GENEVA, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- Switzerland is often marked as one of the world's wealthiest nations, but the government said Thursday that many residents would struggle to finance a week's getaway or a large bill.
Last year, 21.5 percent of Swiss residents lived in a household that would have been unable to pay a bill for 2,500 Swiss francs (2,518 U.S. dollars) within a month, the Swiss Federal Statistical Office said in its Survey on Income and Living Conditions.
This was especially true for single parents, unemployed people and foreigners from outside Europe.
Such an unexpected expense could also take the form of a medical bill, as 2,500 francs is the maximum deductible amount offered by Swiss health insurers.
The country with the greatest percentage of people living in a household with great difficulty making ends meet, was Greece, with 40.6 percent followed by Serbia with 32.7 percent, the survey found.
It found that 8.9 percent of the Swiss population was unable to afford a week's holiday away from home in 2016.
However, people in Switzerland can better afford to travel than their neighbors. Some 45 percent of Italians, 23 percent of French, 18 percent of Germans and 15 percent of Austrians spend their vacation time at home.
The persistent risk of poverty is a reality for 6.9 percent of Switzerland's population, but that's low compared to other countries, such as France and Austria (8 percent), Germany (10.5 percent) and Spain (nearly 15 percent).
Earlier this week, the 2017 Global Wealth Report of Credit Suisse stated that the average fortune of a Swiss adult was 537,600 U.S. dollars (528,000 Swiss francs).
Switzerland topped the Credit Suisse global list for wealth per adult, followed by Australia (402,600 U.S. dollars), the United States (388,600 U.S. dollars) and New Zealand (337,400 U.S. dollars).
