Brussels (Brussels Morning) – Eurostat’s 2023 report reveals 94.6 million EU citizens face poverty or social exclusion, with disparities across gender, age, education, and employment status, highlighting significant social challenges within member states.
What Were the Poverty and Exclusion Rates in 2023?
In 2023, approximately 94.6 million people in the EU (21.4% of the total population) met the threat of poverty or social exclusion, the European Statistical Office Eurostat reports.
Last year, some 5.5 million citizens were living in households which simultaneously encountered the three risks of poverty and social exclusion: disposable earnings below the poverty-risk threshold, strict material and social deprivation, and very low work intensity.
Why Do Women Experience Higher Poverty Rates?
Concerning gender, the risk of poverty or social exclusion in the EU was more elevated for women than for men (22.4% compared to 20.3%). In terms of age, the highest chance of poverty or social exclusion was registered for young adults aged 18 to 24 (26.1%), while the lowest risk was registered for adults aged 25 to 49 (19.7%), according to Eurostat.
Which Age Group Shows the Highest Poverty Risk?
In addition to gender and age, the status of education has a considerable effect on the risk of poverty or social exclusion. At the EU level, over a third (34.5%) of all people aged 18 and over with a lower level of education were at risk of poverty or social exclusion.
Similarly, over a fifth (22.4%) of people living in families with dependent children in the EU were under threat of poverty or social exclusion. This is barely higher than the respective share of households without conditional children (20.4%).
How Does Employment Status Influence Poverty Levels?
In 2023, the threat of poverty or social exclusion in the EU was 11.3% for workers and 18.7% for pensioners. It was almost two-thirds (66.3%) for the jobless and 43.2% for other inactive people, i.e. those who, for causes other than retirement, were not functioning or were unemployed.
Which EU Countries Have the Highest Poverty Rates?
Nevertheless, Eurostat reported that these rates vary considerably between EU Member States. Romania (32.0%), Bulgaria (30.0%) and Spain (26.5%) conveyed the highest proportions of people at threat of poverty and social exclusion in 2023. In distinction, Finland, Slovenia and Czechia reported ratios below 16.0%, while the overall average for the EU stood at 21.4%.
What were the stats in 2022?
In 2022, 95.3 million people in the EU (22% of the population) were in danger of poverty or social exclusion, i.e. lived in families experiencing at least one of the three poverty and social exclusion dangers: risk of poverty, tough material and social deprivation, and/or living in a household with very intense work intensity. The figure stayed relatively stable compared with 2021 (95.4 million, 22% of the population).
The percentages of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion differed across the EU countries in 2022. The highest values were documented in Romania (34%), Bulgaria (32%), Greece and Spain (both 26%). On the other hand, the most inferior shares were recorded in Czechia (12%), Slovenia (13%) and Poland (16%).
