Eurostat: Risk of poverty for 3 out of 10 Greek households

One in five EU citizens is at risk of poverty and social exclusion, according to Eurostat figures for 2021 released today.

In particular, in 2021, 95.4 million people in the EU, representing 21.7% of the population, were at risk of poverty or social exclusion, i.e. livED in households experiencing at least one of the three poverty and social exclusion risks (risk of poverty, severe material and social deprivation and/or living in a very low work intensity household).

This is a slight increase compared with 2020 (94.8 million, 21.6% of the population).

Among the 95.4 million people in the EU at risk of poverty or social exclusion, some 5.9 million (1.3% of the total population) lived in households experiencing all three poverty and social exclusion risks simultaneously.

Severe material and social deprivation

In 2021, 73.7 million people in the EU were at risk of poverty, while 27.0 million faced severe material and social deprivation and 29.3 million lived in a household with low work intensity.

The risk of poverty or social exclusion varied across the EU Member States.

The highest shares of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion were recorded in Romania (34%), Bulgaria (32%), Greece and Spain (both 28%).

In contrast, the lowest rates of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion were recorded in the Czech Republic (11%), Slovenia (13%) and Finland (14%).