Poverty has more than doubled in Italy since 2008

The number of people in Italy living in poverty has risen more than two-fold since the economic crisis began in 2008, a new report said on Monday.

There were 4.6 million people living in poverty last year compared with 1.8 million people in 2007, according to the report issued by Catholic charity Caritas.

A total 7.6 percent of people lacked the economic resources for an adequate standard of living in 2015, compared to 3.1 percent in 2007, figures from the report show.

Poverty is no longer solely a problem of Italy's underdeveloped south, the unemployed and large families and has increased in all sectors of Italian society, the report said.

The scourge is found in young families, those with one or two children and with one or more adult in employment, according to the report.

More foreigners sought aid from Caritas last year than Italians did (57.2 percent of the total), except for in the south, where two-thirds of needy people were Italian, the charity said.

Reflecting the overall growth in poverty, the number of indigent Italians also rose in central and northern Italy, the report said.

Caritas released the report on the United Nations International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.

Pope Francis warned on Sunday that poverty "kills" and urged nations to battle it with more support for families and policies to create jobs.

“Let us join our moral and economic forces to fight together against poverty that degrades, offends and kills so many of our brothers and sisters, by giving life to serious policies in support of families and employment,” he said during his Angelus address in St Peter's Square.