimi 50 anni. 

Lo stesso mercato del lavoro premia la soggettività personale, declinata in 

termini di individualismo e di flessibilità, in un contesto che appare 

contraddistinto da una crescita esponenziale della competitività, il cui effetto 

è un sempre più accentuato declino delle coscienze collettive e delle 

solidarietà di classe, dei corpi intermedi e di tutti gli organi di 

rappresentanza, con una segmentazione molecolare dei gruppi sociali che 

esprimono domande e bisogni sempre più spesso diversificati, se non 

addirittura opposti, e la creazione di una fascia di “nuova povertà” formata 

da esclusi spesso incapaci di, o impossibilitati a, far sentire la propria 

presenza sullo scenario della politica sociale. L’effetto di tale crisi è 

dirompente e trascende l’impressione di un semplice malfunzionamento. I 

fattori di crisi più sopra richiamati sembrano avere l’effetto di svuotare di 

contenuti la stessa concezione di Welfare. L’Italia è entrata in un’epoca di 

transizione perpetua, nella quale il cambiamento non è più immediatamente 

interpretabile in termini di progresso, di sviluppo dell’individuo e della 

società, ma è piuttosto generatore di incertezza, di confusione, di 

insicurezza, di disintegrazione sociale. La fase di crisi, che si è acuita dagli 

anni ‘90, non riguarda soltanto l’ambito dei diritti sociali, ma investe anche 

le dimensioni dei diritti politici con una spirale che coinvolge e si alimenta 

nello svuotamento di contenuti della partecipazione politica. Persino i diritti 

civili, a causa dell’aumento dell’incertezza personale in tutti gli ambiti 


204


connessi al well-being producono ulteriori incertezze, fragilità, esclusione 

sociale e devianza, con la conseguente perdita del controllo e della perdita di 

efficacia dell’intero impianto della protezione sociale. 

In simili circostanze è sempre più difficile, in Italia così come negli altri 

paesi con una economia avanzata, “quadrare il cerchio” che i principi laici e 

democratici hanno legato, almeno nella concezione della Repubblica, il 

benessere economico alla coesione sociale ed alla libertà politica. Tale 

difficoltà diventa macroscopica ed ancora più scomoda se proiettata nelle 

contraddizioni del sistema nazionale di protezione sociale, dove ad un 

periodo di espansione del welfare, della cittadinanza, della spesa pubblica, si 

va gradatamente sostituendo un sistema che è stato beffardamente definito 

“Stato asociale” (Boeri 2000), che dissemina di “trappole” (cfr. Ferrera 

1998) il percorso di sviluppo della società italiana, anziché promuovere 

garanzie. 

Nuove opportunità di inserimento sociale – ad esempio per le donne -, e 

nuove speranze di riscatto della povertà – per gli immigrati che provengono 

dalle società “in via di sviluppo” – si accompagnano a crescenti rischi di 

emarginazione o di autentica esclusione in una società che – con maggiore 

evidenza nei contesti urbani - diviene sempre più complessa, sempre più 

interdipendente, sempre più pervasa da ambiguità e incertezze che troppo 

spesso vengono declinate in termini di precarietà nelle chances di vita. 


205


4. CRIME 


Nella Costituzione della Repubblica Italiana l’Articolo 27 precisa che “la 

responsabilità penale è personale. L’imputato non è considerato colpevole 

sino alla condanna definitiva. Le pene non possono consistere in trattamenti 

contrari al senso di umanità e devono tendere alla rieducazione del 

condannato. Non è ammessa la pena di morte, se non nei casi previsti dalle 

leggi militari di guerra. Altri articoli, (111, 112 e 113) regolano le “Norme 

sulla giurisdizione” ed il primo di essi regola i diritti dell’accusato: “Nel 

processo penale, la legge assicura che la persona accusata di un reato sia, nel 

più breve tempo possibile, informata riservatamente della natura e dei 

motivi dell’accusa elevata a suo carico; disponga del tempo e delle 

condizioni necessari per preparare la sua difesa; abbia la facoltà, davanti al 

giudice, di interrogare o di far interrogare le persone che rendono 

dichiarazioni a suo carico, di ottenere la convocazione e l’interrogatorio di 

persone a sua difesa nelle stesse condizioni dell’accusa e l’acquisizione di 

ogni altro mezzo di prova a suo favore; sia assistita da un interprete se non 

comprende o non parla la lingua impiegata nel processo”. La legge penale 

italiana è regolata dal Codice penale ed obbliga tutti coloro che, cittadini o 

stranieri, si trovano ne l territorio dello Stato, salve le eccezioni stabilite dal 

diritto pubblico interno o dal diritto internazionale. 


La legge penale italiana obbliga altresì tutti coloro che, cittadini o stranieri, 

si trovano allèstero, ma limitatamente ai casi stabiliti dalla legge medesima 

o dal diritto internazionale. Le pene principali stabilite per i delitti sono 

l’ergastolo, la reclusione (fino a 24 anni), la multa, l’arresto e l’ammenda. 

Sotto la denominazione di pene detentive o restrittive della libertà personale 

la legge comprende: l’ergastolo, la reclusione e l’arresto. Sotto la 

denominazione di pene pecuniarie la legge comprende: la multa e 

l’ammenda. 


206


4.3. Fonti 

- Censis, Sviluppo e legalità nel Mezzogiorno (www.svileg.censis.it) 



- Istat, Statistiche giudiziarie penali, anno 2001 (www.istat.it) 

- Istat, Statistiche giudiziarie civili, anno 2001 (www.istat.it) 

4.4. Data 

Secondo i dati dell’Istat, nel 2001 i reati denunciati alle autorità giudiziarie 

dalle forze dell’ordine sono 2.163.826, 41.956 in meno rispetto al 2000. 

Sempre nel 2001, al Nord sono denunciati 1.048.781 reati, al Centro 

459.419 e al Sud 655.626. Le denunce sono in media 38 ogni 1.000 abitanti, 

più frequenti al Nord e al Centro (rispettivamente 41 e 42,1 ogni 1.000 

abitanti), rispetto al Sud (32 denunce ogni 1.000 abitanti). 

La popolazione carceraria, secondo dati Istat relativi al 2001, ammonta a 

55.751 persone, 16.511 delle quali straniere (il 29,6%). Solamente il 4,3% 

delle persone detenute è di sesso femminile; tra le donne detenute, la 

percentuale delle straniere è molto più alta rispetto agli uomini (il 41,5% 

rispetto al 29,1%). Nel complesso, nel 2001, i detenuti sono il 16,7% in più 

rispetto al 1995 e gli stranieri detenuti, addirittura il 102,7% in più rispetto 

allo stesso anno. Il numero più elevato di detenuti si registra al Sud (23.441 

rispetto ai 21.243 del Nord e i 11.067 del Centro) ma il numero maggiore di 

detenuti stranieri si trova al Nord (8.709 rispetto ai 4.322 del Centro e i 

3.480 del Sud). 


207



Il delicato rapporto tra giustizia e politica, seppure in questi ultimi anni ha 

acceso molte polemiche e fratture fra alti rappresentanti del potere esecutivo 

e giudiziario del Paese, ha posto le condizioni per una riflessione sui mali 

della giustizia penale italiana. Fra le questioni recentemente in Italia emerse 

nel dibattito sulla Giustizia degli ultimi anni: 

- la riforma di una sentenza di assoluzione attraverso la mera rivisitazione 

dei giudici d’appello degli stessi elementi di prova raccolti nel 

contraddittorio e nell’oralità dai primi giudici; 

- la separazione delle carriere tra giudici e pubblici ministeri; 

- l’immunità parlamentare; 

- la possibilità, in condizioni di “legittimo sospetto”, di rimette il processo 

ad altro giudice, su richiesta motivata del procuratore generale, del 

pubblico ministero o dell’imputato stesso; 

- la pronuncia di una sentenza di condanna a più di 20 anni dal fatto; 

- l’abuso del ricorso allo strumento della misura cautelare. 

Numerose sono le voci che hanno espresso la volontà di affrontare 

costruttivamente le delicate questioni oggetto del dibattito su una riforma 

della Giustizia nella convinzione della necessità di una riforma organica che 

renda il sistema più rapido ed efficiente e che allo stesso tempo garantisca la 

separazione ed autonomia del potere giudiziario dai sistemi esecutivo e 

legislativo del Paese. 

Le condizioni per tale riforma non sono particolarmente propizie nell’Italia 

di oggi, dove la questione della Giustizia assume delle accese valenze di 

carattere politico, e dove le obiezioni espresse e le soluzioni auspicate 

fuoriescono dagli ambiti tecnici di una riforma e trovano cassa di risonanza 

sull’acceso dibattito politico di questi ultimi anni. Se da un lato le forze 

politiche di maggioranza si sono impegnate in interventi riformatori di breve 

respiro, spesso ispirati al soddisfacimento di interessi particolari, d’altro lato 

le forze politiche di minoranza non hanno saputo immaginare alternative 

alla tentazione di demonizzare ogni ipotesi di riforma anche prescindendo 


208


dal suo contenuto. Il coinvolgimento della stessa Magistratura in tale 

dibattito politico non gioca a favore di una riflessione costruttiva. Superare 

le sterili contrapposizioni e affrontare con concretezza i nodi del sistema 

giudiziario italiano appare una scommessa tanto auspicabile quanto ardua. 


209



5.1. The evolution from the ‘80s 

Al di là delle problematiche connesse al funzionamento dei sistemi 

previdenziali, sanitari e giudiziari, nell’ultimo ventennio l’Italia ha 

attraversato una fase caratterizzata da fenomeni di una certa stabilità. 

Nonostante i grossi cambiamenti intercorsi nell’economia, nella sfera 

politica e nella congiuntura internazionale, la ricchezza procapite è andata 

aumentando in modo costante, fino ad una prima recente battuta d’arresto 

nel 2002 (tab. 1). 

Tab. 1 - Analisi della povertà in Italia - Anni 1980-2002 

Anno 


Indicatore sintetico di ricchezza 

(valore aggiunto per ab.in mgl di euro 

a prezzi 1995) 

1980 11,6 

1981 11,6 

1982 11,7 

1983 11,8 

1984 12,1 

1985 12,4 

1986 12,7 

1987 13,0 

1988 13,5 

1989 13,9 

1990 14,1 

1991 14,5 

1992 14,6 

1993 14,4 

1994 14,7 

1995 15,2 

1996 15,3 

1997 15,6 

1998 15,8 

1999 16,1 

2000 16,5 

2001 17,0 

2002 17,0 

Fonte: elaborazione Censis su dati Istat 

210


18,0 

17,0 

16,0 

15,0 

14,0 

13,0 

12,0 

11,0 

10,0 

1980 

1982 


La ricchezza in Italia (v.a. per abitante in migliaia di euro) 

Anni 1980-2002 

1984 

1986 

1988 

1990 

1992 

Anni 

Anche la spesa delle famiglie per salute e spese sanitarie, sebbene si 

dimostra meno lineare dell’incremento della ricchezza, registra una 

tendenza positiva e piuttosto ciclica, con delle avanzate della spesa negli 

anni 1987, 1993, 1995-96, un calo evidente nel 2000 ed una netta ripresa 

negli ultimi anni (tab. 2). 

1994 

1996 

1998 

2000 

2002 

211


Tab.2 – Analisi della salute in Italia (spesa delle famiglie) - 

Anni 1980-2002 

Anno 


Indicatore sintetico salute 

(spesa delle famiglie per servizi 

sanitari in mln di euro a prezzi 

1995 per 100.000 famiglie) 

1980 35,8 

1981 37,2 

1982 37,2 

1983 38,3 

1984 40,3 

1985 39,6 

1986 43,2 

1987 43,1 

1988 47,0 

1989 50,1 

1990 51,4 

1991 56,6 

1992 65,3 

1993 66,8 

1994 73,7 

1995 81,2 

1996 82,3 

1997 84,1 

1998 85,0 

1999 84,4 

2000 84,0 

2001 87,4 

2002 89,4 


212


90,0 

80,0 

70,0 

60,0 

50,0 

40,0 

30,0 


Spesa delle famiglie residenti in Italia 

per servizi sanitari (milioni di euro) 

Anni 1980-2002 

1980 

1982 

1984 

1986 

1988 

1990 

1992 

1994 

1996 

1998 

2000 

2002 

Anni 

La diffusione della criminalità, invece, registrata attraverso in numero di 

delitti per abitante, dimostra un andamento assai più irregolare, con un picco 

mai più eguagliato nel 1991 di quasi 47 delitti ogni 1000 abitanti, un netto 

calo fino al 1994, e poi una netta ripresa seguita da una morbida flessione 

fino al 2001, anno in cui ha inizio una ripresa che arriva ad oggi (tab. 3). Le 

oscillazioni non sono semplici da spiegare, specialmente a causa delle 

diverse concause fra le quali è possibile elencare: 

- le evoluzioni legislative, con importanti modificazioni delle leggi penali 

vigenti; 

- l’aumento della compagine sociale e dell’incidenza di popolazione 

immigrata irregolare con basse possibilità di inserimento regolare; 

- il frammentarsi della criminalità organizzata ed il suo evolversi verso 

crimini diversi; 

- l’aumento della microcriminalità ed il suo distribuirsi nella penisola 

rispetto a fenomeni classici di maggiore concentrazione nelle aree 

metropolitane meridionali. 

213


Tab. 3 – Analisi della criminalità in Italia - Anni 1980-2002 

Anno 


Indice di diffusione della criminalità 

(delitti per 1.000 abitanti) 

1988 32,9 

1989 35,7 

1990 43,3 

1991 46,7 

1992 42,0 

1993 39,6 

1994 38,0 

1995 39,5 

1996 42,2 

1997 42,4 

1998 42,1 

1999 41,2 

2000 38,1 

2001 38,0 

2002 38,9 

Fonte: elaborazione Censis su dati Istat e Ministero dell’interno 

50,0 

45,0 

40,0 

35,0 

30,0 

25,0 

Il livello di difusione della criminalità in italia (delitti per 1.000 abitanti) 

Anni 1988-2002 

1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 

Anni 

214


Oltre a quanto rilevato per l’indicatore sintetico di ricchezza, calcolato 

attraverso il valore aggiunto per abitanti, è possibile calcolare anche 

l’indicatore sintetico di povertà che stabilisce l’incidenza delle famiglie 

povere sul totale delle famiglie italiane. Dal 1995 al 2001 l’incidenza oscilla 

intorno ad una media dell’11,5% e sembra indifferente all’incremento della 

ricchezza, all’aumento della spesa per la salute delle famiglie (tab. 4). 

L’indice di criminalità diffusa, calcolato sulla percentuale dei “piccoli 

crimini” su quelli più gravi, segue un andamento tendente all’incremento del 

tutto sganciato da quello della criminalità in generale, e quasi speculare, con 

incrementi nel 1998 e 1999 anni in cui la criminalità in generale era stabile o 

in decremento, e con una espansione nel 1997 che non trova riscontro nei 

dati complessivi dei reati rispetto alla popolazione. 

Tab. 4 - Analisi della povertà, salute e criminalità in Italia - Anni 1995-2001 

Anno 


Indicatore sintetico povertà 

(incidenza % delle famiglie 

povere) 

Indice di criminalità diffusa 

(furti e rapine meno gravi in % 

dei delitti) 

1995 10,6 60,1 

1996 10,3 58,6 

1997 12,0 58,6 

1998 11,8 62,3 

1999 11,9 63,8 

2000 12,3 63,5 

2001 12,0 61,8 

Fonte: dati Istat 

215


12,5 

12,0 

11,5 

11,0 

10,5 

10,0 

9,5 

9,0 

65,0 

64,0 

63,0 

62,0 

61,0 

60,0 

59,0 

58,0 

57,0 

56,0 

55,0 


Famiglie povere in Italia (val. %) Anni 1995-2001 

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 

Indice di criminalità diffusa in Italia (val. %) Anni 1995-2001 

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 

216


5.2. Correlation between poverty, health crime and other 

development indicators in the last decades 

Alta ed indiscutibile è la correlazione fra ricchezza e spesa sanitaria delle 

famiglie italiane, con un tasso di correlazione dello 0,9216. L’aumento della 

ricchezza delle famiglie si traduc, pressochè automaticamente, in un 

aumento della spesa per servizi sanitari (tab. 5). 

Tab. 5 - Analisi della povertà e salute in Italia - Anni 1980-2002 

Anno 


Indicatore sintetico di richezza 

(valore aggiunto per ab.in mgl di 

euro) 

Indicatore sintetico salute (spesa 

delle famiglie per servizi sanitari in 

mln di euro per 100.000 famiglie) 

1980 11,6 35,8 

1981 11,6 37,2 

1982 11,7 37,2 

1983 11,8 38,3 

1984 12,1 40,3 

1985 12,4 39,6 

1986 12,7 43,2 

1987 13,0 43,1 

1988 13,5 47,0 

1989 13,9 50,1 

1990 14,1 51,4 

1991 14,5 56,6 

1992 14,6 65,3 

1993 14,4 66,8 

1994 14,7 73,7 

1995 15,2 81,2 

1996 15,3 82,3 

1997 15,6 84,1 

1998 15,8 85,0 

1999 16,1 84,4 

2000 16,5 84,0 

2001 17,0 87,4 

2002 17,0 89,4 


217


100,0 

90,0 

80,0 

70,0 

60,0 

50,0 

40,0 

30,0 

20,0 

10,0 

0,0 

La ricchezza e la spesa sanitaria delle famiglie residenti in Italia 

Anni 1980-2002 


R 2 = 0,9216 

10,0 11,0 12,0 13,0 14,0 15,0 16,0 17,0 18,0 

Viceversa, un dato significativo è rappresentato dalla completa mancata 

correlazione, né positiva né negativa, dell’aumento della ricchezza con 

l’aumento, o il diminuire, dell’indice di diffusione della criminalità, pari all 

0,0089. Indipendentemente dal cambiare della condizione di ricchezza delle 

famiglie, l’indice di criminalità sembra rispondere ad altre logiche che non 

comunicano con l’incremento o la riduzione della ricchezza. Una debolezza 

simile, anche se meno accentuata si riscontra fra criminalità e presenza o 

meno di famiglie povere, dove il tasso di correlazione sale allo 0,3842 (tab. 

6). 

218


Tab. 6 - Analisi della povertà e criminalità in Italia - Anni 1988-2002 

Anno 


Indicatore sintetico di richezza 

(valore aggiunto per ab.in mgl di 

euro) 

Indice di diffusione della criminalità 

(delitti per abitante per 1.000 abitanti) 

1988 13,5 32,9 

1989 13,9 35,7 

1990 14,1 43,3 

1991 14,5 46,7 

1992 14,6 42,0 

1993 14,4 39,6 

1994 14,7 38,0 

1995 15,2 39,5 

1996 15,3 42,2 

1997 15,6 42,4 

1998 15,8 42,1 

1999 16,1 41,2 

2000 16,5 38,1 

2001 17,0 38,0 

2002 17,0 38,9 


50,0 

48,0 

46,0 

44,0 

42,0 

40,0 

38,0 

36,0 

34,0 

32,0 

30,0 

La ricchezza e il livello di diffusione di criminalità in Italia 

Anni 1988-2002 

R 2 = 0,0089 

12,0 13,0 14,0 15,0 16,0 17,0 18,0 

219


Analisi della povertà, salute e criminalità in Italia - Anni 1980-2002 

Anno 


Indicatore sintetico povertà 

(incidenza % delle famiglie 

povere) 

1995 10,6 60,1 

1996 10,3 58,6 

1997 12,0 58,6 

1998 11,8 62,3 

1999 11,9 63,8 

2000 12,3 63,5 

2001 12,0 61,8 

2002 

Fonte: dati Istat 

65,0 

64,0 

63,0 

62,0 

61,0 

60,0 

59,0 

58,0 

Famiglie povere in Italia e livello di diffusione di criminalità - 

Anni 1995-2001 

Indice di criminalità diffusa 

(furti e rapine meno gravi in 

% dei delitti) 

R 2 = 0,3842 

10,0 10,5 11,0 11,5 12,0 12,5 

Analoga debolezza di correlazione si riscontra fra la spesa della salute delle 

famiglie ed I tassi di criminlaità rispetto alla popolazione, confermando 

l’esistenza di 3 elementi la cui correlazione non è nè diretta nè lineare e che 

per essere rintracciata ha bisogno di tecniche di analisi più articolate come 

l’analisi della correlazione delle componenti principali (ACP) che è stata 

condotta sul compesso dei paesi del Mediterraneo nella Parte Seconda della 

presente ricerca. 

220


Tab. Analisi della salute e criminalità in Italia - Anni 1980-2002 

Anno 


Indicatore sintetico salute 

(spesa delle famiglie per 

servizi sanitari in mln di 

euro a prezzi 1995 per 

100.000 famiglie) 

Indice di diffusione della 

criminalità (delitti per 

abitante per 1.000 abitanti) 

1988 47,0 32,9 

1989 50,1 35,7 

1990 51,4 43,3 

1991 56,6 46,7 

1992 65,3 42,0 

1993 66,8 39,6 

1994 73,7 38,0 

1995 81,2 39,5 

1996 82,3 42,2 

1997 84,1 42,4 

1998 85,0 42,1 

1999 84,4 41,2 

2000 84,0 38,1 

2001 87,4 38,0 

2002 89,4 38,9 


50,0 

48,0 

46,0 

44,0 

42,0 

40,0 

38,0 

36,0 

34,0 

32,0 

30,0 

La spesa sanitaria delle famiglie residenti in Italia e il livello di diffusione di criminalità - 

Anni 1988-2002 

R 2 = 0,0208 

40,0 50,0 60,0 70,0 80,0 90,0 100,0 

221



L’analisi teorica ed empirica sulla protezione sociale, sulla possibile 

ridefinizione del punto di equilibrio fra esigenze di welfare e crisi dello 

sviluppo economico e sue interconnessioni con la sicurezza individuale e la 

criminalità, è di immediato e condiviso interesse per la comunità scientifica 

internazionale, sia quella afferente a contesti sulla via dello sviluppo sia 

quella che riflette sul cammino dei Paesi più avanzati del bacino del 

mediterraneo. La sfida che sta di fronte a studiosi e ricercatori appare 

triplice: 

- per un verso si tratta di combinare una varietà di concetti e di strumenti 

prelevati dalla “cassetta degli attrezzi” delle scienze sociali – e dunque 

della sociologia, dell’economia, della scienza politica, della statistica, 

della giurisprudenza, della demografia – per interpretare i processi in 

corso, individuare le cause dei problemi, valutare le possibili alternative, 

proporre ipotesi di intervento; 

- per un altro, bisogna tenere presente una varietà di livelli di analisi e di 

proposta: dal livello globale, al quale già si affaccia l’ipotesi di una 

cittadinanza mondiale portatrice di istanze di riequilibrio della sovranità 

del mercato mondiale autoregolato, a quello delle istituzioni 

sovranazionali, che riguarda particolarmente l’Italia in quanto impegnata 

nel processo di costruzione di una “cittadinanza europea”, a quello dello 

Stato nazionale, che in ciascun Paese rappresenta tuttora la porzione più 

cospicua del sistema della protezione sociale; a quello dei contesti locali, 

sui quali paiono scaricarsi i costi umani e sociali dei cambiamenti in 

questione e che tuttavia presentano opportunità che è importante cogliere 

per la riattivazione di interventi di protezione sociale e di percorsi di 

inserimento e di partecipazione che possono assumere un’importanza 

notevole nel quadro delle trasformazioni in corso; 

- per un altro ancora, occorre studiare, con l’ausilio degli strumenti in 

precedenza menzionati, ai diversi livelli sopra citati, e con il ricorso ad 

una metodologia comparativa d’indagine, gli effetti prodotti dai 

mutamenti che intervengono nella protezione sociale sugli assetti e sugli 

orizzonti dei contesti più avanzati, in maniera da delineare i livelli di 

sicurezza e di coesione disponibili e l’articolazione di questi in rapporto 

alle diverse fasce della popolazione. 


222


Il che significa ricondurre il problema della cittadinanza sociale alla 

questione della “giusta tutela”, e quindi in sostanza dei contenuti 

effettivamente fruibili dei diritti che definiscono la cittadinanza in ciascun 

contesto storico-sociale e che possono consentire di difendere, e forse anche 

di promuovere, la libertà e l’eguaglianza nel rispetto della diversità. Il che 

significa affrontare, con strumenti interdisciplinari ed avendo riguardo alle 

interazioni ed alle interferenze tra i molteplici livelli territoriali dell’analisi e 

della ricerca sul campo, il problema dell’integrazione tra i diversi comparti 

della politica sociale – il sistema dell’istruzione e della formazione 

professionale, le misure di inserimento sociale ed occupazionale, il settore 

della previdenza, la politica dell’abitazione ecc. – e tra questa e la più 

generale politica del Paese – ad esempio, l’interazione tra la politica sociale, 

la politica fiscale, la politica economica, la politica di coesione regionale e 

di sviluppo. 


223

6. ANNESSO STATISTICO

DATI GENERALI

Tab. 1 - Struttura per età della popolazione residente in Italia per ripartizione territoriale al 01/01/2001, Maschi - (v.a. e val. %) 

0 - 14 15 - 64 65 e oltre Totale 

v.a. % v.a. % v.a. % v.a. % 

Nord 1.670.278 13,3 8.857.299 70,7 2.008.999 16,0 12.536.576 100,0 

Centro 747.908 13,9 3.727.130 69,2 913.735 17,0 5.388.773 100,0 

Sud e isole 1.852.400 18,2 6.928.785 68,1 1.388.323 13,7 10.169.508 100,0 

Italia 4.270.586 15,2 19.513.214 69,5 4.311.057 15,3 28.094.857 100,0 

Fonte: elaborazione Censis su dati Istat

Tab. 2 - Struttura per età della popolazione residente in Italia per ripartizione territoriale al 01/01/2001, Femmine - (v.a. e val. %) 

0 - 14 15 - 64 65 e oltre Totale 

v.a. % v.a. % v.a. % v.a. % 

Nord 1.576.008 11,9 8.680.992 65,3 3.040.707 22,9 13.297.707 100,0 

Centro 705.548 12,2 3.772.163 65,4 1.293.099 22,4 5.770.810 100,0 

Sud e isole 1.751.762 16,4 7.017.809 65,7 1.911.072 17,9 10.680.643 100,0 

Italia 4.033.318 13,6 19.470.964 65,5 6.244.878 21,0 29.749.160 100,0 


Tab. 3 - Struttura per età della popolazione residente in Italia per ripartizione territoriale al 01/01/2001, Totale - (v.a. e val. %) 

0 - 14 15 - 64 65 e oltre Totale 

v.a. % v.a. % v.a. % v.a. % 

Nord 3.246.286 12,6 17.538.291 67,9 5.049.706 19,5 25.834.283 100,0 

Centro 1.453.456 13,0 7.499.293 67,2 2.206.834 19,8 11.159.583 100,0 

Sud e isole 3.604.162 17,3 13.946.594 66,9 3.299.395 15,8 20.850.151 100,0 

Italia 8.303.904 14,4 38.984.178 67,4 10.555.935 18,2 57.844.017 100,0 


Tab. 4 - Struttura demografica dei Paesi dell'Unione Europea - Anni 1995-2002 (v.a.e val. %) 

Popolazio 

ne al 1 

gennaio in 

migliaia di 

abitanti 

Quota % 

sul totale 

Eur15 

Tasso di 

accrescime 

nto per 

1.000 

abitanti 

Quota % 

0-19 anni 

Quota % 

20-59 anni 

Quota % 

60 anni e 

oltre 

Anni Belgio Danimarca Germania Grecia Spagna Francia Irlanda Italia Lussemburgo Paesi Bassi Austria Portogallo Finlandia Svezia Regno Unito Eur 15 

1995 10.130,6 5.215,7 81.538,6 10.442,9 39.177,4 58.020,1 3.594,7(1) 57.268,6 406,6 15.424,1 8.039,9 9.912,1 5.098,8 8.816,4 58.500,2 

371.586,7 

(2) 

1996 10.143,0 5.251,0 81.817,5 10.465,1 39.241,9 

58.255,9 

(1) 

3.615,6(1) 57.333,0 412,8 15.493,9 8.054,8 9.920,8 5.116,8 8.837,5 58694,0 (1) 

372.653,6 

(1) 

1997 10.170,2 5.275,1 82.012,2 10.486,6 39.298,6 

58.491,6 

(1) 

3.652,2 (1) 57.461,0 418,3 15.567,1 8.067,8 9.934,1 5.132,3 8.844,5 58.901,8 (1) 

373.713,4 

(1) 

1998 10.192,3 5.294,9 82.057,4 10.511,0 39.347,9 

58.726,9 

(1) 

3.694,0 (1) 57.563,4 423,7 15.654,2 8.075,0 9.957,3 5.147,3 8.847,6 59.089,6 (3) 

374.582,8 

(2) 

1999 10.213,8 5.313,6 82.037,0 10.521,7 39.394,3 

58.494,0 

(1) 

3.734,9 57.612,6 429,2 15.760,2 8.082,8 9.979,5 5.159,6 8.854,3 59.391,1 (3) 

374.978,6 

(2) 

2000 10.239,1 5.330,0 82.163,5 10.542,8 39.441,7 

58.744,1 

(1) 

3.776,6 57.679,9 435,7 15.864,0 8.102,6 9.997,6 5.171,3 8.861,4 59.623,4 

375.973,6 

(2) 

2001 10.263,4 5.349,2 82.259,5 10564,7 (1) 40.127,7 

59.037,2 

(1) 

3.826,2 (1) 57.844,0 441,3 15.987,1 8.121,3 10.262,9 5.181,1 8.882,8 59.894,2 (3) 

378.036,6 

(2) 

2002 

10.307,3 

(2) 

5.638,4 82.431,0 10.598,3 

(2) 

40.409,3 59.344,0 

(1) 

3.884,2 

(2) 

58.017,9 

(2) 

446,4 

(2) 

16.100,3 

(1) 

8.140,0 

(2) 

10.355,6 

(1) 

5.194,9 8.909,1 60.113,9 

(3) 

379.600,7 

(2) 

2002 2,7 1,5 21,7 2,8 10,6 15,6 1,0 15,3 0,1 4,2 2,1 2,7 1,4 2,3 15,8 100,0 

1995 1,2 6,8 3,4 2,1 1,6 4,1(1) 5,8(1) 1,1 15,1 4,5 1,9 0,9 3,5 2,4 3,3(2) 2,9 

1996 2,7 4,6 2,4 2,1 1,4 4,0 (1) 10,1 2,2 13,3 4,7 1,6 1,3 3,0 0,8 3,4 (1) 2,8 (1) 

1997 2,2 3,7 0,6 2,3 1,3 4,0 (1) 11,4 (1) 1,8 12,8 5,6 0,9 2,3 2,9 0,4 3,1 2,3 (1) 

1998 2,1 3,5 -0,2 (1) 1,0 1,2 3,3 (1) 11,0 (1) 0,9 12,9 6,7 1,0 2,2 2,4 0,8 5,1 (1) 2,2 (1) 

1999 2,5 3,1 1,5 2,0 1,2 4,3 11,1 1,2 15,0 6,6 2,4 1,8 (3) 2,3 0,8 3,9 2,7 (1) 

2000 2,4 3,6 1,2 1,0 (1) 9,7 4,9 (1) 13,0 (1) 2,8 12,8 7,7 2,3 6,3 1,9 2,4 4,5 (3) 4,1 (2) 

2001 4,3 (2) 3,6 2,1 (3) 3,2 (3) 7,1 5,2 (1) 15,1 (2) 3,0 (2) 11,4 (2) 7,1 (1) 2,3 (2) 7,1 (1) 2,7 3,0 3,7 (3) 4,1 (2) 

1990 24,8 24,3 21,8 27,0 28,8 27,8 36,7 24,5 23,2 25,7 24,3 29,3 25,4 24,5 25,9 25,5 

1995 24,1 23,6 21,5 24,4 25,0 26,1 33,8 21,5 23,8 24,4 23,3 26,1 25,5 24,7 25,3 23,9 

1998 23,8 23,6 21,5 22,8 22,8 25,8 (1) 32,0 20,2 24,2 24,3 23,1 24,3 25,0 24,4 25,4 23,3 (1) 

1999 23,7 23,6 21,4 22,3 22,2 25,7 31,4 20,0 24,3 24,4 23,0 23,9 24,8 24,3 25,4 23,1 

2000 23,6 23,7 21,3 21,8 21,7 25,6 30,8 19,8 24,4 24,4 22,8 23,5 24,7 24,2 25,3 23,0 

1990 54,7 55,3 57,9 53,3 52,5 53,2 48,0 55,0 57,9 57,1 55,5 52,2 56,2 52,6 53,3 54,6 

1995 54,6 56,6 57,8 54,1 54,4 53,8 51,0 56,2 57,1 57,9 57,0 54,0 55,6 53,3 54,2 55,5 

1998 54,5 56,8 56,6 54,6 55,8 53,9 (1) 52,8 56,7 56,7 57,8 57,2 55,4 55,6 53,6 54,2 55,5 (1) 

1999 54,5 56,7 56,2 54,9 56,3 53,9 53,4 56,5 56,6 57,6 57,2 55,6 55,6 53,6 54,2 55,5 

2000 54,5 56,6 55,7 55,1 56,7 53,9 54,1 56,3 56,5 57,5 56,8 55,9 55,5 53,6 54,3 55,4 

1990 20,5 20,4 20,3 19,7 18,7 19,0 15,3 20,5 18,9 17,2 20,2 18,5 18,4 22,9 20,8 19,9 

1995 21,3 19,8 20,7 21,5 20,6 20,1 15,2 22,3 19,1 17,7 19,7 19,9 18,9 22,0 20,5 20,6 

1998 21,7 19,6 21,9 22,6 21,4 20,3 15,2 23,1 19,1 17,9 19,7 20,3 19,4 22,0 20,4 21,2 

1999 21,8 19,7 22,4 22,8 21,5 20,4 15,2 23,5 19,1 18,0 19,8 20,5 19,6 22,1 20,4 21,4 

2000 21,9 19,7 23,0 23,1 21,6 20,5 15,1 23,9 19,1 18,1 20,4 20,6 19,8 22,2 20,4 21,6 

(1) Dati provvisori; (2) Stima Eurostat; (3) Stima nazionale 

Fonte: elaborazione Censis su dati Eurostat

Tab. 5 - Principali indicatori socio-demografici europei - Anni 1970-2001 (v.a.e val. %) 

Tasso di 

natalità (nati 

per 1.000 

abitanti) 

Tasso di 

mortalità 

(decessi per 

1000 abitanti) 

Tasso 

migratorio per 

1000 abitanti 

Nati fuori dal 

matrimonio 

(per 1.000 nati 

vivi) 

Segue tab. 5 

Anni Belgio Danimarca Germania Grecia Spagna Francia Irlanda Italia Lussemburgo 

Paesi 

Bassi 

Austria Portogallo Finlandia Svezia 

1970 14,7 14,4 13,4 16,5 19,7 16,8 21,9 16,8 13,0 18,4 15,1 20,8 14,0 13,8 16,3 16,2 

1980 12,6 11,2 11,1 15,5 15,3 14,9 21,8 11,4 11,5 12,9 12,0 16,3 13,2 11,7 13,4 13,1 

1990 12,4 12,4 11,4 10,1 10,3 13,5 15,1 10,0 13,0 13,3 11,8 11,7 13,2 14,5 13,9 12,0 

1995 11,3 13,4 9,4 9,7 9,2 12,5 13,5 9,1 13,3 12,4 11,0 10,8 12,4 11,7 12,5 10,8 

1996 11,4 (1) 12,9 9,7 9,6 9,1 12,6 (1) 13,9 9,2 13,7 12,2 11,0 11,1 11,8 10,8 12,5 10,8 (1) 

1997 11,4 12,8 9,9 9,7 9,2 (1) 12,4 (1) 14,2 (1) 9,2 (1) 13,1 12,3 10,4 11,4 11,5 10,2 12,3 10,8 (1) 

1998 11,2 12,5 9,6 9,6 9,2 (1) 12,7 (1) 14,4 9,3 12,6 12,7 10,1 11,4 11,1 10,1 12,1 10,7 (1) 

1999 11,1 12,4 9,4 9,6 9,6 (1) 12,7 (1) 14,2 9,1 12,9 12,7 9,7 11,6 (3) 11,1 10,0 11,8 10,6 (1) 

2000 11,3 (1) 12,6 9,3 9,6 (3) 9,9 (1) 13,2 (1) 14,3 (1) 9,4 13,1 13,0 9,6 11,7 11,0 10,2 11,4 (3) 10,8 (3) 

2001 11,2 (2) 12,2 8,9 (3) 9,5 (2) 10,1 (3) 13,1 (1) 15,0 (2) 9,4 (2) 12,3 (2) 12,7 (1) 9,3 (2) 10,9 (1) 10,8 10,3 11,2 (3) 10,6 (2) 

1970 12,3 9,8 12,5 8,4 8,3 10,7 11,4 9,7 12,3 8,5 13,3 10,7 9,6 10,0 11,8 10,8 

1980 11,5 10,9 12,2 9,1 7,8 10,2 9,9 9,8 11,3 8,1 12,3 9,8 9,3 11,1 11,8 10,5 

1990 10,5 11,9 11,6 9,3 8,6 9,3 8,9 9,6 9,9 8,7 10,8 10,4 10,1 11,2 11,2 10,2 

1995 10,3 12,1 10,8 9,6 8,7 9,2 8,8 9,6 9,3 8,8 10,1 10,5 9,7 10,7 11,0 10,0 

1996 10,4 (1) 11,6 10,8 9,6 8,9 9,2 (1) 8,7 9,5 9,4 8,9 10,0 10,8 9,6 10,6 10,8 10,0 (1) 

1997 10,2 11,3 10,5 9,5 8,9 (1) 9,1 (1) 8,6 (1) 9,6 (1) 9,3 8,7 9,8 10,6 9,6 10,6 10,7 9,8 (1) 

1998 10,2 11,0 10,4 (3) 9,7 (3) 9,1 (1) 9,2 (1) 8,3 (1) 10,0 (1) 9,0 8,7 9,7 10,7 9,5 10,5 10,6 (3) 9,9 (1) 

1999 10,3 11,1 10,3 9,8 9,4 (1) 9,2 (1) 8,4 9,9 8,8 8,9 9,7 10,8 (3) 9,6 10,7 10,6 9,9 (1) 

2000 10,2 10,9 10,2 9,8 (2) 9,0 (1) 9,1 (1) 8,2 (1) 9,7 8,6 8,8 9,5 10,3 9,5 10,5 10,2 (3) 9,7 (2) 

2001 10,1 (2) 10,9 10,0 (3) 9,7 (2) 8,7 (3) 8,9 (1) 7,7 (2) 9,3 (2) 8,4 (2) 8,7 (1) 9,2 (2) 10,6 (1) 9,4 10,5 10,1 (3) 9,5 (2) 

1995 0,3 (1) 5,5 4,9 2,0 1,2 (1) 0,7 (1) 1,1 1,6 (1) 11,2 1,0 0,9 0,5 0,8 1,3 1,8 (1) 2,1 

1996 1,6 (1) 3,3 3,4 2,1 1,2 (1) 0,6 (1) 3,7 (1) 2,6 (1) 8,9 1,4 0,6 1,0 0,8 0,7 1,7 (1) 2,0 (1) 

1997 0,9 2,3 1,1 2,1 0,9 (1) 0,7 (1) 5,7 (1) 2,2 (1) 9,1 1,9 0,4 1,5 0,9 0,7 1,5 1,4 (1) 

1998 1,1 (1) 2,1 0,6 (3) 1,2 (3) 1,1 (1) -0,1 (1) 5,0 (1) 1,6 (1) 9,4 2,8 0,6 1,5 0,9 1,2 3,6 (1) 1,4 (1) 

1999 1,6 1,8 2,5 2,3 1,0 (1) 0,8 (1) 5,3 2,0 10,9 2,8 2,4 1,0 (3) 0,7 1,5 2,8 2,0 (1) 

2000 1,3 (1) 1,9 2,0 1,2 (3) 8,8 (3) 0,8 (1) 7,0 (2) 3,1 8,3 3,6 2,1 4,9 0,5 2,7 3,3 (3) 3,1 (2) 

2001 3,2 (2) 2,3 3,2 (3) 3,3 (2) 5,8 (3) 1,0 (1) 7,8 (2) 2,9 (2) 7,5 (2) 3,1 (1) 2,2 (2) 6,3 (1) 1,2 3,2 2,6 (3) 3,1 (2) 

1970 27,7 110,3 72,3 11,1 13,6 68,6 26,5 21,8 40,1 20,8 127,7 73,3 58,3 185,6 80,4 55,9 

1980 41,2 331,7 118,9 14,6 39,3 113,8 50,3 42,9 59,7 41,1 177,8 92,0 130,8 397,2 115,2 96,3 

1990 116,1 464,0 153,2 21,7 96,1 300,5 146,4 64,7 127,8 113,8 235,5 147,1 252,4 470,0 279,0 195,5 

1995 150,0 464,7 160,6 30,4 107,6 372,0 227,4 80,6 131,3 155,2 273,7 186,7 331,2 529,6 335,7 233,6 

1996 - 462,8 171,2 32,7 117,0 388,0 (1) 247,7 (1) 83,4 (1) 149,6 169,9 280,2 186,6 353,8 538,8 355,1 243,3 (1) 

1997 186,0 451,0 180,0 35,0 131,0 401,0 (1) 266,0 (1) 89,0 (1) 168,0 192,0 288,0 196,0 365,0 541,0 367,0 251,0 (2) 

1998 - 448,0 200,0 38,0 - 407,0 (1) 283,0 87,0 (1) 175,0 208,0 295,0 201,0 (1) 372,0 547,0 376,0 260,0 (2) 

1999 201,0 (2) 449,0 221,0 39,0 141,0 (2) 417,0 309,0 92,0 186,0 227,0 305,0 208,0 387,0 553,0 388,0 272,0 (2) 

2000 220,0 (2) 446,0 234,0 41,0 (2) 170,0 (2) 426,0 318,0 (1) 96,0 (2) 219,0 249,0 313,0 222,0 392,0 553,0 395,0 284,0 (2) 

2001 - 446,0 236,0 (3) - - - 312,0 (1) - 223,0 277,0 (1) 331,0 238,0 395,0 555,0 401,0 (1) - 

Regno 

Unito 

Eur 15

Segue tab. 5 

Tasso di 

mortalità 

infantile (morti 

primo anno di 

vita per 1.000 

nati vivi) 

Anni Belgio Danimarca Germania Grecia Spagna Francia Irlanda Italia Lussemburgo 

Paesi 

Bassi 


1970 21,1 14,2 22,5 29,6 28,1 18,2 19,5 29,6 24,9 12,7 25,9 55,5 13,2 11,0 18,5 23,4 

1980 12,1 8,4 12,4 17,9 12,3 10,0 11,1 14,6 11,5 8,6 14,3 24,3 7,6 6,9 12,1 12,4 

1990 8,0 7,5 7,0 9,7 7,6 7,3 8,2 8,2 7,3 7,1 7,8 11,0 5,6 6,0 7,9 7,6 

1995 6,1 5,1 5,3 8,1 5,5(2) 4,9(1) 6,4 6,2(1) 5,5 5,5 5,4 7,5 3,9 4,1 6,2 5,6 

1996 5,6 (1) 5,6 5,0 7,2 6,0 4,8 5,5 5,9 4,9 5,7 5,1 6,9 4,0 4,0 6,1 5,5(1) 

1997 6,1 5,3 4,9 6,4 5,6(1) 4,8 (1) 6,2(1) 5,5(1) 4,2 5,0 4,7 6,4 3,9 3,6 5,9 5,3(1) 

1998 5,6 4,7 4,7 (1) 5,7 (3) 5,7 (1) 5,2 (1) 6,2 (1) 5,3 (1) 5,0 5,2 4,9 6,0 4,2 3,5 5,7 (1) 5,2 (2) 

1999 4,9 4,4 4,5 6,2 4,9 (1) 4,8 (1) 5,5 5,2 4,7 5,2 4,5 5,6 3,6 3,4 5,8 5,0 (1) 

2000 4,8 (1) 5,3 4,4 6,1 (3) 3,9 (1) 4,6 (2) 5,9 (1) 4,5 5,1 5,1 4,8 5,5 3,8 3,4 5,6 (1) 4,7 (2) 

2001 5,0 (1) 4,9 4,5 (3) 5,9 (3) 3,9 (2) 4,6 (2) 5,8 (1) 4,3 (2) 5,9 5,3 (1) 4,8 5,0 3,2 3,2 5,5 (1) 4,6 (2) 

(1) Dati provvisori 

(2) Stima Eurostat 

(3) Stima nazionale 

Fonte: elaborazione Censis su dati Eurostat 

Regno 

Unito 

Eur 15

Tab.5 (segue)- Principali indicatori socio-demografici europei - Anni 1970-2001 (v.a.e val. %) 

Tasso di 

fecondità 

totale (nati 

per donna 

in età 

feconda) 

Tasso di 

nuzialità 

(per 1.000 

abitanti) 

Segue tab. 5 

Anni Belgio Danimarca Germania Grecia Spagna Francia Irlanda Italia 

Lussemburgo 

Paesi 

Bassi 


1970 2,25 1,95 2,03 2,39 2,9 2,47 3,93 2,42 1,98 2,57 2,29 2,83 1,83 1,92 2,43 2,38 

1980 1,68 1,55 1,56 2,21 2,2 1,95 3,25 1,64 1,49 1,6 1,62 2,18 1,63 1,68 1,9 1,82 

1990 1,62 1,67 1,45 1,39 1,36 1,78 2,12 1,34 1,61 1,62 1,45 1,57 1,78 2,13 1,83 1,57 

1995 1,55(2) 1,8 1,25 1,32 1,18(1) 1,7(1) 1,86(2) 1,17 1,69 1,53 1,4 1,4 1,81 1,73 1,7(2) 1,43 

1996 1,55 (3) 1,75 1,32 1,3 1,15 (3) 1,72(1) 1,88 (1) 1,21 (3) 1,76 1,53 1,42 1,43 1,76 1,6 1,72 1,44 (2) 

1997 1,55 1,75 1,37 1,31 1,16(1) 1,71(1) 1,92(1) 1,22(1) 1,71 1,56 1,37 1,46 1,75 1,52 1,72 1,45(2) 

1998 1,53 (1) 1,72 1,36 1,29 1,15 1,75 (1) 1,93 (1) 1,20 (1) 1,68 1,63 1,34 1,46 1,7 1,51 1,72 1,45(2) 

1999 1,61 1,74 1,37 1,3 1,20 (1) 1,77 (1) 1,89 1,23 1,71 1,64 1,32 1,49 1,73 1,5 1,68 1,45 (1) 

2000 1,66 1,77 1,36 (3) 1,29 (3) 1,23 (1) 1,88 (1) 1,89 (1) 1,24 (3) 1,78 1,72 1,34 1,52 1,73 1,54 1,64 1,48 (2) 

2001 1,65 (2) 1,74 1,29 (2) 1,29 (3) 1,25 (3) 1,90 (1) 1,98 (1) 1,24 (2) 1,70 (1) 1,69 (1) 1,29 (2) 1,42 (2) 1,73 1,57 1,63 (3) 1,47 (2) 

1970 7,6 7,4 7,4 7,7 7,3 7,8 7 7,3 6,4 9,5 7,1 9,4 8,8 5,4 8,5 7,7 

1980 6,7 5,2 6,3 6,5 5,9 6,2 6,4 5,7 5,9 6,4 6,2 7,4 6,1 4,5 7,4 6,3 

1990 6,5 6,1 6,5 5,8 5,7 5,1 5,1 5,6 6,1 6,4 5,8 7,2 5 4,7 6,5 6 

1995 5,1 6,6 5,3 6,1 5(1) 4,4 4,3(1) 4,9(1) 5,1 5,3 5,3 6,6 4,6 3,8 5,5(1) 5,1 

1996 5 6,8 5,2 4,3 4,9 4,8 (1) 4,5 4,7 5,1 5,5 5,2 6,4 4,8 3,8 5,4 5,1 (1) 

1997 4,7 6,5 5,2 5,8 4,9 4,9 (1) 4,3 4,8 (1) 4,8 5,4 5,1 6,6 4,6 3,7 5,3 (1) 5,1 (1) 

1998 4,4 6,5 5,1 5,3 5,1 (1) 4,8 (1) 4,5 4,8 (1) 4,8 5,5 4,7 6,9 4,7 3,6 5,1 (1) 5,0 (2) 

1999 4,3 6,7 5,2 5,8 5,2 (1) 4,9 (1) 4,9 - 4,8 5,7 4,9 6,9 (3) 4,7 4 5,1 5,1 (1) 

2000 4,4 7,2 5,1 4,3 (3) 5,3 (1) 5,2 (1) 5,0 (1) 4,9 4,9 5,5 4,8 6,2 5,1 4,5 5,1 5,1 (2) 

2001 4,1 (2) 6,6 4,7 (3) 5,4 (2) 5,2 (3) 5,1 (1) 5,0 (2) - 4,5 (2) 5,1 (1) 4,2 (2) 5,7 (1) 4,8 4 - - 

Regno 

Unito 

Eur 15

Segue tab. 5 

Età media 

al primo 

matrimoni 

o (uomini) 

Età media 

al primo 

matrimoni 

o (donne) 

Tasso di 

divorzialit 

à (divorzi 

per 1.000 

abitanti) 

Anni Belgio Danimarca Germania Grecia Spagna Francia Irlanda Italia 

Lussemburgo 

Paesi 

Bassi 


1970 24,4 25,3 24,9 28,7 27,4 24,7 27,4 27,4 - 25 25,6 26,6 25,3 26,4 25,9 

1980 24,3 27,2 25,7 27,9 25,9 25,1 27,1 27,1 - 25,5 25,9 25,4 26,5 28,6 25,2 26 

1990 26,3 30 27,9 28,7 27,5 27,5 28,3 28,6 26,9 28,2 27,4 26 27 29,9 27,2 27,8 

1995 27,4 31,4 29,1 29,8 28,9 28,9 29,7 29,6 28,9 29,4 28,6 26,7 28,9 31,1 28,5 29 

1996 27,7 32 29,2 29,9 29,2 29,4 - 29,8 28,8 29,2 28,8 26,9 29,2 31,3 28,8 - 

1997 27,8 31,6 29,3 30,2 29,4 29,6 30 30 29,3 29,8 28,9 27 29,3 31,6 29 29,5 

1998 27,8 31,7 29,5 30,3 (1) 29,4 29,6 30,0 (1) 30,0 (1) 29,6 30 29,2 27,1 29,5 31,7 29,2 29,6 (1) 

1999 28,9 32,5 30,9 - 29,5 31,2 - - 30,7 30,7 30,3 27,2 30,5 32,9 29,6 30,3 (3) 

1970 22,4 22,8 22,5 23,7 24,7 22,6 25,3 23,9 - 22,9 22,9 24,3 23,4 23,9 - 23,2 

1980 22,3 24,6 22,9 - 23,5 23 24,7 23,9 - 23,2 23,2 23,1 24,4 26 - 23,3 

1990 24,3 27,6 25,3 24,7 25,3 25,6 26,5 25,6 25,4 25,9 24,9 23,9 25 27,5 25 25,3 

1995 25,4 29 26,4 25,7 26,8 26,9 27,9 26,7 26,6 27,1 26,1 24,8 27 28,7 26,4 26,5 

1996 25,6 29,7 26,6 26 27,1 27,4 - 26,8 26,5 26,7 26,3 24,9 27,3 28,9 26,7 - 

1997 25,7 29,9 26,7 26,3 27,4 27,6 28,2 27,1 27,1 27,4 26,5 25 27,3 29,1 26,9 27,2 

1998 25,7 29,4 26,9 26,5 (1) 27,4 27,6 28,2 (1) 27,1 (1) 27,2 27,6 26,7 25,1 27,5 29,3 27 27,3 (1) 

1999 26,6 30,1 28,2 - 27,6 29,1 - - 28,3 28,3 27,9 25,5 28,3 30,4 27,5 28,1 (3) 

1970 0,7 1,9 1,3 0,4 - 0,8 - - 0,6 0,8 1,4 0,1 1,3 1,6 1,1 0,8 

1980 1,5 2,7 1,8 0,7 - 1,5 - 0,2 1,6 1,8 1,8 0,6 2 2,4 2,8 1,4 

1990 2 2,7 2 0,6 0,6 1,9 - 0,5 2 1,9 2,1 0,9 2,6 2,3 2,9 1,7 

1995 3,5 2,5 2,1 1,1 0,8(1) 2(1) - 0,5 1,8 2,2 2,3 1,2 2,7 2,6 2,9(1) 1,8 

1996 2,8 2,4 2,1 0,9 0,8 2,1 (1) - 0,6 2 2,3 2,2 1,4 2,7 2,4 2,9 1,8 (3) 

1997 2,6 2,4 2,3 0,9 0,9 2,0 (1) - 0,6 2,4 2,2 2,2 1,4 2,6 2,4 2,7 (1) 1,8 (2) 

1998 2,6 2,5 2,3 0,8 0,9 (1) 2,0 (1) - 0,6 (1) 2,4 2,1 2,2 1,5 2,7 2,3 2,7 (1) 1,8 (2) 

1999 2,6 2,5 2,3 0,9 - 2 - 0,6 2,4 2,1 2,3 1,8 (3) 2,7 2,4 2,7 1,8 (2) 

2000 2,6 2,7 2,4 0,9 (1) 1 2,0 (4) 0,7 (1) 0,7 2,3 2,2 2,4 1,9 2,7 2,4 2,6 1,9 (2) 

2001 2,9 (2) 2,7 - 0,9 (2) - - - - 2,3 (2) 2,3 (1) - 1,8 (1) 2,6 2,4 - - 

(1) Dati provvisori 

(2) Stima Eurostat 

(3) Stima nazionale 

(4) 1999 

Fonte: elaborazione Censis su dati Eurostat 

Regno 

Unito 

Eur 15

Tab. 6 - Cittadini stranieri residenti in Italia per ripartizione geografica (al 1° gennaio dell'anno) - Anni 1995-2001 (v.a. e val. per 1000 ab.) 

1995 

per 

v.a. 1.000 

abitanti 

1996 

per 

v.a. 1.000 

abitanti 

1997 

per 

v.a. 1.000 

abitanti 

1998 

per 

v.a. 1.000 

abitanti 

1999 

per 

v.a. 1.000 

abitanti 

2000 

per 

v.a. 1.000 

abitanti 

2001 

per 

v.a. 1.000 

abitanti 

Nord-Ovest 216.086 14,4 231.351 15,4 272.806 18,2 316.674 21,1 366.491 24,3 420.423 27,8 489.038 32,3 

Nord-Est 133.309 12,8 149.176 14,3 179.109 17,1 205.725 19,5 236.616 22,4 279.442 26,3 332.034 31,1 

Centro 212.269 19,3 226.338 20,6 274.894 24,9 296.830 26,9 328.910 29,7 363.433 32,8 417.890 37,4 

Sud ed Isole 123.805 5,9 130.928 6,3 157.746 7,5 172.449 8,2 184.377 8,8 207.255 9,9 225.627 10,8 

Italia 685.469 12,0 737.793 12,9 884.555 15,4 991.678 17,2 1.116.394 19,4 1.270.553 22,0 1.464.589 25,3 

Fonte: elaborazione Censis Istat

Tab. 7 - Popolazione per classe d'età e titolo di studio - Maschi - Anno 2002 (val%) 

Senza titolo e 

licenza elementare 

Licenza 

Media 

Diploma Laurea Totale 

15-19 4,7 82,0 13,3 0,0 100,0 

20-24 2,9 31,9 64,1 1,1 100,0 

25-29 3,4 35,4 51,7 9,6 100,0 

30-59 15,3 40,1 33,8 10,8 100,0 

60 e oltre 63,7 18,7 11,8 5,8 100,0 

Totale 24,8 36,4 30,8 8,0 100,0 


Tab. 8 - Popolazione per classe d'età e titolo di studio -Femmine- Anno 2002 (val%) 



Licenza 

Media 


15-19 3,9 81,0 15,1 0,0 100,0 

20-24 2,6 23,0 72,4 1,9 100,0 

25-29 3,6 29,6 53,8 13,0 100,0 

30-59 21,4 35,2 32,8 10,5 100,0 

60 e oltre 76,4 13,0 8,0 2,5 100,0 

Totale 34,8 29,7 28,5 7,1 100,0 


Tab. 9 - Popolazione per classe d'età e titolo di studio -Totale-Anno 2002 (val%) 



Licenza 

Media 


15-19 4,3 81,5 14,2 0,0 100,0 

20-24 2,7 27,5 68,2 1,5 100,0 

25-29 3,5 32,5 52,7 11,3 100,0 

30-59 18,4 37,7 33,3 10,7 100,0 

60 e oltre 71,0 15,5 9,7 3,9 100,0 

Totale 30,0 32,9 29,6 7,5 100,0 


Tab. 10 - Andamento del Prodotto Interno Lordo - Anni 1995-2001 (v.a. in mld di lire dal 1995, mln di euro e mld di lire per gli anni 

1999-2000-2001, var. %) 

PIL ai prezzi di mercato 

PIL ai prezzi di mercato 

(prezzi 1995) 

Numero indice 

(1995=100) 

var. % 

(in termini reali) 

1995 1.787.278 1.787.278 100,0 2,9 

1996 1.902.275 1.806.815 101,1 1,1 

1997 1.987.165 1.843.426 103,1 2,0 

1998 2.077.654 1.876.497 105,0 1,8 

1999 lire 2.146.350 1.906.388 106,7 1,6 

euro 1.108.497 984.567 

2000 lire 2.255.303 1.961.058 109,7 2,9 

euro 1.164.767 1.012.802 

2001 lire 2.355.634 1.996.120 111,7 1,8 

euro 1.216.583 1.030.910 

Fonte: elaborazione Censis su dati Relazione Generale sulla Situazione Economica del Paese

Tab. 11 - Valore aggiunto ai prezzi di mercato - Valori a prezzi correnti - Anni 1995-2002 (milioni di euro dal 1999; milioni di eurolire per gli anni precedenti) 

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 

Agricoltura, silvicoltura e pesca 26.285 27.121 26.984 27.286 27.631 27.131 28.132 28.068 

Industria in senso stretto 251.345 257.877 265.875 276.279 279.920 288.625 299.441 300.947 

Costruzioni 

Commercio, riparazioni, alberghi e ristoranti, trasporti e 

45.704 49.218 49.562 49.959 51.502 54.172 58.051 60.584 

comunicazioni 

Intermediazione monetaria e finanziaria; attività immobiliari ed 

206.408 217.585 225.303 235.111 239.305 252.774 267.310 273.514 

imprenditoriali 211.967 233.658 246.900 258.596 272.356 293.880 308.815 328.303 

Altre attività di servizi 167.007 182.247 192.286 198.670 206.169 214.214 227.007 236.085 

Valore aggiunto ai prezzi di mercato (al lordo SIFIM) 908.716 967.706 1.006.909 1.045.902 1.076.883 1.130.796 1.188.756 1.227.501 

Valore aggiunto ai prezzi di mercato (al netto SIFIM) 868.856 926.986 965.800 1.005.078 1.037.844 1.087.365 1.140.754 1.176.596 

Prodotto interno lordo ai prezzi di mercato 923.052 982.443 1.026.285 1.073.019 1.107.994 1.166.548 1.220.147 1.258.349 

Fonte: Istat

Tab. 12 - Reddito disponibile - Anno 2001 (v. a. in mln di euro e v.pro capite in euro) 

V.A. V. pro capite 

Piemonte 73.092 17.348 

ValleAosta 2.147 17.959 

Lombardia 162.294 17.966 

Trentino Alto Adige 14.238 15.138 

Veneto 71.141 15.705 

Friuli Venezia Guilia 19.903 16.816 

Liguria 29.880 19.032 

Emilia Romagna 75.325 18.904 

Toscana 60.160 17.203 

Umbria 12.323 14.915 

Marche 22.587 15.354 

Lazio 86.279 16.861 

Abruzzo 16.501 13.071 

Molise 4.004 12.495 

Campania 62.308 10.929 

Puglia 44.687 11.118 

Basilicata 6.286 10.522 

Calabria 21.871 10.883 

Sicilia 53.101 10.694 

Sardegna 18.880 11.577 

Nord-Ovest 267.413 17.903 

Nord-Est 180.607 16.977 

Centro 181.349 16.620 

Sud 227.638 11.100 

Italia 857.008 15.037 

Fonte: elaborazione Censis su dati Istituto Tagliacarne

Tab. 13 - Variazione armonizzata dei prezzi al consumo nei principali paesi europei - Anni 1998-2002 (var. %) 

Italia Germania Francia Regno Unito UE 15 

1998 2,0 0,8 0,7 1,6 1,3 

1999 1,7 0,6 0,6 1,3 1,2 

2000 2,6 2,1 1,8 0,8 2,1 

2001 2,3 2,4 1,8 1,2 2,3 

2002* 2,5 1,7 2,1 1,5 2,2 

*Media aritmetica dei dati relativi ai mesi di gennaio, febbraio, marzo, aprile, maggio. 

Per il Regno Unito il dato relativo al mese di maggio non è disponibile. 

Fonte: elaborazione Censis su dati Eurostat.

Tab. 14 - Popolazione secondo la ripartizione territoriale e la condizione socio-economica -Anni 2000-2002 (v.a. in migliaia e var.%) 

1999 2000 20001 2002 

Nord Cemtro Sud Italia 

Var.% 

01-02 1999 2000 20001 2002 

Var.% 

01-02 1999 2000 20001 2002 

Var.% 

01-02 1999 2000 20001 2002 

Forze di 

lavoro 11.316 11.442 11.553 11.675 1,1 4.594 4.638 4.693 4.737 0,9 7.451 7.495 7.535 7.581 0,6 23.361 23.575 23.781 23.993 0,9 

Occupati 10.704 10.907 11.090 11.213 1,1 4.172 4.255 4.345 4.424 1,8 5.816 5.918 6.079 6.192 1,9 20.692 21.080 21.514 21.829 1,5 

Persone in 

cerca di 

occupazione 611 535 463 462 -0,2 422 384 348 313 -10,1 1.636 1.576 1.456 1.389 -4,6 2.669 2.495 2.267 2.163 -4,6 

- Disoccupati 

e in cerca I° 

occupazione 426 370 315 320 1,6 317 288 265 241 -9,0 1.333 1.266 1.178 1.126 -4,4 2.076 1.924 1.758 1.687 -4,1 

- Altre 

persone in 

cerca di lavoro 185 165 148 142 -4,1 105 96 83 72 -13,8 303 310 278 263 -5,3 593 571 509 477 -6,4 

Non forze di 

lavoro 14.035 14.005 14.020 13.986 -0,2 6.365 6.356 6.353 6.354 0,0 13.317 13.252 13.194 13.141 -0,4 33.717 33.614 33.567 33.482 -0,3 

In eta' 15-64 

anni 6.315 6.170 6.054 5.940 -1,9 2.937 2.886 2.842 2.815 -0,9 6.535 6.492 6.440 6.382 -0,9 15.787 15.548 15.336 15.137 -1,3 

- cercano 

lavoro non 

attivamente 227 202 204 192 -5,7 217 205 187 179 -4,1 759 804 784 754 -3,9 1.203 1.211 1.175 1.125 -4,2 

-disposte a 

lavorare a 

partic. condiz. 737 736 506 (1) 299 (2) -40,9 363 361 286 162 -43,3 941 937 839 634 -24,4 2.041 2.034 1.631 1.095 -32,8 

- non aventi 

poss. o 

interesse a 

lavorare (*) 5.351 5.233 5344 (1) 5448 (2) 2,0 2.357 2.320 2.369 2.474 4,4 4.835 4.751 4.817 4.994 3,7 12.543 12.304 12.530 12.916 3,1 

In eta' non 

lavorativa 7.720 7.835 7.966 8.046 1,0 3.428 3.470 3.511 3.539 0,8 6.782 6.760 6.753 6.759 0,1 17.930 18.066 18.230 18.345 0,6 

Popolazione 

presente 25.351 25.447 25.573 25.661 0,3 10.959 10.995 11.046 11.091 0,4 20.768 20.747 20.729 20.722 0,0 57.078 57.189 57.348 57.474 0,2 

(*) Con riferimento all'anno 2002 la definizione è la seguente: "non vogliono lavorare o non immediatamente 

(1) Con la rilevazione di aprile 2001 è stata modificata la domanda relativa alla disponibilità al lavoro che è richiesta essere immediata. 

(2) Con la rilevazione di aprile 2002 la disponibilità viene rilevata solo se sussiste il desiderio di lavorare. 

Fonte : elaborazione Censis su dati Istat 

Var.% 

01-02

Tab. 15 - Occupati per posizione nella professione e sesso - Anno 2002 (val.% e var. %) 

Val.% 

2002 

Var % 

2000-2002 

Maschi Femmine Totale Maschi Femmine Totale 

Imprenditori 78,8 21,2 100,0 16,2 20,0 17,0 

Liberi professionisti 73,9 26,1 100,0 5,4 15,0 7,8 

Lavoratori in proprio 75,8 24,2 100,0 -3,5 -4,1 -3,6 

Soci di cooperativa di produzione 62,6 37,4 100,0 -29,8 -17,4 -25,6 

Coadiuvanti 45,8 54,2 100,0 7,9 5,1 6,4 

Totale indipendenti 70,8 29,2 100,0 0,0 1,9 0,5 

Dirigenti 78,3 21,7 100,0 -6,3 0,3 -5,0 

Direttivi-Quadri 63,1 36,9 100,0 5,3 8,6 6,5 

Impiegati o Intermedi 47,9 52,1 100,0 5,8 9,7 7,8 

Operai, Subalterni ed assimilati 68,5 31,5 100,0 1,8 4,0 2,5 

Apprendisti 59,4 40,6 100,0 -6,1 1,6 -3,1 

Lavoranti a domicilio per conto imprese 22,2 77,7 100,0 -23,7 -16,0 -17,9 

Totale dipendenti 59,0 41,0 100,0 3,1 7,3 4,7 

Totale 62,3 37,7 100,0 2,1 6,1 3,6 

Fonte: elaborazioni Censis su dati Istat

Tab. 16 - Tassi di disoccupazione per sesso e ripartizione territoriale - Anni 1999-2002 (val.%) 

Maschi Femmine Totale 

1999 2000 2001 2002 1999 2000 2001 2002 1999 2000 2001 2002 

Nord-Ovest 3,8 3,4 2,9 3,0 9,2 8,0 6,3 6,4 6,0 5,3 4,3 4,4 

Nord-Est 2,8 2,4 2,3 2,2 7,1 5,9 5,4 4,9 4,6 3,8 3,6 3,3 

Centro 6,6 6,1 5,4 4,7 13,2 11,6 10,3 9,4 9,2 8,3 7,4 6,6 

Sud 17,3 16,3 14,8 14,1 31,3 30,4 28,1 26,4 22,0 21,0 19,3 18,3 

Italia 8,8 8,1 7,3 7,0 15,7 14,5 13,0 12,2 11,4 10,6 9,5 9,0 


Tab. 17 - Tassi di disoccupazione giovanile (15-24) della popolazione per sesso e ripartizione territoriale - Anni 1999-2002 (val.%) 


1999 2000 2001 2002 1999 2000 2001 2002 1999 2000 2001 2002 

Nord-Ovest 14,1 12,4 11,1 11,5 22,3 20,2 14,3 15,6 18,0 16,1 12,6 13,3 

Nord-Est 8,9 7,6 7,2 6,4 14,6 12,9 11,9 9,9 11,6 10,1 9,3 8,0 

Centro 24,6 21,0 21,3 18,7 35,8 32,4 27,6 26,0 29,6 26,3 24,2 22,0 

Sud 51,0 49,3 44,2 42,6 64,5 63,1 60,0 59,5 56,6 55,0 50,8 49,4 

Italia 29,2 27,6 25,0 24,0 37,4 35,4 32,2 31,4 32,9 31,1 28,2 27,2 


Tab. 18 - Assicurati e pensionati, spesa pensionistica (Lavoratori dipendenti) - Anni 2000-2001 (v.a. in mgl, mgl di 

euro e mln di euro) 

Numero assicurati 

Numero pensioni 

Pensione media 

annua 

Importo pensioni 

* 

2000 2001 2000 2001 2000 2001 2000 2001 

mgl mgl mgl mgl mgl € mgl € mln € mln € 

Inps 

Fondo Pensioni Lavoratori 

Dip. 11.380 11.520 10.020 10.047 8 8 79.154 82.385 

Fondo Trasporti 113 115 121 121 16 16 1.929 1.977 

Fondo Telefonici 91 83 52 55 20 21 1.052 1.157 

Fondo Elettrici 77 72 94 97 19 20 1.792 1.895 

Fondo Volo 12 12 5 5 31 32 138 145 

Fondo Imposte di consumo 2 2 11 11 13 13 133 138 

Fondo Enti Pubblici Creditizi 74 74 32 32 25 25 816 816 

Totale dipendenti Inps 11.747 11.877 10.334 10.368 8 9 84.740 89.161 

Altri fondi 

Istituto Dirigenti di Azienda 80 82 84 87 39 40 3.239 3.488 

Istituto Giornalisti 14 15 5 5 43 44 213 223 

Ente Lavoratori Spettacolo 211 214 57 56 11 12 640 657 

Totale dipendenti altri 

fondi 305 311 145 148 28 30 4.097 4.366 

Inpdap 

Cassa Dipendenti Enti Locali 1.350 1.350 875 894 13 14 11.643 12.339 

Cassa Insegnanti di Asilo 20 20 12 12 13 13 153 162 

Cassa Sanitari 113 113 44 46 31 33 1.370 1.519 

Cassa Ufficiali Giudiziari 6 6 2 2 14 14 30 32 

Dipendenti dello Stato 1.800 1.794 1.379 1.412 17 18 23.584 24.985 

Totale dipendenti Inpdap 3.289 3.283 2.313 2.366 16 17 36.775 39.044 

Altri fondi pubblici 

Dipendenti delle FFSS 111 107 268 268 14 15 3.858 3.987 

Dipendenti delle Poste e Tel. 183 173 103 108 13 14 1.364 1.467 

Totale dipendenti altri 

fondi pubblici 293 280 371 376 14 15 5.234 5.445 

* Ottenuto moltiplicando la pensione media per il numero delle pensioni 

Fonte: elaborazioni Censis su dati del Nucleo di valutazione spesa previdenziale

Tab. 19 - Assicurati e pensionati, spesa pensionistica (Lavoratori autonomi e professionisti) - Anni 1999-2000 (v.a. in mgl, mgl di euro e mln di euro ) 

Numero assicurati Numero pensioni 

Pensione media 

annua 

Importo pensioni * 

2000 2001 2000 2001 2000 2001 2000 2001 

mgl mgl mgl mgl mgl € mgl € mln € mln € 

Inps 

Fondo Artigiani 1.833 1.850 1.162 1.186 6,3 7 7.319 7.946 

Fondo Commercianti 1.785 1.800 1.035 1.068 5,6 6 5.798 6.304 

Fondo CDCM 652 646 2.033 2.000 4,9 5 9.960 10.201 

Totale autonomi Inps 4.271 4.296 4.230 4.255 5,5 5,7 23.263 24.251 

Liberi professionisti 

Cassa Avvocati 89 94 20 21 14,8 16 299 323 

Cassa Notai 5 5 2 2 44,7 50 107 120 

Cassa Ingeneri e Architetti 87 93 14 14 9,9 11 139 154 

Cassa Geometri 94 96 18 19 8,4 9 150 165 

Cassa Dottori Commercialisti 33 35 3 4 16,1 19 55 67 

Cassa Ragionieri e P. C. 31 31 3 4 16,4 17 56 60 

Ente Consulenti Lavoro 19 19 5 5 5,6 6 26 28 

Ente Veterinari 18 19 6 6 3,1 3 20 20 

Ente Farmacisti 61 63 26 26 5,1 5 131 134 

Fondo Spedizionieri - - 2,1 2 9,5 9,6 20 20 

Totale liberi professionisti 436 455 100 102 10 10,7 999 1.086 

Medici 303 304 121 123 5,7 5,9 692 728 

Clero 21 21 15 15 5,8 6,1 89 91 

Parasubordinati 1.897 2.070 5 8,7 -- 0,5 -- 4 

* Ottenuto moltiplicando la pensione media per il numero delle pensioni 

Fonte: elaborazioni Censis su dati del Nucleo di valutazione spesa previdenziale

SALUTE

Tab. 20 - Andamento della condizione di salute della popolazione italiana - Anni 1993-2001 (val %) 

% sul totale dei residenti % sul totale dei cronici 

In buono stato di 

salute (*) 

Con una malattia 

cronica o più 

Con due malattie 

croniche o più 

Cronici in buona 

salute 

1993 72,0 35,4 18,2 44,0 

1994 76,0 35,4 18,1 47,1 

1995 75,3 36,0 18,1 46,3 

1996 75,9 36,9 18,8 47,8 

1997 76,0 35,3 17,6 48,0 

1998 75,2 33,5 16,6 47,0 

1999 75,5 34,9 16,8 46,0 

2000 73,7 36,1 18,7 45,8 

2001 Nord 74,0 35,9 17,7 48,4 

Centro 72,2 37,3 19,4 45,3 

Sud 77,4 34,6 19,4 48,3 

Italia 74,9 35,7 18,6 47,8 

(*) Esprimono un voto 4 o 5 in una scala 1=stato peggiore; 5=stato migliore 

Fonte: indagine Multiscopo, Istat

Tab. 21 - Andamento della diffusione delle principali malattie croniche nella popolazione italiana -Anni 1993-2001 (val. %) 

Diabete Ipertensione 

Bronchite 

cronica* 

Artrosi 

Artrite 

Osteoporosi 

Malattie 

del cuore 

Malattie 

allergiche 

Disturbi 

nervosi 

Ulcera 

gastrica e 

duodenale 

1993 3,4 10,0 7,4 20,5 4,6 3,7 6,8 5,1 3,8 

1994 3,4 9,7 6,9 19,7 4,6 4,0 6,3 5,2 4,0 

1995 3,4 10,2 6,9 20,3 4,8 3,8 6,8 4,9 3,9 

1996 3,4 10,3 6,9 20,6 5,2 3,8 7,2 4,9 3,9 

1997 3,4 10,3 6,3 19,3 5,2 3,8 7,1 4,4 3,5 

1998 3,5 10,3 6,0 17,8 5,0 3,7 6,6 3,8 3,0 

1999 3,5 11,1 6,0 18,1 5,3 3,8 7,7 4,2 3,2 

2000 3,8 12,1 6,4 19,0 6,4 3,9 8,1 4,3 3,6 

2001 Nord 3,4 11,7 5,8 17,5 5,6 3,9 8,6 3,6 3,1 

Centro 4,1 11,8 6,4 20,4 7,1 3,4 8,6 3,8 3,4 

Sud 4,3 11,7 6,9 20,4 6,8 3,6 7,7 4,7 3,1 

Italia 3,9 11,7 6,3 19,1 6,3 3,7 8,2 4,0 3,2 

* Inclusa asma bronchiale 

Fonte: indagine Multiscopo, Istat

Tab. 22 - Condizioni di salute della popolazione italiana per sesso e classi di età - Anno 2001 (val. %) 

In buono stato di salute (*) 

% sul totale dei residenti % sul totale dei cronici 

Con una malattia 

cronica o più 

Con due malattie 

croniche o più 

Cronici in buona salute 

Maschi Femmine Totale Maschi Femmine Totale Maschi Femmine Totale Maschi Femmine Totale 

0-14 91,6 92,3 91,9 9,0 6,9 8,0 1,2 0,9 1,0 85,7 84,5 85,2 

15-17 95,0 94,9 94,9 11,4 10,3 10,9 1,6 1,1 1,4 88,6 91,1 89,8 

18-19 93,0 95,0 94,0 10,6 11,7 11,2 2,2 1,9 2,1 83,1 87,6 85,4 

20-24 93,7 91,9 92,8 12,5 13,4 13,0 2,4 2,6 2,5 82,7 77,2 79,9 

25-34 91,6 88,8 90,2 15,7 15,1 15,4 3,1 3,6 3,3 78,4 71,0 74,8 

35-44 86,1 83,7 84,9 23,1 24,8 23,9 6,2 7,8 7,0 67,0 64,5 65,8 

45-54 78,4 72,0 75,2 37,0 43,0 40,1 13,7 19,4 16,6 59,3 53,8 56,3 

55-59 68,1 62,0 65,0 51,2 60,9 56,1 24,3 34,8 29,6 52,1 48,4 50,1 

60-64 60,8 52,6 56,6 62,2 71,3 66,9 32,3 45,3 39,0 49,1 41,4 44,9 

65-74 47,7 39,7 43,3 71,8 79,9 76,3 44,5 58,7 52,4 38,4 32,7 35,1 

75 e più 31,4 25,2 27,5 80,1 87,5 84,8 57,6 69,2 64,9 23,5 21,3 22,0 

Totale 78,3 71,6 79,9 32,3 38,9 35,7 14,7 22,4 18,6 52,5 44,0 47,8 

(*) Esprimono un voto 4 o 5 in una scala 1=stato peggiore; 5=stato migliore 

Fonte: Indagine Multiscopo, Istat

Tab. 23 - Andamento dei casi di Aids notificati (1) per regione - Anni 1995-2001 e I semestre 

2002 (val. per 1000 abitanti) 

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 (2) 

I semestre 

2002 (2) 

Piemonte 8,6 8,1 5,3 3,7 3,2 3,1 2,8 0,5 

Valle d'Aosta 5,9 8,4 2,5 4,2 4,2 1,7 2,5 0,0 

Lombardia 18,7 16,8 10,5 7,1 6,9 6,1 5,4 1,6 

Trentino A.A. 6,8 6,0 4,4 2,9 1,7 1,7 1,4 0,6 

Bolzano 5,3 5,9 3,7 2,8 1,5 2,4 1,5 0,2 

Trento 8,2 6,0 5,1 3,0 1,9 1,0 1,3 1,0 

Veneto 7,2 6,3 4,0 2,6 2,3 1,7 1,8 0,6 

Friuli V.G. 3,3 4,1 2,4 1,3 1,9 1,5 0,8 0,3 

Liguria 17,1 15,6 9,7 6,6 5,2 4,4 4,9 0,8 

Emilia Romagna 14,5 12,6 7,9 5,7 4,2 5,2 4,2 1,3 

Toscana 10,3 8,1 5,8 4,0 4,5 3,1 3,0 1,2 

Umbria 5,8 6,3 3,2 2,9 2,3 2,5 1,7 0,9 

Marche 6,2 5,5 3,8 3,1 2,9 2,8 2,5 0,8 

Lazio 14,1 12,7 9,4 6,8 5,8 4,7 4,7 1,1 

Abruzzi 3,7 3,2 2,4 1,4 1,9 1,2 1,3 0,6 

Molise 1,5 0,6 0,6 0,9 0,3 1,5 0,6 0,3 

Campania 3,6 3,1 2,3 2,2 1,6 1,6 1,2 0,5 

Puglia 5,4 5,6 3,7 2,5 2,2 2,0 1,7 0,7 

Basilicata 3,1 3,3 1,1 1,8 1,3 0,5 0,7 0,2 

Calabria 2,7 2,9 1,5 1,3 0,7 0,5 1,2 0,4 

Sicilia 4,3 3,4 3,1 2,5 1,7 1,8 1,4 0,3 

Sardegna 11,3 8,8 5,6 3,1 2,7 2,4 2,4 1,0 

Nord-Ovest 15,5 14,1 8,8 6,0 5,7 5,0 4,6 1,2 

Nord-Est 9,4 8,4 5,3 3,7 2,9 3,0 2,5 0,8 

Centro 11,3 9,8 7,1 5,1 4,7 3,8 3,6 1,1 

Sud 4,6 4,1 2,9 2,2 1,7 1,6 1,4 0,5 

Italia 9,6 8,6 5,7 4,0 3,6 3,2 2,9 0,8 

(1) casi notificati al 31/12 dell'anno di riferimento, riguardanti i residenti in Italia per i quali sia stato 

accertato il luogo di residenza 

(2) la popolazione di riferimento è quella del Censimento 2001 

Fonte: elaborazione Censis su dati dell'Istituto Superiore di Sanità

Tab. 24 - Andamento dei decessi per causa - Anni 1995-2000 (val. per 10.000 abitanti 

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 

Malattie infettive e parassitarie 0,5 0,5 0,6 0,6 0,6 0,6 

Tumori 

Disturbi psichici e malattie del sistema nervoso e degli 

26,9 27,3 27,3 27,6 27,5 27,7 

organi dei sensi 3,3 3,4 3,6 3,9 3,9 4,0 

Malattie del sistema circolatorio 42,4 41,8 42,4 43,9 42,7 41,6 

Malattie dell'apparato respiratorio 5,9 5,6 6,2 6,5 6,8 6,5 

Malattie dell'apparato digerente 4,7 4,6 4,5 4,6 4,5 4,3 

Altri stati morbosi 7,1 7,2 6,7 6,6 6,5 6,4 

Sintomi segni e stati morbosi mal definiti 1,5 1,4 1,4 1,2 1,3 1,2 

Cause esterne dei traumatismi e avvelenamenti 4,9 4,9 4,9 4,8 4,7 4,5 

Totale 97,1 96,6 97,5 99,7 98,5 97,0 


Tab. 25 - Distribuzione degli istituti di cura pubblici e privati accreditati e dei posti letto per regione - Anno 2001 (v.a. e val.%) 

Numero istituti 

Pubblici Accreditati 

Non 

acceditati 

Day 

Hospital 

Numero posti letto pubblici effettivi 

% Day 

Hospital 

sul totale 

Degenza 

ordinaria 

Degenza 

pagamento 

Totali 

Day 

Hospital 

Numero posti letto accreditati 

% Day 

Hospitals 

ul totale 

Degenza 

ordinaria 

Totali 

% posti 

letto 

pubblici 

sul totale 

Piemonte 44 38 7 1.927 11,0 15.289 224 17.440 81 2,2 3.556 3.637 82,74 5,00 

Valle d'Aosta 1 0 0 45 8,8 467 2 514 0 0,0 0 0 100,00 4,30 

Lombardia 71 54 11 3.554 8,7 36.639 578 40.771 477 5,3 8.465 8.942 82,01 5,50 

Trentino A.A. 21 10 4 423 9,1 4.146 80 4.649 0 0,0 692 692 87,04 5,68 

Bolzano 7 5 4 111 5,0 2.031 80 2.222 0 0,0 259 259 89,56 5,36 

Trento 14 5 0 312 12,9 2.115 0 2.427 0 0,0 433 433 84,86 5,99 

Veneto 75 16 3 2.065 9,4 19.068 722 21.855 56 4,4 1.206 1.262 94,54 5,10 

Friuli V.Giulia 19 5 0 517 9,0 5.041 213 5.771 28 4,4 608 636 90,07 5,41 

Liguria 25 2 9 818 9,6 7.680 28 8.526 0 0,0 128 128 98,52 5,51 

Emilia Romagna 42 41 5 2.007 11,5 15.311 117 17.435 112 2,3 4.732 4.844 78,26 5,59 

Toscana 41 28 5 1.496 10,0 13.116 344 14.956 124 5,3 2.229 2.353 86,41 4,95 

Umbria 11 5 0 506 14,6 2.944 16 3.466 18 6,9 244 262 92,97 4,51 

Marche 38 14 0 547 8,4 5.920 29 6.490 0 0,0 1.074 1.074 85,80 5,14 

Lazio 75 94 37 2.559 11,7 19.171 113 21.843 378 3,9 9.351 9.729 69,18 6,17 

Abruzzo 23 13 0 484 8,8 4.803 196 5.483 1 0,3 294 295 94,89 4,58 

Molise 7 2 0 21 1,4 1.457 0 1.478 0 0,0 93 93 94,08 4,90 

Campania 66 76 6 1.327 8,8 13.761 63 15.151 236 3,5 6.518 6.754 69,17 3,84 

Puglia 68 30 5 1.236 7,2 15.623 210 17.069 58 2,9 1.910 1.968 89,66 4,74 

Basilicata 11 1 0 184 7,1 2.378 15 2.577 0 0,0 60 60 97,72 4,41 

Calabria 37 38 0 703 10,9 5.755 13 6.471 26 0,8 3.335 3.361 65,82 4,89 

Sicilia 70 50 10 2.107 12,0 15.377 77 17.561 0 0,0 3.725 3.725 82,50 4,29 

Sardegna 33 13 0 574 8,4 6.164 64 6.802 18 1,2 1.484 1.502 81,91 5,09 

Nord Ovest 141 94 27 6.344 9,4 60.075 832 67.251 558 4,4 12.149 12.707 84,11 5,35 

Nord Est 157 72 12 5.012 10,1 43.566 1.132 49.710 196 2,6 7.238 7.434 86,99 5,37 

Centro 165 141 42 5.108 10,9 41.151 502 46.755 520 3,9 12.898 13.418 77,70 5,51 

Sud 315 223 21 6.636 9,1 65.318 638 72.592 339 1,9 17.419 17.758 80,35 4,41 

Italia 778 530 102 23.100 9,8 210.110 3.104 236.308 1.613 3,1 49.704 51.317 82,16 5,05 

Fonte: elaborazione Censis su dati Ministero della Salute 

posti letto 

pubblici e 

privati x 

1.000 

abitanti

Tab. 26 - Distribuzione regionale delle strutture sanitarie pubbliche per tipo di assistenza erogata - Anno 2001 (*) (v.a.) 

Attività 

clinica 

Diagnostica 

strumentale 

Attività di 

laboratorio 

Consultorio 

maternoinfantile 

Assistenza 

psichiatrica 

Assistenza per 

tossicodipendenti 

Assistenza 

Aids 

Assistenza 

anziani 

Assistenza 

disabili fisici 

Assistenza 

disabili 

psichici 

Piemonte 353 129 127 261 211 0 0 50 15 24 1.170 

Valle d'Aosta 6 3 2 24 5 1 0 0 0 0 41 

Lombardia 455 194 155 336 628 97 24 52 38 90 2.069 

Trentino A.A. 174 74 23 74 19 5 1 1 1 4 376 

Bolzano 142 59 12 57 8 4 1 0 0 4 287 

Trento 32 15 11 17 11 1 0 1 1 0 89 

Veneto 242 99 96 318 256 50 7 21 54 79 1.222 

Friuli V.G. 101 24 20 31 82 22 5 21 6 23 335 

Liguria 239 76 30 124 71 27 3 16 4 8 598 

Emilia 

Romagna 236 74 69 194 201 50 2 182 72 53 1.133 

Toscana 444 107 82 266 242 71 8 119 56 84 1.479 

Umbria 88 28 23 47 52 13 2 15 13 22 303 

Marche 158 68 65 45 67 22 3 34 11 21 494 

Lazio 313 165 123 200 222 44 9 6 5 36 1.123 

Abruzzo 103 43 51 34 22 5 0 3 0 2 263 

Molise 22 16 12 6 11 5 0 1 1 0 74 

Campania 286 119 118 152 139 39 4 14 10 20 901 

Puglia 261 99 89 142 80 29 1 0 13 18 732 

Basilicata 60 16 17 32 12 2 1 0 6 5 151 

Calabria 199 61 63 45 45 14 1 2 15 17 462 

Sicilia 290 147 130 163 216 36 6 7 5 12 1.012 

Sardegna 169 53 42 73 58 13 0 1 11 21 441 

Nord Ovest 1.053 402 314 745 915 125 27 118 57 122 3.878 

Nord Est 753 271 208 617 558 127 15 225 133 159 3.066 

Centro 1.003 368 293 558 583 150 22 174 85 163 3.399 

Sud 1.390 554 522 647 583 143 13 28 61 95 4.036 

Italia 4.199 1.595 1.337 2.567 2.639 545 77 545 336 539 14.379 

(*) Dal totale è esclusa una struttura sanitaria rilevata in Toscana ed una in Calabria che erogano assistenza idrotermale 

Fonte: elaborazione Censis su dati Ministero della Salute 

Totale 

strutture

Tab. 27 - Attività di medicina di base - Medici generici e pediatri. Assistibili per medico generico e per 

pediatra - Anno 2001 (v.a.) 

V.A. INDICI 

Medici generici Pediatri 

Adulti residenti 

per medico 

generico 

Bambini per 

pediatra 

Piemonte 3.544 416 1.075 1.157 

Valle D'Aosta 104 15 1.020 965 

Lombardia 7.310 956 1.095 1.170 

Trentino A.A. 590 112 1.359 1.262 

Bolzano 230 41 1.699 1.815 

Trento 360 71 1.141 943 

Veneto 3.517 522 1.129 1.089 

Friuli V.G. 1.027 102 1.035 1.231 

Liguria 1.394 171 1.049 929 

Emilia Romagna 3.225 477 1.110 902 

Toscana 3.077 396 1.028 973 

Umbria 710 102 1.049 938 

Marche 1.206 169 1.072 1.046 

Lazio 4.700 713 980 980 

Abruzzo 1.033 196 1.078 856 

Molise 280 38 1.012 1.150 

Campania 4.509 780 1.055 1.313 

Puglia 3.275 592 1.051 1.091 

Basilicata 506 72 1.019 1.241 

Calabria 1.722 295 999 1.095 

Sicilia 3.971 845 1.068 988 

Sardegna 1.327 230 1.079 940 

Nord-Ovest 12.352 1.558 1.083 1.138 

Nord-Est 8.359 1.213 1.126 1.043 

Centro 9.693 1.380 1.012 983 

Sud 16.623 3.048 1.053 1.097 

Italia 47.027 7.199 1.065 1.075 

Fonte: elaborazione Censis su dati Ministero della Salute

Tab. 28 - Spesa farmaceutica pubblica e privata in diversi Paesi - Anni 1999-2001 (mld di lire correnti e mln di euro) 

Spesa totale Spesa pro-capite Indice spesa % spesa farmaceutica 

1999 2000 2001 1999 2000 2001 1999 2000 2001 1999 2000 2001 

lire euro lire euro lire euro lire euro lire euro lire euro 

Italia 27.623 14.266 29.536 15.254 33.240 17.167 479.664 247.726 512.066 264.460 574.694 296.805 100,0 100,0 100,0 1,30 1,31 1,41 

Francia 43.047 22.232 46.776 24.158 51.447 26.570 734.539 379.358 776.062 400.803 873.582 451.167 153,1 151,6 152,0 1,66 1,73 1,82 

Germania 53.120 27.434 56.265 29.058 60.192 31.087 647.383 334.345 685.425 353.992 732.807 378.463 135,0 133,9 127,5 1,39 1,43 1,52 

Regno Unito 30.303 15.650 35.585 18.378 38.870 20.075 513.543 265.223 600.723 310.248 653.266 337.384 107,1 117,3 113,7 1,20 1,20 1,26 

Belgio 6.452 3.332 6.890 3.558 7.245 3.742 633.702 327.280 674.066 348.126 706.554 364.905 132,1 131,6 122,9 1,45 1,44 1,45 

Olanda - - 7.000 3.615 7.689 3.971 - - 451.984 233.430 482.795 249.343 - 88,3 84,0 - 1,08 1,01 

Spagna 16.952 8.755 18.524 9.567 19.604 10.125 431.086 222.637 469.938 242.703 496.731 256.540 89,9 91,8 86,4 1,54 1,58 1,56 

USA 266.792 137.787 512.562 264.716 629.764 325.246 1.011.219 522.251 1.878.357 970.090 2.286.957 1.181.115 210,8 366,8 397,9 2,29 2,45 2,87 

Giappone 159.235 82.238 216.312 111.716 148.163 76.520 1.262.107 651.824 1.707.466 881.833 1.167.382 602.902 263,1 333,4 203,1 1,55 1,54 1,64 

Fonte: Farmindustria

POVERTÀ

Tab. 29 

POVERTÀ NEL TEMPO E SUL TE 

Fonte: Istat

Tab. 30 

Fonte: Istat

Tab. 31 

Fonte: Istat

Tab. 32 

Fonte: Istat

Tab. 33 

Fonte: Istat

Tab. 34 

Fonte: Istat

Tab. 35 

Fonte: Istat

Tab. 36 

Fonte: Istat

Tab. 37 

Fonte: Istat

Tab. 38 

Fonte: Istat

Tab. 39 

Fonte: Istat

Tab. 40 

Fonte: Istat

Tab. 41 

Fonte: Istat

Tab. 42 

Fonte: Istat

Tab. 43 

Fonte: Istat

CRIMINALITÀ

Tab. 44 - Reati denunciati alle Autorità giudiziarie dalle Forze dell'ordine, provincia - Anni 1995-2001 (v.a.) 

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 

Torino 102.850 107.551 137.561 130.270 119.270 133.330 134.364 

Vercelli 7.336 4.332 4.022 5.476 5.150 5.377 4.669 

Biella - 6.264 4.921 5.942 6.935 6.945 6.339 

Verbano-Cusio-Ossola - 5.175 5.675 5.144 5.813 5.810 5.509 

Novara 11.441 9.139 8.356 9.605 11.230 11.708 12.423 

Cuneo 13.119 15.158 15.548 17.126 17.392 17.813 17.035 

Asti 4.902 8.066 9.179 7.816 9.490 9.145 7.914 

Alessandria 10.466 12.081 12.290 11.015 12.926 12.406 13.715 

PIEMONTE 150.114 167.766 197.552 192.394 188.206 202.534 201.968 

Aosta 3.492 4.316 4.320 4.368 3.693 2.951 3.684 

VALLE D'AOSTA 3.492 4.316 4.320 4.368 3.693 2.951 3.684 

Varese 27.756 27.160 25.773 28.379 30.813 28.628 27.762 

Como 24.014 16.312 17.065 18.064 20.552 17.225 17.305 

Lecco - 12.104 12.714 12.996 10.616 10.116 9.280 

Sondrio 4.760 5.122 4.891 4.881 5.178 3.821 4.073 

Milano 259.825 288.042 299.723 265.146 249.325 187.720 190.947 

Bergamo 28.088 27.380 27.703 29.560 31.458 24.839 28.633 

Brescia 40.468 61.925 37.891 39.405 52.178 45.032 43.163 

Pavia 12.384 12.212 13.451 13.918 14.597 16.176 14.847 

Lodi - 5.920 7.747 7.042 6.869 4.757 5.003 

Cremona 8.389 8.175 9.747 8.874 9.254 8.003 7.320 

Mantova 5.419 6.302 6.737 8.887 7.900 7.883 6.648 

LOMBARDIA 411.103 470.654 463.442 437.152 438.740 354.200 354.981 

Bolzano 14.784 13.633 13.637 14.482 14.528 12.023 11.946 

Trento 11.240 12.174 10.574 10.951 12.712 10.685 10.812 

TRENTINO-ALTO ADIGE 26.024 25.807 24.211 25.433 27.240 22.708 22.758 

Verona 25.864 27.977 31.006 37.468 38.737 25.880 24.639 

Vicenza 26.508 27.708 24.534 28.038 26.798 25.529 23.747 

Belluno 5.832 5.914 5.508 5.654 6.509 6.562 7.029 

Treviso 21.582 29.155 26.289 34.041 23.986 25.206 24.322 

Venezia 37.586 38.198 37.800 41.608 46.956 36.954 38.733 

Padova 26.340 33.447 32.761 34.560 36.112 28.300 31.781 

Rovigo 5.665 5.093 5.061 4.973 5.632 7.101 6.482 

VENETO 149.377 167.492 162.959 186.342 184.730 155.532 156.733 

Pordenone 8.811 8.570 8.867 8.061 8.364 7.571 7.825 

Udine 23.834 25.854 21.433 22.513 17.838 14.704 15.187 

Gorizia 4.088 5.921 6.497 7.453 7.589 5.987 6.319 

Trieste 13.608 14.741 12.877 12.517 10.916 10.199 11.056 

FRIULI-VENEZIA GIULIA 50.341 55.086 49.674 50.544 44.707 38.461 40.387 

Imperia 11.820 11.340 12.580 13.392 19.401 11.510 12.820 

Savona 10.972 15.276 13.829 18.714 15.685 16.451 17.496 

Genova 57.822 65.151 62.590 66.117 53.452 57.655 50.209 

La Spezia 6.473 7.744 6.780 7.266 7.221 6.766 7.327 

Segue tab. 44

Segue tab. 44 

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 

LIGURIA 87.087 99.511 95.779 105.489 95.759 92.382 87.852 

Piacenza 5.572 6.359 6.592 6.301 7.174 6.905 7.038 

Parma 9.625 9.462 8.614 9.527 9.309 11.487 12.944 

Reggio nell'Emilia 10.011 10.613 12.360 15.300 12.607 13.999 14.435 

Modena 18.533 19.259 25.018 24.828 23.708 24.315 24.244 

Bologna 56.495 60.864 78.050 75.780 63.240 62.242 62.328 

Ferrara 10.851 13.097 15.436 12.173 12.839 12.209 12.344 

Ravenna 17.850 17.237 13.605 16.760 19.949 16.791 15.833 

Forlì-Cesena 32.394 9.719 12.301 11.013 13.354 13.530 11.975 

Rimini - 28.688 29.707 24.810 19.421 19.433 19.277 

EMILIA - ROMAGNA 161.331 175.298 201.683 196.492 181.601 180.911 180.418 

Massa-Carrara 5.558 5.944 7.184 6.635 6.794 6.575 5.382 

Lucca 14.859 15.368 14.962 9.831 10.239 10.345 11.839 

Pistoia 9.350 10.291 10.990 10.582 9.886 6.491 7.549 

Firenze 51.581 58.215 59.129 62.003 52.800 48.746 46.183 

Prato - 9.650 12.838 12.478 10.654 8.612 9.049 

Livorno 12.017 14.317 13.009 12.855 13.094 13.384 13.514 

Pisa 12.630 14.998 12.348 12.943 13.481 12.412 12.769 

Arezzo 5.767 6.093 7.046 9.287 9.949 9.259 8.105 

Siena 5.110 6.137 6.216 6.198 6.590 6.903 6.436 

Grosseto 4.503 5.651 4.896 5.287 5.341 6.100 6.642 

TOSCANA 121.375 146.664 148.618 148.099 138.828 128.827 127.468 

Perugia 13.850 16.016 15.476 14.658 19.412 18.891 20.085 

Terni 4.234 3.784 4.279 5.233 6.582 5.613 6.601 

Segue tab. 44

Segue tab. 44 

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 

UMBRIA 18.084 19.800 19.755 19.891 25.994 24.504 26.686 

Pesaro e Urbino 7.321 7.395 7.038 6.334 7.781 9.182 8.220 

Ancona 9.381 9.879 8.987 10.218 9.899 12.062 10.212 

Macerata 7.201 7.611 7.024 8.652 8.994 8.721 7.292 

Ascoli Piceno 9.098 11.079 11.355 11.702 11.699 11.173 10.603 

MARCHE 33.001 35.964 34.404 36.906 38.373 41.138 36.327 

Viterbo 7.232 7.195 8.943 7.969 8.197 7.229 8.767 

Rieti 3.224 3.460 3.948 2.993 3.625 4.190 3.253 

Roma 276.944 284.909 252.605 235.465 241.933 227.960 225.529 

Latina 16.637 16.847 18.897 20.783 18.107 18.238 19.109 

Frosinone 9.537 10.146 11.001 10.954 11.070 11.693 12.280 

LAZIO 313.574 322.557 295.394 278.164 282.932 269.310 268.938 

L'Aquila 4.936 5.886 5.692 6.243 6.689 7.295 6.521 

Teramo 10.744 9.718 8.973 10.997 8.604 9.167 9.313 

Pescara 9.649 10.293 11.831 11.506 10.952 10.476 10.481 

Chieti 6.965 6.406 6.477 6.705 7.185 7.431 7.087 

ABRUZZO 32.294 32.303 32.973 35.451 33.430 34.369 33.402 

Isernia 1.589 1.353 1.200 1.209 973 1.508 1.532 

Campobasso 4.774 5.249 5.646 4.520 4.732 4.277 3.895 

MOLISE 6.363 6.602 6.846 5.729 5.705 5.785 5.427 

Caserta 18.430 23.836 31.694 32.909 23.441 23.198 23.092 

Benevento 5.568 6.170 4.655 4.857 4.582 5.508 4.845 

Napoli 163.635 158.269 185.818 181.263 149.603 127.743 122.802 

Avellino 10.211 10.211 8.741 8.660 9.307 8.135 8.719 

Salerno 31.314 30.773 28.911 26.554 33.739 33.837 31.420 

CAMPANIA 229.158 229.259 259.819 254.243 220.672 198.421 190.878 

Foggia 22.812 21.978 22.740 21.734 23.338 27.218 24.726 

Bari 74.895 70.922 52.521 58.673 57.946 53.903 50.838 

Taranto 28.494 22.175 16.840 17.182 20.172 16.498 16.448 

Brindisi 15.056 14.179 13.540 17.142 18.217 18.870 16.385 

Lecce 20.461 21.466 20.148 19.887 20.467 21.672 22.841 

PUGLIA 161.718 150.720 125.789 134.618 140.140 138.161 131.238 

Potenza 7.786 7.225 6.855 6.782 6.847 6.162 7.813 

Matera 4.592 4.315 4.353 4.430 3.720 3.875 4.451 

Segue tab. 44

Segue tab. 44 

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 

BASILICATA 12.378 11.540 11.208 11.212 10.567 10.037 12.264 

Cosenza 15.651 13.936 16.150 17.097 18.335 17.221 19.166 

Crotone - 5.059 5.153 5.122 5.610 5.963 5.818 

Catanzaro 18.334 11.029 10.245 12.125 12.458 12.886 12.040 

Vibo Valentia - 5.674 5.409 5.644 6.065 5.203 5.108 

Reggio di Calabria 21.807 20.851 19.915 20.107 19.926 16.860 20.534 

CALABRIA 55.792 56.549 56.872 60.095 62.394 58.133 62.666 

Trapani 14.827 14.205 13.013 13.457 12.052 12.256 12.891 

Palermo 56.799 62.405 60.124 64.339 63.085 68.268 49.787 

Messina 19.617 19.355 20.107 19.752 20.967 21.518 20.174 

Agrigento 9.837 10.577 9.642 9.548 9.867 8.667 9.137 

Caltanissetta 7.887 8.877 8.866 8.698 9.414 8.991 7.839 

Enna 4.198 4.078 4.447 3.811 3.918 3.722 3.388 

Catania 38.337 39.906 40.799 39.642 41.883 42.452 40.945 

Ragusa 7.518 6.942 6.522 8.000 7.752 7.625 7.331 

Siracusa 17.266 16.113 23.276 13.054 16.261 13.277 12.013 

SICILIA 176.286 182.458 186.796 180.301 185.199 186.776 163.505 

Sassari 18.591 15.452 15.007 16.366 19.199 17.884 18.342 

Nuoro 7.643 7.809 7.843 8.975 9.492 8.962 8.926 

Oristano 3.565 3.854 4.909 4.562 4.303 4.846 3.655 

Cagliari 38.797 35.530 34.901 32.922 32.062 28.950 25.323 

SARDEGNA 68.596 62.645 62.660 62.825 65.056 60.642 56.246 

Nord 1.038.869 1.165.930 1.199.620 1.198.214 1.164.676 1.049.679 1.048.781 

Centro 486.034 524.985 498.171 483.060 486.127 463.779 459.419 

Sud e Isole 742.585 732.076 742.963 744.474 723.163 692.324 655.626 

Italia 2.267.488 2.422.991 2.440.754 2.425.748 2.373.966 2.205.782 2.163.826 

Fonte: Istat

Tab.45-Reati denunciati alle Autorità giudiziarie dalle Forze dell'ordine, provincia - Anni 1995-2001 (valori per 1.000 abitanti) 

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 

Torino 46,3 48,4 62,0 58,8 53,9 60,2 62,1 

Vercelli 40,2 23,8 22,2 30,3 28,5 29,8 26,4 

Biella - 32,9 25,9 31,4 36,6 36,7 33,9 

Verbano-Cusio-Ossola - 32,1 35,2 31,9 36,2 36,2 34,7 

Novara 33,7 26,8 24,5 28,0 32,7 33,9 36,2 

Cuneo 23,8 27,4 28,0 30,8 31,2 31,9 30,6 

Asti 23,4 38,4 43,7 37,2 45,1 43,4 38,0 

Alessandria 24,2 27,8 28,4 25,5 30,0 28,9 32,8 

PIEMONTE 35,0 39,1 46,0 44,9 43,9 47,2 47,9 

Aosta 29,4 36,2 36,1 36,4 30,7 24,5 30,8 

VALLE D'AOSTA 29,4 36,2 36,1 36,4 30,7 24,5 30,8 

Varese 34,4 33,5 31,7 34,9 37,7 34,9 34,2 

Como 45,2 30,6 31,9 33,6 38,1 31,7 32,2 

Lecco - 39,7 41,6 42,3 34,3 32,5 29,8 

Sondrio 26,9 28,9 27,6 27,5 29,2 21,5 23,0 

Milano 69,8 77,3 80,2 70,6 66,4 49,7 51,5 

Bergamo 30,0 29,0 29,2 30,9 32,6 25,5 29,4 

Brescia 38,0 57,7 35,1 36,2 47,5 40,5 38,9 

Pavia 25,0 24,6 27,2 28,0 29,3 32,4 30,1 

Lodi - 30,9 40,1 36,2 35,1 24,1 25,3 

Cremona 25,3 24,7 29,4 26,6 27,7 23,8 21,8 

Mantova 14,7 17,0 18,2 23,9 21,1 21,0 17,6 

LOMBARDIA 46,1 52,5 51,6 48,4 48,4 38,8 39,3 

Bolzano 32,7 30,0 29,8 31,5 31,4 25,8 25,8 

Trento 

TRENTINO-ALTO 

24,3 26,2 22,6 23,3 26,8 22,4 22,6 

ADIGE 28,5 28,1 26,2 27,4 29,1 24,1 24,2 

Verona 32,3 34,7 38,2 45,9 47,2 31,2 29,8 

Vicenza 34,7 36,0 31,7 35,9 34,0 32,1 29,9 

Belluno 27,5 27,9 26,0 26,8 30,8 31,1 33,6 

Treviso 28,5 38,2 34,2 43,9 30,6 31,8 30,5 

Venezia 46,0 46,8 46,3 51,1 57,6 45,3 47,8 

Padova 31,5 39,9 38,9 40,9 42,5 33,2 37,4 

Rovigo 23,1 20,8 20,7 20,4 23,1 29,2 26,7 

VENETO 33,7 37,6 36,5 41,5 40,9 34,3 34,6 

Pordenone 31,9 31,0 32,0 29,0 29,8 26,8 27,3 

Udine 45,8 49,8 41,3 43,4 34,4 28,3 29,3 

Gorizia 29,6 43,0 47,1 54,0 54,9 43,1 46,3 

Trieste 

FRIULI-VENEZIA 

53,4 58,3 51,3 50,3 44,1 41,4 45,7 

GIULIA 42,3 46,4 41,9 42,7 37,7 32,4 34,1 

Imperia 54,5 52,2 58,0 61,8 89,7 53,2 62,5 

Savona 38,8 54,2 49,2 66,7 56,1 58,8 64,2 

Genova 62,0 70,3 68,0 72,4 58,9 63,8 57,3 

La Spezia 28,7 34,5 30,3 32,7 32,5 30,5 34,0 

Segue tab. 45

Segue tab. 45 

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 

LIGURIA 52,5 60,3 58,3 64,6 58,9 57,0 56,0 

Piacenza 20,9 23,9 24,8 23,7 27,0 25,9 26,7 

Parma 24,6 24,0 21,9 24,1 23,4 28,7 32,9 

Reggio nell'Emilia 23,3 24,4 28,2 34,5 28,1 30,7 31,7 

Modena 30,4 31,4 40,6 40,0 37,9 38,4 38,2 

Bologna 62,4 67,0 85,7 83,0 69,0 67,5 68,1 

Ferrara 30,5 37,0 43,9 34,8 36,8 35,1 35,9 

Ravenna 51,0 49,3 38,9 47,9 56,9 47,7 45,5 

Forlì-Cesena 92,5 27,7 35,0 31,2 37,7 37,9 33,4 

Rimini - 107,7 110,9 92,2 71,4 70,8 70,8 

EMILIA - ROMAGNA 41,1 44,5 51,1 49,6 45,6 45,1 45,3 

Massa-Carrara 27,6 29,6 35,9 33,2 34,0 33,0 27,3 

Lucca 39,6 40,9 39,8 26,2 27,3 27,5 31,8 

Pistoia 35,2 38,6 41,1 39,5 36,7 24,0 28,1 

Firenze 54,1 61,2 62,1 65,2 55,3 51,0 49,5 

Prato - 43,3 57,2 55,2 46,7 37,4 39,6 

Livorno 35,7 42,6 38,8 38,4 39,2 40,1 41,4 

Pisa 32,8 39,0 32,1 33,6 34,9 32,0 33,2 

Arezzo 18,2 19,2 22,1 29,0 30,9 28,6 25,1 

Siena 20,3 24,4 24,7 24,6 26,1 27,2 25,5 

Grosseto 20,8 26,1 22,6 24,5 24,8 28,3 31,5 

TOSCANA 34,4 41,6 42,1 42,0 39,3 36,3 36,5 

Perugia 23,0 26,4 25,4 24,0 31,7 30,6 33,1 

Terni 18,9 16,9 19,2 23,5 29,5 25,2 30,0 

UMBRIA 21,9 23,9 23,8 23,9 31,1 29,2 32,3 

Pesaro e Urbino 21,6 21,7 20,6 18,5 22,6 26,4 23,4 

Ancona 21,3 22,4 20,3 23,1 22,3 27,0 22,8 

Macerata 24,1 25,4 23,4 28,7 29,7 28,6 24,2 

Ascoli Piceno 24,9 30,2 30,9 31,7 31,6 30,1 28,7 

MARCHE 22,9 24,8 23,7 25,4 26,3 28,0 24,7 

Viterbo 25,0 24,8 30,7 27,3 28,0 24,6 30,3 

Rieti 21,4 23,0 26,2 19,9 24,1 27,7 22,0 

Roma 73,4 75,3 66,4 61,8 63,4 59,2 60,9 

Latina 33,4 33,5 37,4 40,9 35,5 35,5 38,9 

Frosinone 19,5 20,7 22,4 22,2 22,4 23,7 25,3 

LAZIO 60,3 61,8 56,3 52,9 53,7 50,8 52,6 

L'Aquila 16,2 19,3 18,7 20,6 22,0 24,0 21,9 

Teramo 37,5 33,8 31,0 38,0 29,6 31,4 32,4 

Pescara 33,0 35,2 40,4 39,2 37,2 35,5 35,5 

Chieti 17,9 16,5 16,6 17,2 18,4 19,0 18,6 

ABRUZZO 25,4 25,4 25,8 27,8 26,1 26,8 26,5 

Isernia 17,2 14,7 13,0 13,2 10,6 16,5 17,1 

Campobasso 20,0 22,0 23,7 19,1 20,0 18,1 16,9 

MOLISE 19,2 20,0 20,8 17,4 17,4 17,7 16,9 

Caserta 21,9 28,1 37,2 38,5 27,4 27,1 27,1 

Benevento 18,8 20,9 15,8 16,5 15,6 18,8 16,9 

Napoli 52,8 50,9 59,6 58,3 48,3 41,2 40,1 

Avellino 23,1 23,1 19,8 19,6 21,1 18,5 20,3 

Salerno 28,8 28,2 26,5 24,3 30,9 31,0 29,3 

Segue tab. 45

Segue tab. 45 

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 

CAMPANIA 39,8 39,6 44,8 43,9 38,2 34,3 33,5 

Foggia 32,6 31,4 32,6 31,2 33,6 39,3 35,8 

Bari 48,0 45,3 33,5 37,3 36,8 34,1 32,6 

Taranto 48,1 37,5 28,5 29,2 34,3 28,1 28,4 

Brindisi 36,4 34,3 32,6 41,5 44,3 45,9 40,7 

Lecce 25,0 26,2 24,6 24,3 25,1 26,6 29,0 

PUGLIA 39,6 36,9 30,8 32,9 34,3 33,8 32,7 

Potenza 19,4 18,1 17,0 16,9 17,1 15,4 19,9 

Matera 22,1 20,8 21,0 21,4 18,0 18,8 21,8 

BASILICATA 20,3 19,0 18,4 18,4 17,4 16,6 20,5 

Cosenza 20,8 18,5 21,5 22,8 24,6 23,2 26,1 

Crotone - 28,4 29,0 29,0 32,2 34,4 33,6 

Catanzaro 47,7 28,7 26,6 31,6 32,6 33,8 32,6 

Vibo Valentia - 31,7 30,2 31,7 34,3 29,6 30,0 

Reggio di Calabria 37,7 36,0 34,4 34,9 34,8 29,6 36,4 

CALABRIA 26,9 27,3 27,5 29,1 30,4 28,5 31,2 

Trapani 34,2 32,6 29,9 31,0 27,8 28,3 30,3 

Palermo 45,8 50,2 48,3 51,8 51,0 55,3 40,3 

Messina 28,7 28,4 29,5 29,1 31,0 31,9 30,5 

Agrigento 20,7 22,3 20,3 20,2 21,0 18,6 20,4 

Caltanissetta 27,9 31,3 31,2 30,7 33,4 31,8 28,7 

Enna 22,6 22,1 24,2 20,8 21,6 20,6 19,1 

Catania 35,2 36,5 37,2 36,1 38,1 38,5 38,8 

Ragusa 25,3 23,2 21,7 26,6 25,7 25,2 24,8 

Siracusa 42,5 39,7 57,4 32,2 40,3 33,0 30,3 

SICILIA 34,6 35,8 36,6 35,4 36,4 36,8 32,9 

Sassari 40,5 33,6 32,6 35,7 41,8 39,0 40,5 

Nuoro 28,0 28,7 28,8 33,2 35,2 33,4 33,7 

Oristano 22,5 24,3 31,0 28,9 27,4 30,9 23,9 

Cagliari 50,4 46,0 45,3 42,9 41,9 37,9 33,3 

SARDEGNA 41,3 37,7 37,7 38,0 39,4 36,8 34,5 

Nord 40,8 45,7 46,9 46,7 45,3 40,6 41,0 

Centro 44,2 47,6 45,1 43,6 43,8 41,6 42,1 

Sud e Isole 35,6 35,0 35,5 35,6 34,7 33,2 32,0 

Italia 39,5 42,2 42,4 42,1 41,2 38,1 38,0 

Fonte: elaborazioni Censis su dati Istat

Tab. 46 - Detenuti Presenti al 31 dicembre negli istituti di prevenzione e di pena per adulti, per cittadinanza, sesso e regione - Anni 1995-2001 (v.a.) 


1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 

Piemonte 3.838 3.695 3.854 3.755 4.222 4.039 4.230 179 162 160 133 175 150 152 4.017 3.857 4.014 3.888 4.397 4.189 4.382 

Valle d'Aosta 115 141 168 135 218 242 232 11 4 0 0 1 0 0 126 145 168 135 219 242 232 

Lombardia 6.642 6.468 6.309 6.144 6.598 6.747 7.412 504 477 442 431 495 532 597 7.146 6.945 6.751 6.575 7.093 7.279 8.009 

Trentino-Alto Adige 296 320 309 283 352 345 332 26 23 8 0 18 17 15 322 343 317 283 370 362 347 

Veneto 1.847 1.841 1.892 2.021 2.148 2.269 2.416 111 118 131 120 146 192 171 1.958 1.959 2.023 2.141 2.294 2.461 2.587 

Friuli-Venezia 

Giulia 

506 576 699 706 701 750 743 40 26 31 30 21 21 24 546 602 730 736 722 771 767 

Liguria 1.078 1.041 1.311 1.480 1.614 1.536 1.523 57 71 73 77 97 86 87 1.135 1.112 1.384 1.557 1.711 1.622 1.610 

Emilia-Romagna 2.831 2.644 2.884 2.849 3.107 3.201 3.197 97 104 87 79 86 132 112 2.928 2.748 2.971 2.928 3.193 3.333 3.309 

Toscana 3.519 3.597 3.596 3.426 3.615 3.980 3.950 102 117 138 113 157 145 164 3.621 3.714 3.734 3.539 3.772 4.125 4.114 

Umbria 775 814 884 776 846 948 1.020 70 60 53 44 40 38 51 845 874 937 820 886 986 1.071 

Marche 752 609 672 734 853 815 731 11 13 9 6 9 18 14 763 622 681 740 862 833 745 

Lazio 4.210 4.342 4.813 4.481 4.842 4.899 4.771 289 325 336 326 355 344 366 4.499 4.667 5.149 4.807 5.197 5.243 5.137 

Abruzzo 1.170 1.353 1.396 1.314 1.519 1.627 1.544 37 34 32 29 54 44 52 1.207 1.387 1.428 1.343 1.573 1.671 1.596 

Molise 238 294 286 303 342 361 362 3 7 6 5 10 8 4 241 301 292 308 352 369 366 

Campania 5.493 5.975 6.021 6.135 6.358 6.544 6.663 261 210 207 221 229 222 230 5.754 6.185 6.228 6.356 6.587 6.766 6.893 

Puglia 2.958 3.238 3.783 3.166 3.456 3.486 4.121 132 106 120 93 100 144 151 3.090 3.344 3.903 3.259 3.556 3.630 4.272 

Basilicata 419 496 498 505 576 590 586 9 11 9 6 25 19 17 428 507 507 511 601 609 603 

Calabria 1.510 1.597 1.822 1.852 1.890 2.070 1.986 24 15 16 16 15 27 30 1.534 1.612 1.838 1.868 1.905 2.097 2.016 

Sicilia 5.116 5.368 5.554 5.551 5.895 5.880 5.900 116 114 95 113 112 127 125 5.232 5.482 5.649 5.664 6.007 6.007 6.025 

Sardegna 2.304 2.106 1.783 1.680 1.528 1.394 1.611 63 52 40 35 45 50 59 2.367 2.158 1.823 1.715 1.573 1.444 1.670 

Nord 

17.153 16.726 17.426 17.373 18.960 19.129 20.085 

1.02 

5 

985 932 870 

1.03 

9 

1.13 

0 

1.15 

8 

18.178 17.711 18.358 18.243 19.999 20.259 21.243 

Centro 9.256 9.362 9.965 9.417 10.156 10.642 10.472 472 515 536 489 561 545 595 9.728 9.877 10.501 9.906 10.717 11.187 11.067 

Sud e isole 19.208 20.427 21.143 20.506 21.564 21.952 22.773 645 549 525 518 590 641 668 19.853 20.976 21.668 21.024 22.154 22.593 23.441 

Italia 

segue 

45.617 46.515 48.534 47.296 50.680 51.723 53.330 

2.14 

2 

2.04 

9 

1.99 

3 

1.87 

7 

2.19 

0 

2.31 

6 

2.42 

1 

47.759 48.564 50.527 49.173 52.870 54.039 55.751

segue 


1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 

Di cui stranieri 

Piemonte 805 837 910 1.159 1.420 1.463 1.575 25 24 24 32 55 60 76 830 861 934 1.191 1.475 1.523 1.651 

Valle d'Aosta 33 50 54 45 90 132 110 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 34 52 54 45 90 132 110 

Lombardia 1.390 1.600 1.819 1.903 2.205 2.188 2.677 105 115 108 151 170 205 255 1.495 1.715 1.927 2.054 2.375 2.393 2.932 

Trentino-Alto Adige 99 120 127 121 143 164 153 4 0 2 0 9 4 4 103 120 129 121 152 168 157 

Veneto 495 603 751 881 996 1.089 1.188 29 27 50 41 57 92 88 524 630 801 922 1.053 1.181 1.276 

Friuli-Venezia Giulia 155 168 264 356 339 397 353 8 10 6 16 11 10 8 163 178 270 372 350 407 361 

Liguria 353 393 534 651 695 745 737 13 13 24 16 39 36 39 366 406 558 667 734 781 776 

Emilia-Romagna 724 726 943 990 1.081 1.292 1.382 20 29 30 31 42 80 64 744 755 973 1.021 1.123 1.372 1.446 

Toscana 946 990 1.086 1.101 1.263 1.517 1.578 21 33 41 27 61 67 79 967 1.023 1.127 1.128 1.324 1.584 1.657 

Umbria 149 177 247 214 213 343 424 16 12 11 12 11 8 27 165 189 258 226 224 351 451 

Marche 104 103 176 211 286 275 251 4 2 3 1 4 11 9 108 105 179 212 290 286 260 

Lazio 1.112 1.242 1.455 1.490 1.697 1.791 1.758 95 122 134 143 176 191 196 1.207 1.364 1.589 1.633 1.873 1.982 1.954 

Abruzzo 236 301 360 333 384 505 468 4 6 2 1 9 9 12 240 307 362 334 393 514 480 

Molise 22 53 34 47 66 81 73 0 2 2 5 3 5 2 22 55 36 52 69 86 75 

Campania 446 403 473 446 453 574 718 31 38 41 35 34 49 56 477 441 514 481 487 623 774 

Puglia 106 165 351 297 462 441 462 8 4 6 14 26 53 48 114 169 357 311 488 494 510 

Basilicata 11 38 54 107 191 216 180 0 0 0 0 17 13 9 11 38 54 107 208 229 189 

Calabria 31 57 112 140 272 397 358 2 2 2 5 1 3 9 33 59 114 145 273 400 367 

Sicilia 148 222 203 382 731 797 686 3 3 5 7 4 14 8 151 225 208 389 735 811 694 

Sardegna 392 547 299 435 325 252 376 1 2 1 2 9 13 15 393 549 300 437 334 265 391 

Nord 4.054 4.497 5.402 6.106 6.969 7.470 8.175 205 220 244 287 383 487 534 4.259 4.717 5.646 6.393 7.352 7.957 8.709 

Centro 2.311 2.512 2.964 3.016 3.459 3.926 4.011 136 169 189 183 252 277 311 2.447 2.681 3.153 3.199 3.711 4.203 4.322 

Sud e isole 1.392 1.786 1.886 2.187 2.884 3.263 3.321 49 57 59 69 103 159 159 1.441 1.843 1.945 2.256 2.987 3.422 3.480 

Italia 

Fonte: Istat 

7.757 8.795 10.252 11.309 13.312 14.659 15.507 390 446 492 539 738 923 

1.00 

4 

8.147 9.241 10.744 11.848 14.050 15.582 16.511

Tab. 47 - Condannati per distretto di Corte di Appello - Maschi - Anni 1995-2001 (v.a.) 

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 

Torino 17.259 18.281 23.233 22.599 19.589 12.704 14.449 

Milano 15.820 18.472 21.624 25.607 16.877 14.751 22.691 

Brescia 5.597 7.481 5.715 7.993 6.129 4.766 6.035 

Trento 3.407 1.659 1.613 1.545 1.254 1.077 1.313 

Bolzano (Sez.) - 1.612 2.086 1.837 1.859 1.150 1.730 

Venezia 16.286 14.461 12.984 14.745 11.564 8.784 13.673 

Trieste 5.580 6.680 5.345 5.831 4.994 3.382 4.725 

Genova 8.927 8.967 10.197 8.690 7.620 6.844 9.169 

Bologna 17.596 11.582 12.846 12.946 12.543 10.065 12.447 

Firenze 16.395 12.737 12.345 13.009 11.403 8.983 12.457 

Perugia 2.625 2.246 2.714 2.459 2.120 1.558 2.537 

Ancona 5.479 4.737 4.870 5.285 4.144 2.773 3.988 

Roma 21.055 16.444 18.821 23.135 37.321 102.502 21.738 

L'Aquila 6.293 5.618 5.879 5.739 5.498 2.863 4.615 

Campobasso 2.212 1.329 1.467 1.622 1.184 785 1.242 

Napoli 20.237 14.866 29.448 28.295 26.384 16.734 15.566 

Salerno 3.355 3.409 5.269 5.626 4.488 3.329 3.220 

Bari 11.059 9.179 9.681 10.448 8.698 6.013 7.667 

Lecce 4.779 6.496 4.455 5.425 4.510 3.637 4.832 

Taranto (Sez.) 4.730 3.429 6.600 4.440 5.209 3.780 4.006 

Potenza 1.967 2.190 2.305 2.407 1.978 1.591 1.673 

Catanzaro 3.557 2.481 5.866 5.910 4.319 3.103 2.974 


Palermo 8.325 9.358 13.743 13.447 10.694 10.977 11.118 

Messina 3.849 2.154 2.446 2.225 1.540 2.504 3.208 


Catania 8.179 8.531 12.329 9.320 8.987 8.162 7.366 

Cagliari 5.204 4.613 4.193 4.353 5.304 2.336 4.901 

Sassari (Sez.) 1.877 1.850 1.529 3.099 2.677 2.256 2.112 

Italia 225.724 204.366 242.984 251.262 232.799 251.451 204.808 

(a) I dati si riferiscono alle iscrizioni che vengono effettuate, nel corso dell'anno di riferimento, presso il Casellario Centrale Giudiziale e 

risentono, pertanto, del volume di attività svolto. 

Fonte: Istat

Tab. 48 - Condannati per distretto di Corte di Appello - Femmine - Anni 1995-2001 (v.a.) 

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 

Torino 3.346 3.604 4.945 4.360 3.599 2.079 2.286 

Milano 3.276 4.529 4.386 5.220 2.965 2.129 3.000 

Brescia 1.165 1.755 1.230 1.555 1.109 806 982 

Trento 559 290 254 209 182 175 214 

Bolzano (Sez.) - 293 346 300 293 170 235 

Venezia 2.703 2.833 2.520 2.991 1.929 1.569 2.431 

Trieste 1.131 1.229 1.064 1.257 1.005 617 836 

Genova 941 1.855 1.953 1.585 1.309 1.044 1.358 

Bologna 1.276 2.252 2.521 2.463 2.013 1.661 2.007 

Firenze 3.262 2.893 2.700 2.928 2.525 1.920 2.346 

Perugia 561 505 564 508 447 297 477 

Ancona 1.255 1.004 1.059 1.078 790 493 676 

Roma 2.989 2.976 3.506 4.640 9.029 30.486 4.024 

L'Aquila 1.341 1.359 1.385 1.336 1.273 573 892 

Campobasso 290 258 290 316 205 132 240 

Napoli 4.510 3.046 6.768 6.779 5.819 3.312 2.754 

Salerno 635 667 1.104 1.379 904 618 542 

Bari 673 1.322 1.536 1.539 1.142 586 866 

Lecce 671 962 795 957 452 406 501 

Taranto (Sez.) 634 343 597 531 706 560 537 

Potenza 260 353 355 378 276 241 267 

Catanzaro 621 529 1.149 1.088 752 518 460 

Reggio di Calabria 330 556 807 353 375 891 257 

Palermo 1.327 2.112 3.420 3.357 2.670 2.278 2.504 

Messina 236 424 537 501 259 499 845 

Caltanissetta 309 253 250 267 423 209 333 

Catania 1.743 1.935 3.160 2.445 2.303 1.824 1.490 

Cagliari 556 680 555 618 699 343 658 

Sassari (Sez.) 236 239 240 466 408 413 348 

Italia 36.836 41.056 49.996 51.404 45.861 56.849 34.366 



Fonte: Istat

Tab. 49 - Condannati per distretto di Corte di Appello - Totale - Anni 1995-2001 (v.a.) 

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 

Torino 20.605 21.885 28.178 26.959 23.188 14.783 16.735 

Milano 19.096 23.001 26.010 30.827 19.842 16.880 25.691 

Brescia 6.762 9.236 6.945 9.548 7.238 5.572 7.017 

Trento 3.966 1.949 1.867 1.754 1.436 1.252 1.527 

Bolzano (Sez.) - 1.905 2.432 2.137 2.152 1.320 1.965 

Venezia 18.989 17.294 15.504 17.736 13.493 10.353 16.104 

Trieste 6.711 7.909 6.409 7.088 5.999 3.999 5.561 

Genova 9.868 10.822 12.150 10.275 8.929 7.888 10.527 

Bologna 18.872 13.834 15.367 15.409 14.556 11.726 14.454 

Firenze 19.657 15.630 15.045 15.937 13.928 10.903 14.803 

Perugia 3.186 2.751 3.278 2.967 2.567 1.855 3.014 

Ancona 6.734 5.741 5.929 6.363 4.934 3.266 4.664 

Roma 24.044 19.420 22.327 27.775 46.350 132.988 25.762 

L'Aquila 7.634 6.977 7.264 7.075 6.771 3.436 5.507 

Campobasso 2.502 1.587 1.757 1.938 1.389 917 1.482 

Napoli 24.747 17.912 36.216 35.074 32.203 20.046 18.320 

Salerno 3.990 4.076 6.373 7.005 5.392 3.947 3.762 

Bari 11.732 10.501 11.217 11.987 9.840 6.599 8.533 

Lecce 5.450 7.458 5.250 6.382 4.962 4.043 5.333 

Taranto (Sez.) 5.364 3.772 7.197 4.971 5.915 4.340 4.543 

Potenza 2.227 2.543 2.660 2.785 2.254 1.832 1.940 

Catanzaro 4.178 3.010 7.015 6.998 5.071 3.621 3.434 


Palermo 9.652 11.470 17.163 16.804 13.364 13.255 13.622 

Messina 4.085 2.578 2.983 2.726 1.799 3.003 4.053 


Catania 9.922 10.466 15.489 11.765 11.290 9.986 8.856 

Cagliari 5.760 5.293 4.748 4.971 6.003 2.679 5.559 

Sassari (Sez.) 2.113 2.089 1.769 3.565 3.085 2.669 2.460 

Italia 262.560 245.422 292.980 302.666 278.660 308.300 239.174 



Fonte: Istat


7. BIBLIOGRAFIA ESSENZIALE 

GENERALE 

- Censis, 36° Rapporto sulla situazione sociale del Paese 2002, Franco 

Angeli 

- Istat, Annuario Statistico Italiano 2002 

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SALUTE 

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Collana I quaderni di Mecosan 


Angeli 

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Roma, Ediesse, 1997 

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- Ministero della Salute, Relazione sullo stato sanitario del Paese 2001 – 

2002 

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l’editoria, Medicina e Migrazioni - Traumi e Problemi di Salute Fisica e 

Mentale in Immigrati e Rifugiati,1992 

- WHO, The World Health Report 2002 

POVERTÀ 

- Beckerman W., Stime della povertà in Italia nel 1975, Rivista 

Internazionale di Scienze Sociali, n. 2, 1980 


Angeli 


288


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sociale in un’epoca di transizione: alcune riflessioni, IRiDiSS Research 

Paper, 2000 

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Seminar of the European Network for Research on Supplementary 

Pensions (ENRSP), Roma, 17-18 dicembre 1998 

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occupazionali flessibili. Alcune osservazioni con riferimento 

all’esperienza italiana, IRiDiSS-CNR Research Paper, 1998 

- M. Falivene, Innovazione tecnologica e processo lavorativo. Il caso del 

telelavoro, IRiDiSS-CNR Research Paper, 1998 

- G. Ponzini, Alcune note a proposito del dibattito sulla bioetica, Relazione 

presentata al Convegno “Etica e comunità”, Chieti, 22-23 aprile 1989 

- G. Ponzini, Towards a New Social Contract?, IRiDiSS Cnr, Research 

Paper, 1997 

- S. Turcio, La qualità dei servizi in un processo di mutamento sociale, 

intervento presentato al seminario internazionale “Change in Health 

Policy: A European Perspective”, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, 

Roma 16 e 17 dicembre 1996 

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a cura di E. Bartocci, Donzelli, Roma, 1996 

- Commissione Gorrieri di indagine sulla povertà, Primo rapporto e studi 

base, Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri, Roma, 1985 

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- Pace D., Pisani S., Le condizioni economiche degli anziani, VII Rapporto 

Cer-Spi, La Terza, Bari, 1998 

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Italia, Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato, Roma, 1993 

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289


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rapporto CNEL sulla distribuzione e redistribuzione del reddito in Italia, 

Il Mulino, Bologna 

- Sarpellon G., La povertà in Italia, Franco Angeli, Milano, 1982 

CRIMINALITÀ 

- AA. VV., Rapporti degli ispettori europei sullo stato delle carceri in Italia 

che vale anche da manuale da istruzioni per carcerieri, carcerati e 

cittadini in libertà provvisoria, Palermo, Sellerio, 1995 

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Ricerca sulla detenzione femminile in Italia, Feltrinelli, Milano 1992 

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integrato per il Mezzogiorno, Roma, Gangemi, 1997 

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Franco Angeli, 1992 

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Criminalità mafiosa e sviluppo nel Mezzogiorno, Bari, Laterza, 1999 

- Chinnici G., Santino U., La violenza programmata, Milano, Franco 

Angeli, 1989 

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del 14-15 Maggio 1993, Camera dei Deputati 

- Giovani Imprenditori Confindustria, Sviluppo, criminalità e corruzione in 

Quale impresa, n. XIV, 1994 

- Lupo S., Storia della mafia, Roma, Donzelli, 1993 

- Occhiogrosso F., Introduzione a Mastropasqua I., I minori e la giustizia. 

Operatori e servizi dell’area penale, Liguori, Napoli 1997 


290

TURKEY 

Selahattin Bekmez, Ph.D. - Cem Mehmet Baydur, Ph.D. 

İbrahim Tokatlıoğlu, Ph.D. - Fatih Türe, Ph.D. 

Necla Ayaş - Bayram Coskun


1. COUNTRY PROFILE 

This chapter intends to introduce a brief recapitulation of social, economic 

and geographical caracteristics of Turkey. 


Turkey is the most densely populated country in the Middle East. According 

to the 2000 census, the population of Turkey amounted to 67.8 million. 33.6 

million of the population are female and 34.2 million are male. While the 

annual average population increase was 24.9 %o in the 1980-85 period and 

21.7 %o in the 1985-90 period , this figure dropped to 18.3 %o in the 1990- 

2000 period. This rate is expected to drop to 14.5 %o in the 2000-2005 

period. 

Since the 1960’s, Turkey has been considered to be among the countries 

which registered the greatest progress in urbanization. Thi 2000 census 

indicated that 44 million people live in provinces and administrative 

centers, and 23.7 million people live in districts and villages. Of the 81 

provinces in the country , three most densely populated are Istanbul with a 

population of 10 million, Ankara with a population of 4 million, and Izmir 

with a population of 3.4 million. 

Turkey is a country with a young population. The 0-14 age group comprise 

30% of Turkey’s population, the 15-64 age group 64.4% and the 65+ age 

group 5.6% of the population. When these figures are compared with those 

of European Union (EU) countries it is observed that the 0-14 age group in 

the EU countries, with a mere 17.2% is approximately half of that of 

Turkey. Conversely, the 65+age group in EU countries is almost thee-fold 

of that in Turkey with 15.7%. 


292


Table 1: Developments in Demographic Indicators 1 

Demographic Indicators Unit 1997 2001 2005 2 

Total Population (Midyear) 

1000 persons 63.7 67.8 71.7 

Total Population Growth 

Rate 

Per thousand 16.4 14.6 13.1 

Approximate Birth Rate Per thousand 21.6 20.2 19.0 

Approximate Mortality 

Rate 

Per thousand 6.5 6.5 6.5 

Total Fertility Rate No. of Children 2.5 2.3 2.2 

Average Age for Child 

Bearing 

Year 26.8 26.3 26.0 

Infant Mortality Rate Per thousand 40 33.9 28.8 

Life Expectancy at Birth Year 68.2 69.1 70.3 

According to 2000 general census 88 people live in 1 kilometre square. 

Thus it can be said that country is not crowded. Basic problem of the 

population is high growth rates. While Turkey’s population was one of the 

rapid growing in the world in last fifty years, now this rate shows a 

decreasing tendency in the last decade. Other dimension of the population 

composition related to birth ant mortality rates. These rate reflects health 

conditions and family planning in the country. Although birth rates are 

decreasing they are stil high. Birth rates are decreasing because of 

exploitation of better education and increasing participation fo the woman to 

the employment and production. 

1 State Statistical Institute 

2 Projection 


293


Table 2 : Proportion of Population by Age Group 

Demographic Indicators Unit 1997 2000 2005 

0-14 Age Group Percentage 31.7 30.0 28.3 

15-64 Age Group Percentage 63.1 64.4 65.8 

65 + Age Group Percentage 5.1 5.6 5.9 

Age composition is important in education programs, demographic 

investments, social activities and to determine social needs. Produvticity and 

needs of the people changes in age groups. 

Migration 

Turkey has growing and dynamic structure, and migration is an important 

social and economic factor. The reasons of the migration are; poverty, low 

life standarts in rural areas, labor demand in urban centres. It must be added 

that the war in eastern and south-eastern part of the country until midnienties 

was the cause of strong movement ou the people in this areas. In 

recent years this movement from rural areas to urban centres turned to 

opposite: in a slow pace the pouple returning to their original settlements. 

In the last 30 years, the population in the western and southern regions has 

increased, while it has decreased in the central, northern and eastern 

regions.The changes in the regional distribution of population in Turkey 

resulted from migration from the eastern and northern regions to the western 

and southern metropolises. 

External migration began in 1960’s first to Europe and than to the world. So 

called “Guest worker” from Turkey continued and today about 3.6 million 

Turks are working and living in Europe, Australia, USA, Asia and Africa. 

This migration movement abroad slowed after 1990’s. Better economic 

possibilities in Turkey, restrictions of receiving countries are the main 

reasons of slowing external migration from Turkey. 


294

Table 3: Turkish Citizen Working and Living Abroad 

Turkish Citizen 

LIVING 

abroad 

Turkish Citizen 

WORKING 

abroad 

Countries 1995 1999 1995 1999 

European countries 

Germany 1.965.577 2.110.223 742.566 740.530 

France 268.000 287.343 102.900 78.965 

Holland 264.763 *279.786 84.500 *48.000 

Austria 150.000 138.860 51.297 54.711 

Belgium 85.303 73.818 26.764 26.855 

Sweden 35.948 35.943 24.800 5.300 

Great britain 51.390 66.000 15.746 37.600 

Danmark 34.967 38.055 14.445 13.639 

Italy 15.000 8.500 5.000 - 

Finland 1.800 2.000 1.400 - 

Spain 848 904 500 - 

Switzerland 78.615 79.478 35.828 32.944 

Norway 10.000 10.000 6.000 6.000 

Luxemburg - 220 - 60 

Lichtenstein - 809 - 339 

Total 

Middle-East and North Africa 

2.962.211 3.131.939 1.111.746 1.044.943 

Saudi Arabia 130.000 120.000 120.000 115.000 

Libia 6.236 3.000 5.802 2.600 

Quveyt 3.500 3.500 3.300 3.300 

Irak - - - - 

Israel 4.114 5.000 4.114 - 

Jordan 1.591 1.600 200 200 

Total 145.441 133.100 133.416 121.100 

Other countries 1995 1999 1995 1999 

Union of independent states. 40.000 40.000 

Russian federation 13.000 10.514 

Turkik republics 26.300 13.381 

Australia 49.375 49.342 31.000 12.890 

Usa 135.000 85.505 - - 

Canada 35.000 18.130 - 

Japan 1.729 1.729 

Rest of the world 1.648 3.170 7.324 1.504 

Grand total 3.368.675 3.462.215 1.323.486 1.206.061 

* Double passport holders included 

Source:Ministry of Social Security and Employment


Migration to Turkey mainly from neighboring countries continuing. In 

1989-1990 345 thousand people came to Turkey during the Iran-Iraq war 

and the population flow of Turkish origin from Bulgaria were the main 

sources. 

Turkey became in recent years one of the main routes of illegal migration 

from Asia and Africa to Europe. Now after the normalization of the 

conditions in southern and south-eastern part of the country the flow of 

illegal migrants slowed drastically. Interior Ministry is now better equipped 

and well trained specialists are in the scene against the illegal migration. 

Ethnic, Religion compositions and Spoken Language 3 

Turkish is the language of %90 of the population of Turkey. The Caucasian 

and several Kurdish dialects, Greek, Ladino and Armenian are among the 

other 70 languages and dialects spoken in the country. The Turkish spoken 

in Turkey is an agglutinative language similar to other Ural-Altaic 

languages and is the modern form of Ottoman Turkish . Turkish is the 

seventh most spoken and widespread language among the approximately 

4000 languages spoken in the world today. More than 200 million people 

speak Turkish. 

There are no exact data on religious composition of the country. Researchs 

about ethnic structure and spoken language shows %94 of the population is 

moslem and other % 6 is christians mainly belonging the Greek, Armenian, 

Assyrian churches and jewish. 

Education 

In Turkey, education is carried out under the supervision and control of the 

state.According the Constitution, everyone has the right to receive an 

education. 

After 1997 compulsory education increased from five to eight years. 

Investments in school building and equipment increased steadily afterwards. 


296


In the 2001-2002 scholastic year, a total of 18.6 million students, composed 

of 289 thousend preschool students, 10.5 million primary school students, 

2.8 million secondary/middle-high school students, 1.7 million higher 

education students and 3.2 million non-formal education students, were 

educated in 60.057 formal and non-formal educational institutions. 

Table : 4 – Composition of Education 

Level of Education 


Number of 

Students 

(‘000) 

1995-1996 1999-2000 2000-2005 (1) 

Rate of 

Schoolarization 

(%) 

Number of 

Students 

(‘000) 

Rate of 


(%) 

Number of 

Students 

(‘000) 

297 

Rate of 


(%) 

Pre-school education 199 7,7 252 9,8 690 25,0 

Primary school 9.564 89,8 10.053 97,6 10.328 100,0 

Secondary school 2.223 55,0 2.444 59,4 2.886 75,0 

Collage 1.277 31,6 1.506 36,6 1.539 40,0 

Technical school- 946 23,4 938 22,8 1.346 35,0 

University and other 

higher schools 

1.226 23,8 1.492 27,8 2.002 37,3 

(*) Graduate Students included. 

(1) Projection 

Source : State Planning Organization 

Literacy rate gradually increasing. During the tumultouse years from mideighties 

to mid-nienties educational institutionals were main targets of 

terror. This had an negative impact on the rate of literacy. According the 

General Census of 2000 literacy rate is %87.30 and continuing to decrease. 

1.2. Economy and labor 

Prior to 1980, Turkey followed an economic policy based on the 

substitution of import. Instead of importing her goal was to manufacture 

products in the country which would meet the domestic demand. Domestic


production and producers were protected by customs tariffs, import 

restrictions for manufactured goods, and other equally efective taxes. 

But on January 24, 1980 a comprehensive Stability Program with the 

objective of providing radical economic reforms was introduced. Thus, 

Turkey abondoned the planned economic development model and adopted 

an industrialization model concentrating on, and giving priority to export 

industries. Since then the process of implementing the Free Market 

Economy continuing. 

The foreign exchange regime was liberalized to a great extent as of 

1984.Today, Turkey is one of the laeding countries in terms of liberal 

foreign exchange regimes in the world. 

According to World Data Bank daka, Turkey was in sixteenth place among 

127 countries with her 2.9% increase in the annual average per capita GNP 

between 1980-1991. 

The GNP achieved an average increase of 5.3% per annum between 1980- 

1990, 3.2% between 1995-1997, and an average of 7.9% between 1995- 

1997, which is above woryd average. However, from August 1998 until 

mid-1999, the Turkish economy which felt the negative impact of the 

Russian crises in every sector, and especially in exports, was also hard 

pressed by the tax reform and the tight monatery and fiscal policies 

embraced withen the context of the disinflation program. With the delaying 

of some of the liabilities in the Tax Law and the government package to 

support the small and medium- size producers and exporters in the middle 

of 1999, the economic indicators showed signs of picking up; but with the 

earthquake disaster Turkey suffered yet another schock. Even though in 

2001 the economy shrunk by 9.4%, as of March 2002, industrial production 

rose by 18.8% and there were indicators that the situation was picking up. 


298

Table 5: Real GNP by Main Kind of Economic Activity (Billion TL) 

Year Agriculture Industry Construction Services GDP 

1990 13.746 21.873 48.973 84.592 

1991 13.663 22.504 48.720 84.887 

1992 14.249 23.911 52.163 90.323 

1993 14.129(1) 26.260 6.271 44.307 96.591 

1994 14.358(1) 24.775 6.144 42.615 91.321 

1995 14.640(1) 27.766 5.857 45.803 97.888 

1996 15.395(1) 29.743 6.141 48.949 104.927 

1997 14.509(1) 32.337 6.415 67.988 111.249 

1998 16.176(2) 33.494 6.560 54.454 116.114 

1999 15.369(2) 31.814 5.739 47.329 110.646 

2000 15.962(2) 33.738 5.991 56.540 118.789 

2001 14.923(2) 31.207 5.662 53.179 109.885 

(1) Turkish economy statistics and analysis August 1997, State Institue Of Statistic Prime 

Ministry Republic Of Turkey 

(2) Turkish economy statistics and analysis January-march 2003, State Institue Of 

Statistic Prime Ministry Republic Of Turkey 

Table 6: National Per capita incomes, Unemployment, Inflation Rates 

Per Capita 

GNP(Dolar) 

Unemployment 

Rates 

Inflation Rates(%) 

1990 2175 8.0 

1991 2666 8.1 66.1 

1992 2774 8.3 70.1 

1993 3091 8.8 66.4 

1994 2192 8.4 106.3 

1995 2759 7.5 88.1 

1996 2928 6.5 80.3 

1997 3079 6.7 85.8 

1998 3255 6.8 84.6 

1999 2879 7.7 64.9 

2000 2948 6.6 54.9 

2001 2160 8.5 54.4 

2002 2584 10.6 45.0 

IMF (World Economics Outloc) DİE 2002, DİE 1996.


Unemployment rate in 2001was about 8.5% (1,902,000 people). In terms of 

gender, 8.8% of males and 7.9% of females in Turkey were unemployed in 

2001. In cities the total unemployment rate is 11.5%, 10.3% for men and 

16.8% for women. In rural areas, this reta is a total of 4.8%, with 6.5% for 

men and 1.6% for women. In 2001, the rate of unemployment among 

educated youth was 25.8%. 

Foreign Trade 

Turkey eliminated all trade barriers on imports of industrial goods from 

members of the European Union (EU) with the Customs Union established 

with the EU as of the 1st of January 1996 and also the EU’s Common 

Customs Tariff has started to be applied in trade with other countries. As a 

result , the balance of foreign trade yielded a deficit of 20 billon dollars in 

1996. In 1997, exports increased by 13% reaching 26.2 billion dollars and 

imports insreased by 11.3% amounting to 48.6 billion dollars. As of the end 

of 2001, imports decraesed to 40 billion dollars and exports reached 30 

billion dollars. 

An important structural change occurred in Turkey’s exports in the 1980s. 

The share of agricultural products in total exports, which was at a high level 

of 75% in 1970 and 57% in 1980, was 7.2% in 2001. On the other hand, the 

share of industrial products in exports, which was 18% in 1970 and 36% in 

1980, insreased rapidly and reached 91.6% in 2001. 


300

Table :7 İmport-Export Values (million dolar) 

Export(Fob) İmport(Cif) Foreign Trade 

Balance 

Export/ımport 

1990 12.959 22.302 -9.343 30.581 

1991 13.593 21.047 -7.454 64.6 

1992 14.715 22.871 -8.156 64.3 

1993 15.345 29.428 -14.080 52.1 

1994 18.106 23.270 -5.164 77.8 

1995 21.636 35.709 -14.073 60.6 

1996 23.224 43.627 -20.403 53.2 

1997 26.261 48.559 -22.298 54.1 

1998 26.973 45.992 -18.949 58.7 

1999 26.588 39.773 -13.185 66.8 

2000 27.775 54.012 -26.237 51.4 

2001 31.340 39.748 -8.408 78.8 

2002 35.753 51.203 -15.450 69.8 

DİE 2001, T.C. Maliye Bakanlığı, 1996 Yıllık Ekonomik Rapor. (State Statistical Institute 

2001 and Ministry of Fiunance Report)


1.3. Geography and territorial characteristics 

Geography and territorial patterns of Turkey composite of geographical 

surface, geographical distribution of population, principle Natural 

Resources, climate characteristics and environmental Issues. 

Geographical Surface 

The Republic of Turkey spans two continents. The seas which surround the 

country on three sides are the Black Sea, the Aegean and the Mediterranean. 

Turkey has borders with Georgia, Armenia, Nakhicevan (Azerbaidjan) and 

Iran to the east, Bulgaria, and Greece to the west and Iraq and Syria to the 

south. 

Turkey has an area of 814,578 km square. 3% of the area of Turkey is 

located in Thrace in Europe, and the remaining 97%, which is referred to as 

Anatolia, is located in Asia. The legth of the land borders of the country is 

2,875 km. and the length of the coastline is 8,333 km. Turkey has a width of 

app. 550 km. and a length of app. 1,500 km. 

Turkey has seven geographical regions: The Black Sea, the Marmara, the 

Aegean, the Mediterranean, the Central, East and Southeast Anatolia 

Regions. The Regions are not definiteve demarcations, but markers of 

gradually changing geographical and climatic features. 

Principle Natural Resources 

Turkey has large and varied mineral deposits and resources.Turkey holds 

28th place in terms of total production among 132 countries in the world 

who are involved in mining activities and 10th place in terms of the type of 

minerals produced. Today 53 different metals and minerals are being 

produced in the mining sector. 

While the public sector predominates in the production of mineral fuels ano 

metallic ores, the private sector has concentrated on industrial minerals. 


302


Some of the most important minerals produced in Turkey are as follows: 

Coal :reserves around 1.3 billion tons, and 72% of it is coke. 

Lignite: there are lignite deposits in almost every region of the country.Total 

reserves are 8.3 billion tons; annual production is around 65-70 million tons. 

Crude oil and natural gas : Turkey is a net importer of crude oil and natural 

gas. Petroleum reserves are about one billion barrels and 14 billion metric 

cubes of exploitable natural gas reserves are in the country. 2,5 million tons 

of crude oil were produced in 2001. Again in 2001 311,5 million metric 

cubes of natural gas were produced. 

Iron ore is extracted from various regions in Turkey. The annal production 

is over 6 million tons. 

Chromium ore and other important minerals: Turkey is one of the leading 

countries in the production and export of chromium ore. With its 40 million 

tons of reserves, Turkey places fourth in the world. In recent years marble 

production has also been increasing gradually, along with copper, boron, 

aluminium,lead, mercury, sulfur, emery and meerschaum. 

Climate Characteristics 

Turkey is located along a moderate climate belt. In spite ou this, there are 

differences in climate from region to region, the reason being that 

mountains are parallel to the coast and there is diversification in the surface 

morpholdgy. The coastal regions have a moderate maritime climate, while 

the central regions, surrounded by mountains, have a continental climate. 

The Mediterranean region experiences hot and arid summers, while in the 

winter it is mild and rainy.The Mediterranean climate also manifest itself in 

the Aegean region and in the south of the Marmara region. A more 

moderate and rainy climate predominates in the Black Sea region. In the 

interior regions, the summers are hot and slightly rainy and a steppe climate 

is observed in the winter which is cold and snowy. In the Eastern Anatolia 

region, the summers are cool and the winters are very cold and there is 

snow. In the Southeastern Anatolia region, the summers are hot and arid, 

and winters not very cold. 


303


Environmental Issues 

Turkey faced environmental issues more late for being late to 

industrialization. Rapid urbanization and industrialization caused at the 

same time envirenmental problems like weather pollution, water pollution, 

land degredation, coastal pollution, exhausting natural and cultural 

resources, forest degredation, decreasing bio diversity and solid waste 

problems in the metropolitan and urban areas. 

Environmental policies becam than one of the important issues in the 

country. Even a Ministry of Environment was established. 

In the harmonization process with the EU which began with the Helsinki 

Summit of 1999, preparatory studies aimed at intensifying cooperation with 

the EU on environmental issues gained momentum. A national plan is being 

prepared for the harmonization of environmental regulations. Regulations 

concerning motor vehicles and chemical substances have already been made 

to conform. 

References 

(1) Aslan Eren, Türkiye’nin Ekonomik Yapısı ve Güncel Sorunları, 

Muğla. Muğla Üniversitesi Yayını, 2002 

(2) Kemal Görmez, Çevre Sorunları ve Türkiye, Ankara: Gazi Kitabevi, 

1997. 

(3) Orhan Türkdoğan, Etnik Sosyoloji, İstanbul: Timaş Yayınları, 1999 

(4) Peter Alford Andrews Türkiye’de Etnik Gruplar, çev. Mustafa 

Küpüşoğlu, Ant Yayınları, 1993. 

(5) Rıdvan Karluk, Türkiye Ekonomisi, İstanbul. Beta Yayınları, 1995. 

(6) Türkiye Ekonomi Kurumu, Türkiye Ekonomisi Sektörel Analiz, 

Ankara: İmaj Yayınları, 2001. 

(7) Turkish economy statistics and analysis January-march 2003, State 

Institue Of Statistic Prime Ministry Republic Of Turkey. 


304


(8) Turkish economy statistics and analysis January-march 2003, State 

Institue Of Statistic Prime Ministry Republic Of Turkey. 

(9) Statiatical Year Book Of Turkey 2001, State Institue Of Statistic 

Prime Ministry Republic Of Turkey. 

(10) Statiatical Year Book Of Turkey 1997, State Institue Of Statistic 

Prime Ministry Republic Of Turkey. 

(11) TC. Maliye Bakanlığı, 2001 Yıllık Ekonomik Rapor. 

(12) TC. Maliye Bakanlığı, 1996 Yıllık Ekonomik Rapor. 

(13) Turkey 2002, Directorate General of Press and Information of the 

Prime Ministry. 


305


2. HEALTH 

According to the Turkish constitution, everybody has right to live in a 

healthy and nutrious environment and the government has to provide 

physical and physiological health services for the public (no:56). For that 

reason, providing a healthy environment, and financing the health services 

are a constitutional responsibility of the government. The law accepted in 

1930 called “General Law of Health” ensures that government should 

increase the living conditions of the public, solve the problems related to 

public health and provide a better environment for the future generations 

(no: 1). 

The responsibility of public health is belong to the ministry of health. 

Ministry of health has all the authority concerning public health, and a 

healthy environment. One of the main objective of this organization is to 

create “a healthy individual and healthy society, an improved health system, 

a protection for diseases, and a planned health system”. The headquarters of 

the ministry is in the capital, Ankara, and it has sub-offices in all 81 cities of 

Turkey. 

In additon to the “General Law of Public Health” and “Ministry of Health 

foundation Law” there are more than 30 laws concerning health issues in 

Turkey. Also, there are considerable amount of governmental decisions 

regardin health problems. 

The definition of health in Turkey generally is taken from the World Heatlh 

Organization. Within this context, Nusret Fisek (1983:1) has defined the 

heatlh as “health is not only to have a body without any physical desease, 

but also it is mentally and socially the case of goodness.” However, in 

practice health is considered as a goodness in terms of physical body 

(Medicana: 379-380). 

The main indicators in Health Sector in Turkey and some projections for 

2005 as follow: 


306

Table 1: Existing Status and Objectives of VII.Plan at Health Indicators 

Criterions Existing Status 

Targets of 2005 

at VIII.Plan 

Bed Capacity (*) (2001) 175.190 200.000 

Population per Bed (2001) 392 351 

Bed Occupancy Rate (%) (2001) 60,2 75 

Health Manpower (2001) 

Number of Physicians 85.117 89.000 

Population per Physician 797 789 

Number of Dentists 16.002 16.000 

Population per Dentist 4.237 4.389 

Number of Pharmacist 23.266 - 

Population per Pharmacist 2.914 - 

Number of Sanitarian and Health 46.528 - 

Population per Sanitarian 1.457 - 

Number of Nurses 71.612 77.100 

Population per Nurse 947 910 

Number of Midwives 41.590 - 

Population per Midwife 1.630 - 

(*) Ministry of National Defense is included 

Source: http://www.saglik.gov.tr/extras/istatistikler/apk2001/002.htm


The big amount of hospitals in Turkey operate under the directions of 

Ministry of Heath. However, there are small number of hospitals operate 

under the directions of Ministry of Labor, universities, municipals and other 

public institutions. The distribution of hospitals in terms of organizations as 

follows: 

Figure 1: Distribution of Hospitals in terms of Organizations, 2002 

Source: http://www.saglik.gov.tr/extras/istatistikler/ytkiy2002/elektronikkitap/grafik1.htm 

As shown in Figure 1, following the Ministry of Health, as a public 

institutions the Social Insurance Institute (SSK) has the most of the 

hospitals. Individuals who are working under coverage of Labor Low can 

benefit from these hospitals. However, in 2003, the existing government 

made possible for those people to use other public and private hospitals as 

well. With this application, the burden of SSK hospitals has substially 

lessened. 


308

Table 2: Number of Doctors an number of persons per doctor 

Years Population (1000) Number of Doctors People per doctor 

1988 53715 42502 1276 

1989 54893 46708 1270 

1990 56473 50639 1115 

1991 57326 53264 1076 

1992 58584 56985 1028 

1993 58869 61050 980 

1994 61183 65832 929 

1995 61444 69349 886 

1996 62697 70947 883 

1997 62610 73659 850 

1998 64786 77344 872 

1999 65819 81988 838 

2000 66834 85117 785 

2001 68610 88456 776 

2002 69749 93586 745 

Soruce: http://www.saglik.gov.tr/extras/istatistikler/ytkiy2002/elektronikkitap/tablo4.htm


Due to an increse in education expenses in last decades, the number of 

people per doctor has decreased. As can be seen in Table 2, in the last 14 

years this decrease continued. While this number in 1988 was 1276, it 

decreased to 745 in 2002. This improvement has been reached inspite of a 

24% increase in population. 

An increase in the health expenses in last years created an increase in heatlh 

expenditure per person as well. Health expenditure per person has increase 

by 38% in last ten years (tab. 3). 

Even though there is an improvement in health expenditures in Turkey, it 

still is too low when it comes to compare with the OECD countries. This 

huge differences has been shown in Tabloe 4 below. 

However, the same increasing trend cannot be seen in Ministry of Health’s 

share from the general budget. In last ten years, the Ministry of Health’s 

share from general budget fluctuates between 4.5% and 2.5%. The decrease 

in health expenditure in last years is a result of economic crisis experienced 

during last years (tab. 5). 

Table 6 and 7 show the data for some contagious illnesses. According to 

2001 data the AIDS incidents experienced is 1325. The number of men with 

AIDS is more than the number of women with AIDS. According to 1999 

data total number of cancer detected in Turkey is 25,942. 

Medicine and medicine related imports show an incresing trend in terms of 

years. In 1990, import of medicine and medicine related row materials is 

about $470 million. This number reached to $1.5 million in 2001 (tab. 8). 

The evaluation of mother-baby health issues in Turkey shows that the rate 

of giving birth with the help of a specialist increases rapidly. The amount of 

giving birth at home has decreased more than 50% in the period between 

1999 and 2001 (tab. 9). 


310

Table 3: Heath Expenditures per year 

Years 

Total Health 

Expenditure GDP 

(%) 

Public ( % ) Per person Hearlth 

Expenditure ( $ ) 

Per person Health 

expenses $/SAGP) 

1991 3.7 63.5 97.8 182.4 

1992 3.9 66.2 107.7 207.0 

1993 4.4 68.2 130.1 247.1 

1994 4.0 64.7 85.2 161.9 

1995 3.9 64.3 106.5 234.3 

1996 3.7 64.0 111.4 251.1 

1997 3.6 63.0 119.8 259.1 

1998 4.0 63.0 139.9 279.1 

1999 4.1 79.9 116.4 220.0 

2000 4.3 80.0 135.3 250.0 

Source: http://www.saglik.gov.tr/extras/istatistikler/ytkiy2002/elektronikkitap/tablo10.htm 

Table 4: Heath Expenditures of Selected OECD Countries, 2000 

Country Heath Expenditure 

The share of 

Public in GDP 

(%) 

Private 

Expenditures (%) 

The rate of Heath 

Expenditures in 

GDP (%) 

Canada 72,0 28,0 9,1 

Czeck Republic 91,4 8,6 7,2 

Frans 76,0 24,0 9,5 

Germany 75,1 24,9 10,6 

Greese 55,5 44,5 8,3 

Italy 73,7 26,3 8,1 

Japan 76,7 23,3 7,8 

Mexico 46,4 53,6 5,4 

Portuqual 71,2 28,8 8,2 

Spain 69,9 30,1 7,7 

Turkey 71,1 28,9 5,0 

England 81,0 19,0 7,3 

U.S.A 44,3 55,7 13,0 

Source: http://www.saglik.gov.tr/extras/istatistikler/ytkiy2002/elektronikkitap/tablo24.htm

Table: 5 Ratio of Budget of Ministry of Health To Budget State (Thousand TL) 

Years Budget of State 

Budget of 

Minis. of Health 

Ratio of Budget of 

Minis.of Health 

To Budget of State 

1992 207.545.328.000 9.783.005.000 4,71 

1993 398.710.000.000 18.184.911.000 4,56 

1994 823.396.387.000 30.639.327.000 3,72 

1995 1.335.978.053.000 49.417.951.000 3,70 

1996 3.558.506.822.000 98.064.401.000 2,76 

1997 6.344.685.500.000 204.499.276.000 3,22 

1998 14.753.000.000.000 390.891.701.000 2,65 

1999 23.570.000.000.000 663.123.501.000 2,81 

2000 46.843.000.000.000 1.059.825.001.000 2,26 

2001 48.060.000.000.000 1.280.660.000.000 2,66 

2002 97.831.000.000.000 2.345.447.691.000 2,40 

Table 6: Distribution of AIDSCases Cases and Carriers By Age Group and Sex 

Age Group Total Male Female 

Total 1.325 919 406 

0 7 6 1 

1 – 4 6 2 4 

5 – 9 10 3 7 

10 - 12 4 3 1 

13 - 14 2 1 1 

15 - 19 37 13 24 

20 -24 189 88 101 

25 - 29 219 150 69 

30 - 34 255 203 52 

35 - 39 157 128 29 

40 - 49 169 131 38 

50 - 59 91 62 29 

60 + 46 33 13 

Unknown 133 96 37 


Table 7: Distribution of Cancer Cases with respect to Age and Sex, 1999 

Age 

Groups 

Number Incidence Number 

Male 

Incidence 

Number 

Female 

Incidence 

Total 25.942 39.41 16.023 48,30 5.051 30,38 

0 – 4 342 5,17 205 6,08 137 4,21 

5 – 9 313 5,54 189 5,65 124 3,87 

10 - 14 266 4,00 154 4,52 112 3,44 

15 - 19 353 5,22 180 5,21 173 5,23 

20 - 24 408 6,26 215 6,48 193 6,16 

25 - 29 507 8,79 244 8,31 263 9,57 

30 - 34 739 14,46 346 13,35 393 15,75 

35 - 39 1240 25,77 576 23,45 664 29,14 

40 - 44 1767 44,.46 916 88,5 851 45,46 

45 - 49 2400 73,78 1.349 81,66 1.051 68,42 

50 - 54 2810 111,02 1.720 135,97 1.090 90,08 

55 - 59 3139 158,46 2.019 211,64 1.120 110,56 

60 - 64 3284 184,49 2.254 269,94 1.030 109,34 

65 - 69 3872 241,4 2.718 352,07 1.154 141,6 

70 - 74 2701 260,46 1.805 394,97 896 167,79 

75 + 1801 209,91 1.133 303,75 668 144,28 

Source: http://www.saglik.gov.tr/extras/istatistikler/apk2001/089.htm 

Table 8: Imports of drug and drug raw material by years in Turkey (USA $) 

Years Total Raw Material Manufactured Drug 

1990 470.114.087 386.257.785 83.856.302 

1992 522.394.938 425.530.447 96.864.491 

1993 510.532.307 400.532.307 110.000.000 

1994 489.174.620 371.174.620 118.000.000 

1995 729.565.587 565.785.587 163.780.000 

1996 978.504.000 716.755.000 261.749.000 

1997 981.953.471 667.728.360 314.225.111 

1998 1.180.592.194 769.378.609 411.213.585 

1999 1.242.129.545 808.003.771 434.125.774 

2000 1.511.000.000 828.000.000 683.000.000 

2001 1.491.579.320 831.857.360 659.721.960 


Table 9: Maternal and Child Health Services of Health Centers 

Years 

Investigation of Pregnant and Child Birth 

Pregnant 

Infant 

0-11 Months 

Child 

1-6 Ages 

Total 

With the Help 

of Health 

Personnel 

By 

Herself 

1990 2.380.544 4.886.821 6.503.311 508.634 428.257 80.377 

1994 2.944.022 5.116.693 5.650.572 542.994 474.786 68.208 

1995 2.667.850 5.109.084 5.996.169 577.703 511.214 66.489 

1996 2.759.365 4.995.731 6.010.649 589.159 533.519 55.640 

1997 2.626.591 4.877.703 6.032.435 586.108 536.593 49.515 

1998 2.146.736 4.064.790 4.899.265 505.725 469.981 35.744 

1999 2.376.280 4.573.632 5.500.351 578.065 542.334 35.731 

2000 2.261.896 4.363.537 5.368.475 557.315 525.163 32.152 

2001 2.535.632 4.726.729 5.726.902 602.219 567.792 34.427 

Source: http://www.saglik.gov.tr/extras/istatistikler/apk2001/071.htm 

Table 10: Data regarding General Health, Fertility and Nutrition 

Indicators 1991 (%) 1998 (%) 

The rate of contraception use 62.6 63.9 

The rate of births with the assist of Health Personnal 75.9 80.6 

Fertiliy rate of women in the age betwee 15-19 56 60 

Persons who know how to use contraceptions 99.1 98.9 

The rate of children that has taken measles shot 77.9 78.5 

The rate of underweight childeren 9.5 8.3 

Source: www.die.gov.tr


Table 10 indicates that the rate of underweight children has decreased, 

immunization rate for some illnesses has increased, and the use of 

contraceptives has increased. 

In addition to above given data there is a resarch conducted by Osman Gazi 

University in 2002 (Aksam Newspaper, August 12, 2002). 

- In Turkey, 20.2% of the population is not covered by the social security 

- 2.7% of all babies die for several reasons. 

- 25% of all drugs wasted. 

- Import of drugs 10 times more than that of export. 

- Only 1.2% of people give blood.. 

- Annual drug expenditure is 2.5 billion and annual drug consumption per 

person is $38. 

- The rate of people who has no healthy water is 26.5%. 

- One third of 27 million children cannot receive appropriate nutritions. 

Even though this research gives a pecimistic view, the official numbers 

show an increase in health quality in Turkey. However, some people in 

Turkey still cannot receive health protection, while some people are not 

happy with their protection. Unfortunately, in most cases a health service 

covering every part of Turkey cannot be given as it is planned. Especially, 

data for rural and urban areas and data for east and west differ a lot. For that 

reason, we cannot mention a standard health quality all over the country. 

There are more than one reason for this. The reasons can be summarized as 

follow (Ministry of Health, YKP, Special Council for Health, 2001, pp:4). 

The whole authority in the health services belongs to the Ministry of Health 

in Turkey. For that reason, it is widely open to political misuse. Decisions 

are made according to political views of the government and thus, a long 

run policies sometimes may not be possible to implement. Projections do 

not imply the actual data in most cases due to political decisions. The 

coordination cannot be reached among critical institutions for public health. 

These institutions become a political arena for the parties in power, and 


315


expected coordination and services cannot be provided to the public. Some 

problems experienced in Turkey regarding health services are following: 

- Health sector cannot be organized adequately due to spread structure of 

institutions. The main reasons for this disorganization can be stated as 

follow: misuse of human resources, political views, erroneous definitions 

of duties, and lack of inspections in health sector. Another reason for 

disorganization is that lack of information due to problems in the flow of 

information among institutions. 

- The share of health in GDP is not enough. Lack of building, resoruces 

and other tools used in health servises are them main reasons of hardship 

in health. İn other words, most of the problems in health sector is due to 

financial problems. 

Turkey is one of candidate countries for full membership to the European 

Union. As analyzed from this point of view, Turkey has not yet reached to 

the level of EU countries (Isik, 2001, pp: 106-107). However, efforts in this 

area is notable in last five years. In addition to that, health institutions 

belong to NGO in last years has increased. Also, people who have no health 

securities, if they are eligible, can get health services free of charge from the 

Ministry of Health. According to 2001 data 1.3 million people receive free 

health services in Turkey. 

But after the parlamentary elections last year Turkey has now a “one party 

government”. It seems that some of the notorious problems in the health 

sector are going to be solved. Reorganization of the sector is already 

underway. Health Reform activities can be summarized as : the initiation of 

the application of General Health Insurence as soon as possible; to separate 

the service supplier from the financing organization; to give autonomy to 

hospitals to help them provide high quality and efficient services; to adopt 

the Family Medicine model in primary health services; to help the Ministry 

of Health acquire a new structure and to harmonize Turkish health 

regulations with EU norms. 

The information and statistics in Turkey is collected and stored by the 

Ministry of Health and State Institute for Statistics. The web addresses of 

these institutions are: 

- T.R. Ministry of Health: www.saglik.gov.tr 


316


- State Institute for Statistics: www.die.gov.tr 

References 

- Aksam Newspaper, August 12, 2002 

- Fisek, Nusret , Introduction to Public Health, Hacettepe University press, 

Ankara 1983 

- Isik, Nilufer Avci, The relations of Turkey-EU and the Health, Minsitry of 

Health , EU coordination department, Ankara, 2001. 

- Medicana General Health Ansiklopedia, Milliyet press, Vol:12, 1993 

- VIII. Five year Development Plan: Efficiency in the Health Services, The 

special commission for Health Report, State Planning Organization, Press No: 

2561, Ankara, 2001. 

- http://www.saglik.gov.tr 

- http://www.die.gov.tr 


317


3. POVERTY 


There are various definitions of poverty in literature, but three of which are 

being used in Turkey. These definitions are: i) half of median income ii) 

minimum food need to be purchased, and iii) basic needs approach. 

Definition according to “Minimum Calorie need to be taken” approach 

(minimum food basket): The poverty calculations are made based on 

proposed calorie per person for all population in the country. People who 

receive lower calories than propesed calorie are considered as poor (absolute 

poverty definition). 

Definition accordign to “minimum food need to be purchased” approacah: 

In order for a person to continue his/her life there are some basic needs such 

as nutrition, cloth, housing, education and health services that need to be 

purchased. İt shows the border for poverty calculations made by using these 

above mentioned criteria (absolute povery definition). 

Definition accordign to “median or avarege income” approach: This 

definiton uses average income created by whole society, takes half of this 

median income, and considers those people who receive less than that as 

poor (relative poverty definition). 

State Planning Organization uses median income approach, but some 

organizations suhc as Turk-Is labor Union use basic needs definition for 

their calculations. 


One of the most efficient ways to prevent povery is to provide minimum 

needs for live by providing social benefits for those considered as poor. 

Given the main reason for poverty is lack of human capital, social benefits 


318


such as education and health become the most efficient tool for preventiong 

poverty. Government is the most active player in social benefits in Turkey. 

In other words, payments for social benefits are paid by governments budget 

from an item called “social transfer payments.” 

However, these payments cannot be thought as enough given the magnitude 

of poverty in Turkey. Usually the poor has no social security for themselves 

and their families. Only those people who work with daily and/or monthly 

salery have social security. The reminder of the population has no socail 

security at all. 

Table 1: Distribution of the poor in terms of Social Security Institutions (%) (2001) 


20 PERCENTILE Total 

1 2 3 4 5 

Ssk 2,17% 4,96% 7,75% 16,10% 16,31% 9,58% 

Emekli sandiği 0,00% 0,41% 0,39% 1,50% 1,77% 0,83% 

Bağ-kur 2,53% 3,72% 4,26% 6,37% 9,22% 5,28% 

Private 0,00% 0,00% 0,39% 0,00% 0,71% 0,23% 

Non-registere 95,31% 90,91% 87,21% 76,03% 71,99% 84,09% 

Total 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 

Source: Authors’ calculations from 2001 Household Labor Survey 

As can be seen from Table 1, most of the poor are not covered by any social 

security benefits. This means that government does not provide enough 

social security benefits for its workers. 

It is going to be meaningful to see the development of transfer policies with 

respect to years. 

319


Table 2: Percentage rates of transfer payments in General Budget 

Health Education 


Domestic Debt 

interest payments 

Total 

Transfers/Budget 

1980 4.4 16.1 2 36.6 

1985 2.8 12.3 5 40.6 

1990 4.7 18.8 14 36.6 

1994 3.5 13.4 26 53.2 

1999 2.4 11.8 35 61.8 

2000 2.3 9.4 28 65.5 

Source: Derdiyok, Turkmen, “Debt Policies after 1980” XVI.Turkish Public Finance 

Symposium, May 28-31 2001. Antalya, Financial Policies after 1980 in Turkey 

As can be seen from Table 2, between 1980 and 1999, the rate of interest 

payments for domestic debts in general budget shows an increase, while the 

rate of expenditures for education and health decreases. This numbers show 

that Turkish officials use their choices in favor of those who receive capital 

income. In addition, the poor gets poorer every year due to unsatisfactory 

transfer payments of the government. 

320


Figure 1: Percentage shares in Total Transfers 

70 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 

53.8 

43.1 

52.1 

7.1 5.3 5.4 5.4 6.2 


41.9 

67.5 

63.2 

58.2 

55.8 

57.7 

52.9 51.3 

10.4 13.5 15.7 16.3 14.2 12.4 

1990 

1991 

1992 

1993 

1994 

1995 

1996 

1997 

1998 

1999 

2000 

Socail Transfers 

Interest Payments for Domesti Debts 

Source: Derdiyok, Turkmen, “Debt Policies after 1980” XVI.Turkish Public Finance 

Symposium, May 28-31 2001. Antalya, Financial Policies after 1980 in Turkey 

When transfer payments in domestic national product is investigated, it can 

be seen that while interest payments show a very sharp increase, security 

payments show relatively very small increases. The share of social transfers 

in total transfers was 12% in 2000. However, the same rate for domestic 

interest payments was 67.5%. 

Bu tablolar göstermektedir ki kamunun bozuk gelir dağılımını düzeltmek ve 

yoksullukla mücadele etmekte önemli bir politika aracı olan transfer 

ödemelerinin yapısı bu amacı gerçekleştirmekten uzaktır. Transfer 

ödemelerinin yapısı, piyasa başarısızlığını gidermekten uzak ve hükümet 

başarısızlığıyla sorunu derinleştirecek niteliktedir. 

All the Tables mentioned above show that public sectors tranfer payments 

are far away from providing equity in income distribution. The structure of 

321


transfer payments has lack of ability in providing a justice in income 

distribution, and it deepens the problem if we add the unorganized 

goverments. 

3.3. Sources 

For definations and data of poverty in Turkey 

www.die.gov.tr 

For definations and policy and legislation issues 

www.dpt.gov.tr 

Different defination of poverty from Non-goverment organisations and data 

www.turkis.org.tr 

www.denizfeneri.com.tr 

3.4. Data 

Human Development Report (2001) 

Human Poverty Index Rank: 22 

Human Poverty Index Value: 12.4 

Probability at birth of not surviving to age 60: 8.0 

Adult illiteracy rate: 14.5 

% of population not using improved drinking water sources: 18 

Underweight children under age-five: 8 


322


Population below income poverty line ($2 per day): 10.3 

Long-term unemployment (as % of labour force):2.5 

Table 3: Poverty Indecise 

1994 

2001 


Number of 

Head 

Indecies 

Yoksulluk 

Açığı 

Endeksi Sen Index 

Average 

Poor 

income(TL) 

Poverty 

Trashhold 

(TL) 

Gini 

coefficient 

Nutrition 

Poverty 0,07 0,37 0,039 490993 782899 0,31 

Basic Needs 

Poverty 0,33 0,46 0,218 818137 1520386 0,34 

Income 

Poverty 0,18 0,69 0,144 446219 1461220 0,22 

Nutrition 

Poverty 0,08 0,25 0,048 27000000 36090420 0,31 

Basic Needs 

Poverty 0,41 0,45 0,260 47500000 86198920 0,33 

Income 

Poverty 0,18 0,73 0,140 23900000 86939760 0,24 

Soruce: SIS, 1994 and Authros’ calculations from 2001 household Labor Survey 

Income distribution for all categories worsened under the criteria mentioned 

above for years 1994 and 2001. While the Gini Coefficient for whole 

Turkey was 0.46 in 1994, Gini Coefficient in 2001 increased to 0.49. if the 

Gini coefficient for the poor is investigated we see an equity in income 

distribution among the poor. However, this equity tends to worsen with the 

economic crises experienced in recent years. 

323


Table 4: Expenditure Distribution for the Poor Household (%) 

Second 20th Third 20th Fourth 20th 

First 20th percentile percentile percentile percentile Fifth 20th percentile 

1994 2001 1994 2001 1994 2001 1994 2001 1994 2001 

Health 3,65 4,68 3,37 2,25 2,75 1,83 1,92 2,08 2,02 2,64 

Education 0,31 0,18 0,11 0,07 0,26 0,09 0,25 0,23 0,23 0,21 

Others 96,04 95,13 96,52 97,69 96,98 98,09 97,83 97,70 97,75 97,15 

Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 

Sorce: SIS, 1994 and Authros’ calculations from 2001 household Labor Survey 

It can be easily seen form Table 4 that there is a great diffusion in human 

capital after economic crises. The share for education in total income is the 

highest in the fifth 20 th percentile. However, this share is not even equal to 

1% in total. The share of education for all 20 th percentile worsened from 

1994 to 2001. This shows the greatness of the problem that the Turkish 

economy facing and the stickiness, and intergenerational distribution of the 

poverty. 


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4. CRIME 


In theory and in law, it is quite difficult to agree on a common definition of 

crime. For example; according to the positivist school, in the law order an 

action that requires a punishment in the end is a crime. This definition is not 

wrong but incomplete. To be more clear, it is a definition that is related to 

how itiis done, not to the essence. As the law order may change according to 

place and time, actions that are planned as normative actions are accepted 

‘crime’. With respect to this point, the definition is true just in shape. 

Crime is the action that destroys the morality and as a result ,cannot be 

tolerated by the government. This definition is also incomplete. Because 

there are some actions that do not destroy morality, yet, are accepted as 

crime. For example; political crimes are not accepted as moral crimes. Or 

vice versa: Some actions are morally corrupted but are not accepted as 

‘crime’ . For example: adultry. 

The most reasonable way to find a common definition is to head off with the 

elements of crime. In Turkish Crime law – the main source of crime law in 

Turkey – there is no definition of crime but there are elements of it. 

According to it, there are three basic elements of crime : 

1. The physical element 

2. The spiritual element 

3. The element of being against law. 

There are three levels in the physical element: 1. action 2. result 3. cause 

and effect relationship To be more clear: An active or passive human action, 

a change that is felt in the outer world as a result of this action and the cause 

and effect relationship between the action and the mentioned change form 

the physical element. 

On the other hand, the spiritual element is a concept that implies personal 

responsibility. It means that the person who does the action, which forms 

the physical element, does it on purpose. In other words; a person 


325


deliberately and willingly does something that is “forbidden” by law or vice 

versa: deliberately and willingly does not do the thing that he is supposed to 

“do” by law. 

The universal principal of the crime law: ‘there cannot be a crime and a 

punishment without law.’ necessarily brings the the element of being against 

law. A law that puts crime and punishment has to determine the action, 

which is called ‘ crime’ and its prohibited result. This situation in the law is 

called ‘the type’. An action that is fitting to the type is a crime. As a result 

of the principal of legality, crime and punishment cannot be created by 

anything except for the law. An action might be condemned or morally 

blamed but if it is not fitting to the type, then it is impossible to talk about 

crime and punishment. 

With the reference to the mentioned elements of crime, we can describe it as 

the following: “A faulty action that is fitting to the type and against law”. 

This definition is very commonly accepted by official and non- official 

authorities in Turkey. 

4.2. Policy and legislation 

According to the second article of the Constitution; “ Turkish Republic is a 

... democratic, secular and social law state”. The inevitable and obligatory 

result of being a law state is to bind those who rule and those who are being 

ruled equally and to guarantee and develop human rights and freedom at the 

highest level. 

The fifth article of the Constitution says that “The fundamental aims and 

duties of the state are ... to strive for the removal of political, social and 

economic obstacles which restrict the fundamental rights and freedoms of 

the individual in a manner incompatible with the principles of justice and of 

the social state governed by the rule of law; and to provide the conditions 

required for the development of the individual’s material and spiritual 

existence”. Philosophically liberal state stands for it. 

When it is analysed through the perspective of crime and punishment 

concepts, these principles in the Constitution and the texts of the acts that 

regulate the mentioned area should be parallel. More clearly, the acts that 


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regulate the area of crime and punishment should equally protect the 

essential rights and freedom of both the victim and the guilty in the sense of 

justice. But up to recent years, it is difficult to say that primarily the Turkish 

Punishment Law and other acts that regulate the crime and punishment area 

have been applied in the way mentioned above. 

For example; in punishment acts, the area of crimes that are committed 

against the State has been thoıght very wide and to express the ideas that are 

against the official ideology were accepted as crime. So the freedom of 

expressing your opinion- one of the basic human rights- was dramatically 

restricted. From this perspective, up to the end of 1990s , Turkey reflected 

itself as an authoritarian state rather than a state that is respectful to human 

rights. 

In December 1999, Turkey, which had been trying to be a member of the 

European Union (EU) since 1960s, got the status of being a candidate 

country to it. Apart from political, economic, and social rules, naturally 

there are legal rules to be a member of the EU. These rules are called 

Copenhagen Criteria and to carry them out is the pre-condition of the 

membership. For this reason, since the beginning of 2002 to make its law 

regulations concordant with the EU regulations, Turkey have prepared 

seven adaptation packets including changes in some acts. 

Again for the same reason,there have been significant changes in crime acts. 

For example; Death Penalty has been abolished, and the area of political 

crimes – icluding the crime of expressing opinion- has been restricted. In 

short, The Turkish Grand National Assembly has enthusiastically been 

working to make Turkish Law Regulations concordant with the EU. Also 

the governments in recent years have been very careful and extremely 

sensitive about the matter and are trying to make it the general policy of the 

country. 

Apart from the process of integration with the EU, the studies that have 

been carried out since the mid 1980s to update the Turkish Crime Law – the 

basic source of crime law in Turkey - are due to be completed. 

In Turkey the basic rules that regulate the crime and punishment area are in 

the Constitution and in the Turkish Crime Law. In the Constitution the 

principles at the highest level about this subject are arranged in the 37th and 

38th articles: 


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“No one may be tried by any judicial authority other than the legally 

designated court. Extraordinary tribunals with jurisdiction that would in 

effect remove a person from the jurisdiction of his legally designated court 

shall not be established (art. 37)” 

“No one shall be punished for any act which does not constitute a criminal 

offence under the law in force at the time committed; no one shall be given 

a heavier penalty for an offence other than the penalty applicable at the time 

when the offence was committed. The provisions of the above paragraph 

shall also apply to the statute of limitations on offences and penalties and 

one the results of conviction. Penalties, and security measures in lieu of 

penalties, shall be prescribed only by law. No one shall be held guilty until 

proven guilty in a court of law. No one shall be compelled to make a 

statement that would incriminate himself or his legal next of kin, or to 

present such incriminating evidence. Criminal responsibility shall be 

personal. General confiscation shall not be imposed as a penalty. The death 

penalty shall not be imposed excluding the cases in time of war, imminent 

threat of war and terrorist crimes. Findings obtained through illegal methods 

shall not be considered as evidence. No one shall be deprived of his liberty 

merely on the ground of inability to fulfil a contractual obligation. No 

citizen shall be extradited to a foreign country on account of an offence (art. 

38)”. 

There are basic three parts in the Turkish Crime Law that was accepted in 

1926. The first part, which was titled as ‘ Genaral Judgements’ contains the 

basic rules that are valid for all crimes. For example; the application rules of 

crime acts, types of punishments, the situations that decrease, abolish or 

increase the crime and punishment, prescription, the principle of legality 

can be counted among them. 

The second part, which is titled as’ Crimes’ regulate the more serious crimes 

that necessitate life imprisonment, heavy imprisonment and heavy fine. 

The third part, which is titled as ‘ Offenses’ regulate the petty crimes that 

necessitate lenient imprisonment and light fine. 

Apart from the Turkish Crime Law, there are some special acts to regulate 

the crime and punishment area. The Act For Struggling Against Terrorism, 

The Act of Forests, The Act of Traffic and The Act of Fire Arms can be 

counted among these special acts. 


328


4.3. Sources 

In Turkey, the basic sources of official statistics and non- official 

information sources about crime and punishment are the following: 

4.3.1. Official sources 

www.adli-sicil.gov.tr/istatist.htm 

www.adalet.gov.tr/cte/istatistikler.htm 

www.die.gov.tr 

www.egm.gov.tr 

4.3.2. Non-official sources 

www.idealhukuk.com 

www.hukukcu.com 

www.hukukrehberi.net 

www.turkhukuksitesi.com 

www.hukuk.gen.tr 

www.kriminoloji.com 

www.e-akademi.org 

4.4. Data 

In Turkey the number of majors and juveniles in prisons and reformatories 

can be indicated as the following: 


329

TABLE I – Convicts Received Into Prison by Type of Crime, 1990-2000 

1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 

Againts Government Administration (Debt, 

Bribery, Misuse of Duty) 

550 469 452 519 559 574 583 690 822 905 888 

Againts Public Decency and Family Order 

(Rape, Crime About Family) 

3222 2681 2336 2303 2123 2197 2282 2359 2348 2323 2071 

Againts Individual (Homicide, Assault, Insult 

and Swear) 

5723 5879 5290 5453 6684 6770 6832 6999 7475 7471 7293 

Againts Property (Theft, Surindle, Robbery) 8276 8369 9509 8407 9071 9640 10230 11139 12315 12498 13861 

Source: Statistical Yearbook of Turkey, State Institute Statistics Prime Ministry Republic of Turkey, publication number: 2690, Ankara, 2001, p.187

TABLE II - Sentenced Juveniles Received Into Reformatory by Type of Crime, 1990-1999 

1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 

Homicide 70 86 77 84 133 140 123 157 142 118 

Theft 161 115 170 153 213 239 280 231 309 215 

Rape 68 63 46 44 41 49 54 64 59 42 

Sodomy 56 56 66 73 72 53 70 60 50 23 

Battery 16 11 11 13 12 19 14 16 15 10 

Robbery 73 69 69 110 115 138 112 77 102 120 

Other 21 10 16 17 39 33 38 25 29 57 

Source: Judicial Statistics 1999, State Institute Statistics Prime Ministry Republic of Turkey, publication number: 2450, Ankara, 1999, p.6



After talking about the basic policies and information about the area of 

crime and punishment in Turkey, it will be right to make its critical analysis. 

Clearly to analyse the general character of the Turkish crime law and to 

summarise the basic structure of the crime act will help us understand the 

matter better. 

When we functionally look at the history of crime law, it is possible to say 

that there are three different concepts of crime law. These are the oppressive 

crime law, the preferential crime law, and the crime law that is in favor of 

freedom. 

The Oppressive Crime Law is the crime law of monarchic systems.This type 

of crime law, which is also seen in totalitarian regimes in modern times, is a 

means of excessive political powers. The fundemental aim is to preserve 

the political power and to eliminate the ideas that are contrary to the idea 

that is accepted the unique truth by the state. The area of crime and the 

discretionary power of judges are wide. As the guilty person is regarded as 

an aggressive brutal man who attacks on the physical and spiritual 

possessions of others, he is very severely punished. Among his 

punishments, death penalty, torture, cutting off an organ and imprisonment 

in dungeon can be counted. 

Preferential Crime Law developed after the French Revolution. With the 

revolution, a shift from the mınarchic system to the liberal state, naturally 

brought a change in the social structure.The priviliged classes that depended 

on the base of blood and religion lost their authority and new social classes 

that depended on wealth replaced them.Thus, the preferential crime law 

emerged and developed during the time of the liberal state and functioned as 

the protector of the rich classes and their priviliges. Moreover, it defended 

these priviliged classes against the poor who were regarded as ‘ dangerous 

classes ‘ . When opposing social rights are in conflict, this crime law 

protected the rights of the more powerful, no matter how much 

disadvantegous it was for the less powerful and it guaranteed the freedom 

not among the non-equals but among the equals. 


332


On the other hand, the crime law that is in favor of freedom is the last 

milestone on the way of the development of crime law. Its most important 

characteristic is its being equal to all classes without being in favor of any of 

them. More clearly, this crime law is not a means of restrictions of human 

rights. On the contrary, it is a means of protecting them equally against the 

private and especially judicial ( state-oriented) attacks. 

In 1926, The Turkish Crime law was prepared and accepted as a product of 

a liberal- conservative ideology. But this law lost its this characteristic on 

account of the modifications that took place in 1936. As a result of it, it was 

transformed into an oppressive and preferential crime law. Moreover, in the 

following years, on the pretext of solving the problems caused by the 

frequent, extra-ordinary situations that the society underwent, its oppressive 

and preferential characteristics were increased by the new modifications and 

reforms. 

By the process of adaptation to the EU, it is inevitable to re-arrange the 

present turkish Crime Law in order to make it more liberal and respectful to 

freedom. Anyway, the draft crime law is under discussion. Non 

Governmental Organizations, Universities, Lawyears Associations, 

Producer Organizations etc. are taking part vividly to the discussions. 

Government itself shows a democratic position, in favor of a modern 

criminal law. Opposition is also in the same path. 

Time will show us what will change in this structure on account of the 

adaptation process to the EU. 

Literature 

ALACAKAPTAN, Uğur, Elements of Crime, Ankara, 1970. 

DÖNMEZER, Sulhi, Criminology, 8th edit., İstanbul, 1994. 

DÖNMEZER, Sulhi-ERMAN, Sahir, Theoretical and Practical Criminal Law, 

10th edit., İstanbul, 1987. 

ERDURAK, Y. Güngör, Turkish Punishment Law by Doctrine, Ankara, 1984. 


333


EREM, Faruk, Turkish Criminal Law (General Rules), 12nd edit., Ankara, 

1984. 

ERMAN, Sahir-ÖZEK, Çetin, Turkish Criminal Law (Special Rules), İstanbul, 

1992. 

ÖNDER, Ayhan, Punishment Law (General Rules, General Theory of Crime), 

İstanbul, 1989. 

ÖZGEN, Eralp, Crime and Crime Judgemental Law, Eskişehir, 1988. 

TOROSLU, Nevzat, Punishmental Law, Ankara, 1988. 


334



This chapter of the research analyzes the relationship among health, 

poverty, crime, and other socioeconomic factors. We initially provided brief 

explanations, definitions, and appropriate data and data sources, then, gave 

the rates of interrelations among those factors mentioned above. 

As it is the case in the whole world, Turkish health organizations spent 

considerable efforts to prevent diseases that risk public health. Especially in 

last two decades these efforts reached to its maximum. The idea of 

improved health system in Turkey is not new. It actually started just after 

the foundation of modern Turkish Republic. For instance, in 1947 the first 

of “Ten year domestic health plan” had been published. This plan 

emphasized the importance of health services in small villages and provided 

solutions to this problem. In this plan, a health specialist and a midwife for 

each 10 villages, and one hospital for each 40 villages had been aimed. In 

1954, another master plan has been prepared, but unfortunately, this plan 

did not become as successful as expected. 

After 1960’s, centrally planned Turkish economy came into effect. As a 

result of centrally planned services, enough consideration has been given to 

health services. The services have reached to densely populated areas as 

well as small villages. Also, the quality of health services aimed to be 

increased during these years. 

Last two decades were golden years of the Turkish health system, even 

though there still are some unsolved issues. Within these years, non-optional 

public and private insurance programs have been introduced. Social welfare 

programs have been introduced, and free health system called “green card” 

application provided for those who have below average income level. 

Table 1 below shows some indicators of Turkish economy in the last two 

decades regarding education, crime, income level, unemployment rate, and 

health services. 


335

Table 1: Health, Education, Crime, and Economic Indicators of Turkey 

Years 

Number of beds 

in hospitals 

Number of 

students per 

School (high 

schood) 

Number of 

persons convicted 

Per capita income 

($) 

Number of 

unemployed 

persons 

1980 99117 480 31518 1539 1255 

1981 97765 458 36920 1570 1290 

1982 96138 462 36520 1375 1200 

1983 99396 443 32955 1264 1275 

1984 100496 445 27929 1204 1388 

1985 103918 478 29443 1330 1490 

1986 107152 489 34931 1462 1530 

1987 111135 500 39657 1636 1637 

1988 113010 486 45821 1684 1709 

1989 116061 478 41028 1959 1611 

1990 120738 462 44826 2682 1663 

1991 123706 450 53912 2621 1729 

1992 126611 474 54400 2708 1725 

1993 131874 490 53618 3004 1774 

1994 134665 498 60742 2184 1607 

1995 136072 541 63103 2759 1416 

1996 139919 547 61120 2928 1463 

1997 144984 504 62946 3079 1527 

1998 148987 445 69077 3255 1773 

1999 139388 505 83466 2879 1720 

2000 131748 578 98969 2965 1840 

Source: State Institue of Statistics, Annual Report for Turkish Statistics, 2000-2001 and, www.tcmb.gov.tr


Providing all the data for last two decades from a single source was not 

possible. Most of data are not quite organized, and for more recent years. 

For that reason, we collected the date from different source, and showed 

extra efforts to eliminate inconsistencies. Improvements in the health sector 

are represented by the number of beds in hospitals and the improvements in 

education are represented by the number of schools and the number of 

students per school. The main logic behind this is because only 5% of all 

students can have chance to go to higher education institutions. 

Correlation Coefficients 

The primary aim in this chapter is to find interrelations among crime, 

income and other socio-economic factors. The easiest way to know these 

relations is to find the correlation coefficients of mentioned variables. A 

correlation coefficient measures the value of interrelations between two 

variables. If this coefficient receives a value between 0 and 1, we call it a 

positive correlation, and if it receives a value between –1 and 0, we call it a 

negative correlation. Actually, correlation coefficient receiving exactly the 

value of zero implies that there is no relationship whatsoever between two 

variables. In other words, a correlation coefficient is always between the 

value of –1 and 1, and it gives only the magnitude of the relations, not 

reasons of the relations. The following table has been prepared with this 

logic. 

Table 2 - The correlation coefficients for people convicted and some economic 

indicators 


Number of 

persons 

imprisoned 

Per capita 

income Unemployment Education 

No of persons imprisoned 1 .823** .628** .653** 

Kişi Başına Düşen Gelir .823** 1 .650** .436* 

İşsizlik .628** .650** 1 0.258 

Eğitim .653** .436* 0.258 1 

** % 1 

337


There is a positive correlation between per capita income and the number of 

people imprisoned. In other words, $1 increase in per capita income results 

a 0.82 increase in the number of people imprisoned. This result is of course, 

contradicts with expectations, since people expect that if per capita income 

increases, the imprisonment level should decrease. However, number tells a 

different story for Turkey. The reason for that is because, even though total 

income level increases, the distribution of income has some problems. If the 

distribution of income works against most of the population, and the 

structure of economy makes the rich even richer while making the poor ever 

poorer, the number of people imprisoned expected to increase. Per capita 

income increased from $1500 to $2900 in last twenty years. Increase in per 

capita income is 93.3%, while increase in the number of people imprisoned 

is 200% in last twenty years. Table 3 and 4 below show inadequate income 

distribution for 1987 and 1994. 

Table 3: Income distribution Results for 1987 and 1994 

Income groups 1987 1994 

1.%20 5,2 4,9 

2.%20 9,6 8,6 

3.%20 14 12,6 

4.%20 21,2 19 

5.%20 50 54,9 

Gini Katsayısı 0,43 0,49 

Source: SIS, Household income and consumption expenses Survey results, 1987, p:63 and 

1997, p:79 

As can be seen from Table 3, the comparison of both 20% shares and Gini 

coefficients for 1980 and 1990 show that inequity in income distribution 

increases over time. As Gini coefficient gets close to one, the inequity in 

income distribution increases. If we look at the fifth 20% of the population, 

they receive 50% of all income in 1987, and almost 55% of all income in 

1994. This means that the remaining 80% of the population receives the rest 

of the income, and thus, they are poor. According to our point of view, the 

main reason of positive correlation between income level and the rate of 

crime is because of inequity in income distribution. Fortunately, event 


338


though it is not enough, decreases in Gini coefficient in some extent has 

been experience in last year. 

Table 4: Share of the Biggest 500 Industry workers from Value Added (%) 

Years 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 

Wage 42 49 37 34 25 23 23 29 32 39 29 27 20 16 16 18 

Sources: ISO.500 Biggest Industry Survey, August, 1998, İstanbul, pp: 42. 

If Table 4 is used to calculate correlation coefficient for income and crime 

rates, above mentioned inconsistencies can be eliminated. The correlation 

results have been shown in Table 5. 

Table 5 - Correlation between Income distribution and the number of people 

imprisoned 

Number 

imprisoned 

of people 

Share of workers from total 

income 


Number of people 

imprisoned 

Share of workers from total 

income 

1 -0.780** 

-0.780** 1 

With use of this information above, we can also use regression method to 

estimate if the coefficient is reliable. The results obtained can be reported as 

follow: 

PI = 69014 – 575.75 * PVA (1) 

Where PI stands for persons imprisoned, and PVA stands for share of workers from 

income 

339


T Statistics: (13.72) (-2.92) 

P value: (000) (0.04) 

R 2 : 0.68, F: 8.57, P value: (000) 

In words, above statistical terms indicate that if the share of workers from 

income increases by 1%, persons imprisoned decreases by 57%. This rate 

looks a little high, but it could be the case in economic terms. 

A positive correlation between the number of unemployed and the number 

of people imprisoned also strengthen empirical results above. A regression 

analysis between these two variables are shown below: 

PI = 4450 + 30.88 * U, where U stands for unemployed people (-2) (2) 

T Statistics: (2.52) (-2,18) 

P Value: (0,03) (0.06) 

R 2 : 0.40, F: 4,78, P value: (0.06) 

In equation (2), a high level of autocorrelation between these two variables 

has been detected. Thus, we took the first differences. Also, we used 

Schwarz information criterion to know the lag value of unemployment. Our 

test showed that the effect of unemployment on people imprisoned is can be 

seen with lag of two periods. Equation (2) also can be interpreted as 

equation (1). 


340


6. BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Kaynak: 

Devlet İstatistik Enstitüsü, Türkiye İstatistik Yıllığı, 2000-2001 

DİE, Hane Halkı Gelir ve Tüketim Harcamaları Anketi Gelir Dağılımı 1987 

DİE, Hane Halkı Gelir ve Tüketim Harcamaları Anketi Gelir Dağılımı,1998 

İSO.500 Büyük Sanayi Kuruluşu Anketi, Ağostos 1998, İstanbul, s.42. 

www.tcmb.gov.tr/veri dağıtım sistemi) 

Akyüz Ferhat, 1980 Sonrası Dönemde Türkiye’deki Gelir Dağılımı ve 

Dengesizliği ve Yoksulluğun Boyutlarını Etkileyen Faktörlerin 

İncelenmesi,Muğla Ün. Sos. Bil. Ens. Yayınlanmaış Yüksek Lisans Tezi, 

2002 

Bulutay Tuncer, Timur S., Ersel Hasan, Türkiye’de Gelir Dağılımı, SBF 

Yayını, Ankara 1971 

Süleyman Özmucur, “Yeni Milli Gelir Serisi ve Gelirin Fonksiyonel 

Dağılımı:1968-1984” ODTÜ Gelişim Dergisi, Sayı 23, 1994 

Tusiad, www.tusiad.org.tr 


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