Good Policy vs Policy of Good Numbers

Two press releases one year apart covering the same subject and exactly the same time. People are at risk of poverty, if they earn less than 60 percent of the median income. Severe material deprivation is a sign of social exclusion and not poverty at least in the eyes of the EU. Those three million that disappeared are probably all millionaires, who work little and don't want to spent any of their money aka self-inflicted severe material deprivation. Without further comment:

Press release 2012-10-23

About one in five people (19.9%) in Germany – some 16 million – were affected by poverty or social exclusion in 2011 (2010: 19.7%).[..]According to the definition of the European Union (EU), there is poverty or social exclusion when one or more of the following three criteria are met by the households covered: risk of poverty, severe material deprivation, household with low work intensity.

Press release 2013-10-25

Almost one out of every six people was at risk of poverty in Germany in 2011 – that is 16.1% of the population or approximately 13 million people. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reports that their share was up somewhat on 2010 (15.8%).