About 14 percent of the German population, or about 11.5 million people, lived in "poverty" in 2008, a rise by about one third from a decade ago, a new study released by the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) on Wednesday showed.

The latest statistics available also showed that despite the expansion of childcare places and the parental benefit, large families and single parents are subject to a particularly high risk of poverty. For families with three children, the risk of poverty lies at nearly 22 percent, with four or more children even at 36 percent.

Under the European Commission guidelines, one is considered poor with less than 60 percent of the average annual income in the country, or less than about 18,500 euros in Germany.

The study also revealed that nearly one quarter of German young adults up to age 25 lives with a household income below the poverty line.