Mexico City, July 24 (teleSUR-RHC)-- The number of people living in poverty in Mexico has increased by two million since President Enrique Peña Nieto took office in December 2012, the National Social Development Policy Evaluation Council (Coneval) said on Thursday.

This means that there are now 55.3 million people or 45.5 percent of Mexico's population living in poverty, which is about one out two Mexicans, Coneval added.

However, Coneval said, Mexicans living in extreme poverty are less today as only 9.5 percent are living under this condition, compared to the 9.8 percent before Peña Nieto took office. This is equivalent to about 12 million people. “In contrast, 24.6 million people in Mexico, about 20.5 percent of the population, do not live in poverty and have all their basic needs covered,” said the head of Coneval Gonzalo Hernandez.

Hernandez explained the states most affected by the increase of people living in poverty are Veracruz, Morelos, Oaxaca, State of Mexico, Sinaloa, Coahuila, Hidalgo and Baja California Sur. The income of Mexicans has been on a downward spiral for over 20 years, according to Coneval. “This means that the percentage of those with income below the line of well being, in other words those who don't make enough money to buy the basic food needs, has increased from 51.6 percent to 53.2 percent,” Hernandez explained. There are about 60.6 million people in Mexico that don't make enough money to buy the basic basket of goods, he added.