More than 2.6 million Italian families, or 11 percent of the total, live in poverty, an official survey said on Tuesday.

The number of poor families in 2007 was 2,653,000 while the total of poor people amounted to 7,542,000, or 12.8 percent of the population, the National Statistics Institute (Istat) said.

Istat defines the poverty level as being a monthly income of 591.10 euros (765.01 dollars) for a single person, 986.35 euros (1,276.55 dollars) for two people and 1,311.85 euros (1,697.82 dollars) for three.

Istat says that the level of poverty, which is concentrated in the south, has remained `relatively stable` for the past five years.

The south is home to a third of all Italian families but two-thirds of those living in poverty.