SKOPJE, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- More than 445,000 people living in Macedonia can barely make their ends meet, as they live on 100 euros (117 U.S. dollars) a month, Macedonian statistical office said Wednesday.
The figures on poverty in Macedonia are concerning as they showed that besides jobless people and seasonal workers, poverty has increased even among people who have a regular job.
Social issues experts here said Wednesday that the Macedonian government should take rapid and concrete measures to tackle such concern.
They voiced the need for a national strategy to crack down poverty.
"In the category of households, the poorest ones are households with 3 to 4 children," experts told local media.
On its part, Macedonian Ministry of Social Issues said that it considered poverty a very serious problem.
"The new government is taking measures to improve this situation, planning on increasing social aid and offer other concessions for poor families," local media cited deputy minister Elmi Aziri as saying Wednesday.
According to a report of the World Bank on poverty levels in 2016, Macedonia is ranked among countries with the highest level of poverty in Western Balkans.
World Bank data showed that one third of Macedonia's population lived in moderate poverty, while 30.7 percent of the population live on less than 5 U.S. dollars a day.
