More than 22% of Spaniards in poverty in 2013

More than 22 percent of people in Spain were living in poverty in 2013, the year the country's recession officially ended, new official data showed Tuesday.

After the economic crisis, Spain's unemployment rate remains extremely high and the government has acknowledged that the recovery has yet to reach the poorest.

The latest poverty figures from the National Statistics Institute were a reminder of its deep impact on poor families.

The figures showed 22.2 percent of the population in 2013 was living under the poverty line, with immigrant families particularly affected.

The poverty figure had mounted from 20.4 percent in 2012.

Average yearly household income fell from about 30,000 euros in 2008, the first year of the crisis, to 26,154 in 2013.

Spain's conservative government says the economy is growing again, but the unemployment rate was still extremely high at 23.7 percent in the first quarter of this year.

The government is forecasting economic growth of 2.9 percent this year.

It imposed tough spending cuts and tax hikes to stabilise public finances during the crisis, contributing to a decline in support in local elections on Sunday.

Spain and the European Union define the poverty line as 60 percent of a country's average personal income.

One in 10 households were struggling to pay the rent, mortgage or gas and electricity bills, the statistics institute said.