One in seven Italians in poverty as economy claims NINE MILLION victims, report claims Italians struggle to heat homes or buy meat as poverty doubles in two years Youth unemployment stands at 40% and new PM vows to stimulate growth 8.6million or 14% of population say they are seriously deprived Millions of Italians cannot afford to heat their homes properly or eat meat as their country is racked by recession and soaring unemployment, according to a new report. Researchers found the number of people considered seriously deprived has doubled in the past two years. The findings from national statistics institute ISTAT underline the scale of the challenge faced by the new coalition government of Enrico Letta, which has vowed to stimulate growth and tackle a youth jobless rate of almost 40 per cent. One in seven Italians say they cannot afford to eat meat once every two days as poverty in the country doubles A recession that has lasted almost two years has taken a heavy toll on ordinary Italians who are increasingly digging into their savings, ISTAT said in its annual report. Italy has the highest level in Europe of young people who are neither in education nor employment, at 23.9 per cent, the study showed. In Italy's impoverished south, one in three people aged 15-29 fell into this group. The number of people living in families considered to be seriously deprived has doubled in the past two years to 8.6million, or about 14 per cent of the population, ISTAT said. Families who meet more than four of nine poverty indicators are considered seriously deprived. Pictured: Perugia University. Italy has the highest number of young people not in work or education in Europe Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta has vowed to stimulate growth and reduce the youth unemployment rate of 40 per cent These include not being able to heat their home adequately, which affected one in five people in 2012 according to the report, twice as many as in 2010. The percentage of people in families who could not afford to eat a protein-based meal such as meat every two days rose to 16.6 per cent in 2012 from 12.4 the previous year and 6.7 per cent in 2010. More than 50 per cent were unable to afford one week of holiday away from home last year, ISTAT said, with the figure rising to 69 per cent in the south. About 14.9million people, or a quarter of Italy's 61million population, are living in families that meet three of more of ISTAT's poverty indicators. Just 57.6 per cent of young people who graduated within the last three years are in employment, well below a European average of 77.2 per cent, the data showed. Italians' purchasing power fell by 4.8 per cent last year, an 'exceptionally steep' decline caused largely by aggressive tax hikes aimed at strengthening public finances, following four years of smaller falls, ISTAT said. A traditionally high savings rate in Italy has dwindled steadily and is now far below those of France and Germany, with the situation becoming particularly acute in the poor south, the report said.