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EAPN
The European Anti-Poverty Network
EAPN
  • Who we are
    • What is EAPN?
    • Our members
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      • EAPN Europe Staff
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  • What is poverty ?
    • Introduction
    • Poverty : what is it?
    • How is poverty measured?
    • Facts & Trends
    • Inequality : what is it?
    • Causes of poverty and inequality
    • Sources of information
    • Voices from the ground
  • Members’ Room

Voices of Poverty

  • Who we are
    • What is EAPN?
    • Our members
    • Our structure
      • EAPN Europe Staff
      • Governing bodies
        • General Assembly (GA)
        • Executive Committee
        • Bureau
      • EU Inclusion Strategies Group
    • The way we are funded
    • Get involved
    • Contact us
  • What we do
    • How we work
    • Policy areas we focus on
      • Poverty & Fundamental Rights
      • Wealth & Inequalities
      • Employment
      • Access to Public Services
      • EU Funds
      • Participation of people experiencing poverty
      • Europe 2020 Strategy
      • The Future of Europe
    • Projects
    • Network Development
    • Campaigns & Alliances
      • Campaigns
      • Alliances & Structured dialogue
  • News & Publications
    • Press Room
      • EAPN Press releases
      • EAPN Clippings
      • National Networks Clippings
    • News
      • EAPN News
      • EAPN National Networks News
      • EU Institutions News
    • Publications
      • EAPN key documents
      • EAPN Position Papers & Reports
      • EAPN Policy toolkits & Briefings
      • EAPN Letters
      • EAPN Books
    • Upcoming Events
    • EAPN Photos & Videos
    • EU jargon explained
  • What is poverty ?
    • Introduction
    • Poverty : what is it?
    • How is poverty measured?
    • Facts & Trends
    • Inequality : what is it?
    • Causes of poverty and inequality
    • Sources of information
    • Voices from the ground
  • Members’ Room

Facts & Trends

The most recent data available (2016) show that 23,5% of the EU population, that is about 118 million people, are at risk of poverty or social exclusion.

The picture of poverty across the EU

The most recent data available (2016) show that 23.5% of the EU population, that is about 118 million people, are at risk of poverty or social exclusion. 17.3% of the population in the EU is at risk of relative income poverty, 7.5% is severely materially deprived, and 10.5% is living in households with very low work intensity. (Source: Eurostat, January 2018)

However there is a wide difference between Member States: for instance, between 13.3% and 18% of the population is at risk of poverty or social exclusion in Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands and Finland, whereas over than 35% of the population is at risk in Bulgaria, Greece and Romania. (Source: Eurostat – SILC Database, January 2018)

 

Children (0-16) have a particularly high rate of poverty or social exclusion, standing at 25.9%. One-parent households and those with dependent children have the highest poverty risk. For single parents with dependent children the risk of poverty is 48%. The risk is also particularly high among young people (16-24), standing at 30.5%. Women are globally more at risk of relative monetary poverty, with a rate of 17,9%. (Source: Eurostat – SILC Database, January 2018)

Of course, these figures do not include some of those in the most extreme situations such as some minority ethnic groups, especially the Roma, immigrants including undocumented migrants, the homeless, people living in or leaving institutions, etc. Just to give an example, in 2016, 39,2% of the non-EU-born population in the EU was assessed to be at risk of poverty or social exclusion (AROPE), a risk significantly higher than the 22.8% concerning the native population (Source: Eurostat – SILC database, January 2018).

 

Focusing on severe material deprivation, overall at the EU-28 level, it has decreased by 0.6 percentage points (pp) between 2015 and 2016. The most notable rise was in Romania (+1.1 pp), while some countries achieved decreases between 1.4 pp and 3.7 pp (Bulgaria, Cyprus, latvia, Hungary, Malta and Poland), even though some of these countries still account for very high levels of severe material deprivation, such as an alarming 31.9% in Bulgaria – the highest in the EU. Overall at the EU level, single-person households with dependent children are the most severely materially-deprived (15.7%) followed by one adult younger than 65 years (12%) and households with three or more adults with dependent children (11.4%). (source: Eurostat, January 2018)

 

In most, but not all, Member States where poverty affects a large share of the population, it also tends to be more severe. The depth or severity of poverty (i.e. how far below the at-risk-of-poverty threshold the income of people at risk of poverty is) for the EU as a whole in 2016 was 25%: this means that half of those living under the poverty line were at least 25% below the relevant at-risk of poverty threshold. The depth of poverty ranges from as low as 13.9% in Finland to as high as 31.9% in Greece and 36.2% in Romania. In Italy, this rate jumped from 23.2% in 2008 to 31.6% in 2016, while in Slovakia it jumped from 18.1% in 2008 to 26.1% in 2016. (Source: Eurostat – SILC Database, January 2018)

 

The depth of poverty has worsened in most countries during the crisis: among people facing monetary poverty, more people have dropped to the bottom of the income distribution ladder since the beginning of the crisis.

 

Unemployment is a key factor in people being at risk of poverty.

In 2016, 48.7% of people who were unemployed were at risk of poverty. Severe material deprivation among unemployed people is also higher than within the whole population. In 2016, 10.8 million people in the EU suffered both severe material deprivation and were living in a household with very low work intensity; almost 8.4 millions of them were also at risk of poverty and social exclusion. (Source: Eurostat – SILC Database, January 2018)

In 2016, 9,6% of the people in employment were living under the poverty threshold. In-work poverty increased by 1.3% at the EU-28 level between 2010 and 2016. in 2016, 18.9% of workers were in poverty in Romania, 13.1% in Spain and 14.1% in Greece. Generally speaking, men are more affected by in-work poverty than women (10% for men, against 9.1% for women). (Source: Eurostat – SILC database, January 2018)

Thus, while a job is a key route out of poverty, not all jobs pay enough to actually lift someone out of poverty.

See At-risk-of-Poverty rates on Eurostat

Is the EU going to eradicate poverty?

The EU has set itself the objective to overcome poverty and make significant progress on the eradication of poverty since 2000. In 2010, the Heads of States and Governments committed themselves to reducing poverty and social exclusion by at least 20 million people. Is this going to happen? In 2014-2015, the Commission performed a mid-term review of Europe 2020. Overall, instead of meeting the goal, there has been a 1.6 million increase in the number of people at the risk of poverty and social exclusion since 2008. (Source: Eurostat, March 2016)

 

The 2016 overall figure for the percentage of people-at-risk-of-monetary poverty (17.3%) is higher than that from 2005 (16.5%), but in a context of decreasing household income this may hide increasing monetary poverty in reality. The AROPE indicator has not varied a lot since 2008 (23.5% in 2016 against 23.3% in 2008), but the crisis appears to have stopped the previous trend of slow continuous reduction. (Source: Eurostat – SILC Database, January 2018)

 

It is very important to acknowledge that since the crisis the divergence between different parts of the EU is growing, with a new divide emerging between Southern and Eastern European countries where the social situation is deteriorating more severely than in Western and Northern countries. Countries with robust welfare systems have shown better resilience.

Austerity policies implemented although the EU have accelerated this social deterioration, through the limitations in wages and benefits and the cuts in services.

 

Whether poverty and social exclusion will be effectively combated over the next years will depend notably on the capacity of the EU and the Member States to acknowledge the negative impact of harsh austerity policy and to implement a balanced approach to crisis recovery likely to preserve human capital, human dignity and the European Social Model.

  • Introduction
  • Poverty : what is it?
  • How is poverty measured?
  • Facts & Trends
  • Inequality : what is it?
  • Causes of poverty and inequality
  • Sources of information
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Poverty : facts and trends

The most recent data available (2012) show that 24,8% of the EU population, that is about 124,5 million people, are at risk of poverty or social exclusion. 16,9% of the population in the EU is at risk of relative income poverty, 9,9% is severely materially deprived, and 10,5% is living in households with very low work intensity.

  • The picture of poverty across the EU
  • Is the EU going to eradicate poverty?

The picture of poverty across the EU

The most recent data available (2012) show that 24,8% of the EU population, that is about 124,5 million people, are at risk of poverty or social exclusion. 16,9% of the population in the EU is at risk of relative income poverty, 9,9% is severely materially deprived, and 10,5% is living in households with very low work intensity.

However there is a wide difference between Member States: for instance, between 15% and 18,5% of the population are at risk of poverty or social exclusion in the Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Austria, Sweden, whereas 40% or over are at risk in Bulgaria and Romania.

Children (0-17) have a particularly high rate of poverty or social exclusion at 28%. One-parent households and those with dependent children have the highest poverty risk. For single parents with dependent children the risk of monetary relative poverty is 34,5%.

The risk is also particularly high among young people (18-24) at 23,1% .

Women are globally more at risk of relative monetary poverty with a rate of 17, 6%.

Of course, these figures do not include some of those in the most extreme situations such as some minority ethnic groups, especially the Roma, immigrants including undocumented migrants, the homeless, people living in or leaving institutions etc.

The crisis has reversed the decreasing trend in severe material deprivation (SMD) which rose markedly in several Member States between 2008 and 2012. The most notable rises were in Greece, Lithuania and Hungary (up around 8 percentage points), while Ireland, Estonia, Malta, Cyprus Latvia and Italy also experienced rises between 4,5 and 7 percentage points. Overall at the EU level, single-person households with dependent children are the most severely materially-deprived (21,3%) followed by single households (both male and female 12,2%) and households with two adults and three or more dependent children (11,8%).

In most, but not all, Member States where poverty affects a large share of the population, it also tends to be more severe. The depth or severity of poverty (i.e. how far below the at-risk-of-poverty threshold the income of people at risk of poverty is) for the EU as a whole in 2012 was 23,5 % : this means that half of those living under the poverty line were at least 23,5 % below the relevant at-risk of poverty threshold. The depth of poverty ranges from as low as 15 % in Finland to as high as 28,6% in Latvia and 30,9% in Romania. In Spain, this rate jumped from 24,4 % in 2008 to 31,4 % in 2012.

The depth of poverty has worsened in most countries during the crisis: among people facing monetary poverty, more people have dropped to the bottom of the income distribution ladder since the beginning of the crisis.

Unemployment is a key factor in people being at risk of poverty.

In 2012, 46,7 % of people who were unemployed were at risk of poverty. Severe material deprivation among unemployed people is also higher than within the whole population. In 2012, 12,5 million people in the EU suffered both severe material deprivation and were living in a household with very low work intensity.

Thus, while a job is a key route out of poverty, not all jobs pay enough to actually lift someone out of poverty. The working poor represent ⅓ of the working age adults at risk of poverty.

In 2012, 9,1% of the people in employment were living under the poverty threshold.In-work poverty significantly increased in ⅓ of EU countries between 2006 and 2011 (in Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Malta, the Netherlands, Romania, Slovenia, and Spain). 19,1% of workers were in poverty in Romania in 2012, 12,3% in Spain and 15,1 % in Greece.

See At-risk-of-Poverty rates on Eurostat

Is the EU going to eradicate poverty?

The EU has set itself the objective to overcome poverty and make significant progress on the eradication of poverty since 2000. In 2010, the Heads of States and Governments committed themselves to reducing poverty and social exclusion by at least 20 million people. Is this going to happen?

The 2012 overall figure for the percentage of people-at-risk-of-monetary poverty (16,9%) is not very different from that from 2005 (16,4%) but in a context of decreasing household income this may hide increasing monetary poverty in reality. The AROPE indicator has not varied a lot since 2008 (23,7 %) but the crisis appears to have stopped the previous trend of slow continuous reduction.

It is very important to acknowledge that since the crisis the divergence between different parts of the EU is growing, with a new divide emerging between Southern and Eastern European countries where the social situation is deteriorating more severely than in Western and Northern countries. Countries with robust welfare systems have shown better resilience.

Austerity policies implemented although the EU have accelerated this social deterioration, through the limitations in wages and benefits and the cuts in services.

Whether poverty and social exclusion will be effectively combated over the next years will depend notably on the capacity of the EU and the Member States to acknowledge the negative impact of harsh austerity policy and to implement a balanced approach to crisis recovery likely to preserve human capital, human dignity and the European Social Model.

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Related posts

Voices From The Ground 2021 | EAPN Video Series | #PovertyVaccine
June 25, 2021
Watch Genevieve Baert’s Messages from the 2015 PEP Meeting
July 1, 2016
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  • Who we are
    • What is EAPN?
    • Our members
    • Our structure
      • EAPN Europe Staff
      • Governing bodies
        • General Assembly (GA)
        • Executive Committee
        • Bureau
      • EU Inclusion Strategies Group
    • The way we are funded
    • Get involved
    • Contact us
  • What we do
    • How we work
    • Policy areas we focus on
      • Poverty & Fundamental Rights
      • Wealth & Inequalities
      • Employment
      • Access to Public Services
      • EU Funds
      • Participation of people experiencing poverty
      • Europe 2020 Strategy
      • The Future of Europe
    • Projects
    • Network Development
    • Campaigns & Alliances
      • Campaigns
      • Alliances & Structured dialogue
  • News & Publications
    • Press Room
      • EAPN Press releases
      • EAPN Clippings
      • National Networks Clippings
    • News
      • EAPN News
      • EAPN National Networks News
      • EU Institutions News
    • Publications
      • EAPN key documents
      • EAPN Position Papers & Reports
      • EAPN Policy toolkits & Briefings
      • EAPN Letters
      • EAPN Books
    • Upcoming Events
    • EAPN Photos & Videos
    • EU jargon explained
  • What is poverty ?
    • Introduction
    • Poverty : what is it?
    • How is poverty measured?
    • Facts & Trends
    • Inequality : what is it?
    • Causes of poverty and inequality
    • Sources of information
    • Voices from the ground
  • Members’ Room
EAPN
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