An elderly woman buys food in a market in Florence, Italy, Feb 17, 2022. (PHOTO/AP)

ROME - Rising prices in Italy have pushed more people into absolute poverty, the country's National Statistics Institute (ISTAT) said Wednesday.

The institute revealed that 2.18 million families, including 5.6 million individuals, were living in absolute poverty last year.

"Absolute poverty" means lacking the sufficient resources to secure basic life necessities like food, shelter, clean water and healthcare

In percentage terms, that represented 8.3 percent of families, increasing from 7.7 percent in 2021, and 9.7 percent of individuals, up from 9.1 percent over the previous year.

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"Absolute poverty" means lacking the sufficient resources to secure basic life necessities like food, shelter, clean water and healthcare. In addition, 10.9 percent of families -- down slightly from 11.0 percent in 2021 -- experienced relative poverty, indicating an inability to participate fully in society due to lack of resources, ISTAT said.

Combinedly, 21.2 percent of Italians fell into the two lowest economic categories, just below the European Union's average of 21.6 percent.

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ISTAT attributed the increase in poverty primarily to inflation linked to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which raised energy prices and disrupted global trade systems.

Prices in Italy have steadily fallen from their peak but remain well above historic averages.