Britain's poor are worse off than their neighbours and suffering the same sort of living standards seen in the ex-Soviet bloc countries, stark new analysis has found.
The poorest fifth of Britain's population are the poorest in Western Europe, being significantly worse off than those in France and Germany, according to the High Pay Centre think-tank, which studied data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
The poorest fifth of UK households have an average income of just $9,530, much lower than those in Germany ($13,381), France ($12,653), Denmark ($12, 183) or the Netherlands ($11,274).
Meanwhile, the poorest Britons are seeing similar living standards to those in former Eastern bloc nations, despite the fact that average incomes in the UK ($25,828) are similar to those in Denmark ($25,172) and the Netherlands ($25,697).
The UK's average income is inflated by the top 20% of households, at around $54,000, the third highest in the EU.
Frances O’Grady, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, told the Huffington Post UK: “The government sometimes claims that it the richest who have paid the price of the financial crash. But these figures show that their high ranking amongst the wealthy elites of Europe has been nicely maintained, despite years of austerity and spending cuts.
“Unsurprisingly the people that have suffered the most are those at the bottom of the income scale. The UK’s poorest families are now barely better off than those living in the former communist dictatorships like Slovenia and the Czech Republic. The government should hang its head in shame.”
High Pay Centre director Deborah Hargreaves said: "Most people think our living standards in the UK are similar to economies like France and Germany, but being poor in the UK is more like being poor in the former Soviet Bloc than in Western Europe."
Which Countries Do The Least To Reduce Inequality
Poland: 45% (MOST)(01 of29)
Open Image ModalIreland: 44%(02 of29)
Open Image ModalSweden: 42%(03 of29)
Open Image ModalThe Netherlands: 42%(04 of29)
Open Image ModalDenmark: 41%(05 of29)
Open Image ModalAustria: 40%(06 of29)
Open Image ModalGermany: 40%(07 of29)
Open Image ModalFinland: 40%(08 of29)
Open Image ModalLuxembourg: 38%(09 of29)
Open Image ModalGreece: 37%(10 of29)
Open Image ModalSlovak Republic: 35%(11 of29)
Open Image ModalNorway: 35%(12 of29)
Open Image ModalUnited Kingdom: 35%(13 of29)
Open Image ModalSpain: 33%(14 of29)
Open Image ModalAustralia: 31%(15 of29)
Open Image ModalCanada: 31%(16 of29)
Open Image ModalIsrael: 29%(17 of29)
Open Image ModalUnited States: 26% (LEAST)(18 of29)
Open Image Modal(19 of29)
Open Image ModalALSO ON HUFFPOST:OECD COUNTRIES WITH THE WORST INCOME INEQUALITY
10. Japan(20 of29)
Open Image ModalA poor Japanese man pushes a cart in downtown Tokyo on March 2, 2010. (YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
9. Greece(21 of29)
Open Image ModalA woman holds a cardboard reading in Greek 'I' m hungry' on March 17, 2011 in central Athens. (LOUISA GOULIAMAKI/AFP/GettyImages) (credit:Getty)
8. Spain(22 of29)
Open Image ModalA man looks for food in garbage container on January 15, 2013 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife on the Spanish Canary Island of Tenerife. (DESIREE MARTIN/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
7. U.K.(23 of29)
Open Image ModalOn the day that Britain officially enters a recession, a homeless man walks the streets on January 23, 2009 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
6. Portugal(24 of29)
Open Image ModalHunter Halder walks toward his bicycle loaded with food that he collect in restaurants on October 21, 2011 in Lisbon. Every night, Hunter Halder, a 60 years old american leaving in Portugal, mounts his bike and toured the restaurants where he gets the food he distributes to the poor of Lisbon, hit hard by the severe economic crisis in Portugal. (PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
5. Israel(25 of29)
Open Image ModalThousands of Israelis gather to protest against the cost of living in Israel, in Jerusalem Saturday, Sept. 3, 2011. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner) (credit:AP)
4. U.S.(26 of29)
Open Image ModalA man walks down the street collecting cans on October 20, 2011 in Reading, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
3. Turkey(27 of29)
Open Image ModalChildren play on the garbage heap in Hasankeyf a small poverty stricken town on the banks of the Tigris on April 10, 2010. (BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
2. Mexico(28 of29)
Open Image ModalA family inside their house made with carboard at the edge of a ravine in a poor zone of Mexico city , on July 24, 2012. (OMAR TORRES/AFP/GettyImages) (credit:Getty)
1. Chile(29 of29)
Open Image ModalPhoto: In this June 14, 2012 photo, a man leaves his home in a horse drawn cart to begin his work day of recycling trash in an area where families live in extreme poverty in the Puente Alto sector of Santiago, Chile. (AP Photo/Victor Ruiz Caballero) (credit:AP)