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International Internet Magazine. Baltic States news & analytics Friday, 29.03.2024, 09:57

Poverty and social exclusion in EU and Baltics: present situation

Eugene Eteris, RSU/BC, Riga, 18.10.2017.Print version
It seems that the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (17 October) has been unnoticed in the Baltic States. However, this issue is quite urgent both in the EU and in the Baltics; and the reduction of the number of persons at risk of poverty or social exclusion in the EU is one of the key targets of the EU-2020 strategy.

After some consecutive increases between 2009 and 2012 to reach almost 25%, the proportion of persons at risk of poverty or social exclusion in the EU has since continuously decreased to 23.4% in 2016, though only 0.1 percentage points above its 2009 low-point.

 

The reduction of the number of persons at risk of poverty or social exclusion in the EU is one of the key targets of the Europe 2020 strategy.

 

There are some reductions in the share of people in the EU at risk of poverty or social exclusion; but still over 115 million people (or over 23 per cent) are in this situation presently.

 

This means that they were in at least one of the following three conditions: at-risk-of-poverty after social transfers (income poverty), severely materially deprived, and living in households with very low work intensity.

Source: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_STAT-17-3963_en.htm


Elements of poverty and social exclusion

Highest at risk of poverty or social exclusion rate in Bulgaria, lowest in the Czech Republic In 2016, more than a third of the population was at risk of poverty or social exclusion in three Member States: Bulgaria (40.4%), Romania (38.8%) and Greece (35.6%). At the opposite end of the scale, the lowest shares of persons being at risk of poverty or social exclusion were recorded in the Czech Republic (13.3%), Finland (16.6%), Denmark (16.7%) and the Netherlands (16.8%).


Largest decrease in the at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion rate in Poland, highest increase in Greece; among EU states, the at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion rate has grown from 2008 in ten EU states, with the highest increases being recorded in Greece (from 28.1% in 2008 to 35.6% in 2016 or +7.5 percentage points, pp), Cyprus (+4.4 pp), Spain (+4.1 pp) and Sweden (+3.4 pp). In contrast, the largest decrease was observed in Poland (from 30.5% to 21.9%, or - 8.6 pp), followed by Latvia (- 5.7 pp) and Romania (- 5.4 pp).


At the EU level, the proportion of the total population being at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2016 (23.4%) decreased by 0.3 percentage points from 2008.


See full text at: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/2995521/8314163/3-16102017-BP-EN.pdf/d31fadc6-a284-47f3-ae1c-8212a581b0c1/ Brussels, 16 October 2017.

 

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion in the Baltics (2008 and 2016)

% of total population                       in thousands

                          2008                 2016                    2008              2016

 

Estonia                           21.8                 24.4                       291                318

Latvia                            34.2                 28.5                       740                554

Lithuania                        28.3                 30.1                       910                871


Other examples…

About 1 in 6 persons in the EU is at risk of income poverty. Looking at each of the three elements contributing to being at risk of poverty or social exclusion, 17.2% of the EU population in 2016 was at risk of poverty after social transfers, meaning that their disposable income was below their national at-risk-of-poverty threshold. This proportion of persons at risk of income poverty in the EU has slightly decreased compared with 2015 (17.3%) but is still higher than in 2008 (16.5%). As the thresholds reflect actual income distribution in the countries, they vary greatly among the EU states and also over time.

 

Thus in the EU, about 1 in 4 persons was at risk of income poverty in Romania (25.3%) and about 1 in 5 in Bulgaria (22.9%), Spain (22.3%), Lithuania (21.9%), Latvia (21.8%), Estonia (21.7%), Greece (21.2%) and Italy (19.9% in 2015).

 

In contrast, the lowest rates were observed in the Czech Republic (9.7%), Finland (11.6%), Denmark (11.9%), Slovakia (12.7%) and the Netherlands (12.8%). Compared with 2008, the proportion of persons at risk of income poverty has increased in twenty-one EU states, and has decreased in four states.

 

= About one in 13 has been severely materially deprived. In the EU in 2016, 7.5% of the population were severely materially deprived, meaning that they had living conditions constrained by a lack of resources such as not being able to afford to pay their bills, keep their home adequately warm, or take a one week holiday away from home. This proportion of persons severely materially deprived in the EU has decreased compared with both 2015 (8.1%) and 2008 (8.5%). The share of those severely materially deprived in 2016 varied significantly among EU states, ranging from more than 20% of the total population in Bulgaria (31.9%), Romania (23.8%) and Greece (22.4%), to less than 4% in Sweden (0.8%), Luxembourg (1.6%), Finland (2.2%), Denmark and the Netherlands (both 2.6%), Austria (3.0%) and Germany (3.7%). Compared with 2008, the proportion of persons severely materially deprived has increased in ten EU states, and decreased in fifteen states.

= About 1 in 10 is living in households with very low work intensity. As to the low work intensity, 10.4% of the population aged 0-59 in the EU lived in households where the adults worked less than 20% of their total work potential during the past year. It is the second year in a row since 2008 that this proportion decreased in the EU. Ireland (19.2% in 2015), Greece (17.2%), Spain (14.9%), Belgium (14.6%) and Croatia (13.6%) had the highest proportions of those living in very low work intensity households, while Estonia (5.8%), Poland (6.4%) and Slovakia (6.5%) had the lowest.

Compared with 2008, the share of persons aged 0-59 living in households with very low work intensity has increased in a majority of the EU states (in eighteen countries), while it decreased in seven states.

= The at-risk-of-poverty rate is the share of people whose total household income that is available (after social transfers, tax and other deductions) for spending or saving is below the at-risk-of-poverty threshold, which is set at 60% of the national median equivalised disposable income after social transfers.

 

This indicator does not measure wealth or absolute poverty, but low income in comparison to other residents in that country shows the risk of poverty. The threshold depends on the income distribution in a country for a given year and varies with the composition of a household. It is therefore important to note that the at-risk-of-income-poverty rate is a relative measure of poverty and that the threshold varies greatly between EU states. It also varies over time as it follows the evolution of the national median disposable income: in a number of EU states the threshold has fallen over the period 2008-2016 (e.g. in Greece, Cyprus and Ireland) or stayed nearly stable (e.g. in Spain, Italy and Portugal) due to the economic crisis.

 

Risk-of-poverty thresholds in Baltics (in €), Poland (in zloty) & Finland: 2008 and 2016

Annual national median                             Annual at-risk-of-poverty threshold

      equivalised disposable income                   Single adult      Two adults with two    

             (after social transfers)                                                         children younger than 14 years

           2008                2016                                     2008     2016                 2008            2016

 

Estonia         5 547           8 645                              3 328   5 187           6 989         10 892

Latvia          4 740           6 365                              2 844   3 819           5 972           8 019

Lithuania      4 111           5 645                              2 467   3 387           5 180           7 113

Poland         15 720         24 618                             9 432  14 771         19 807        31 018

Finland        19 794         23 650                           11 876   14 190         24 940       29 799

 

Source: http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do?query=BOOKMARK_DS-053418_QID_-32ACB219_UID_-3F171EB0&layout=HHTYP,L,X,0;TIME,C,X,1;GEO,L,Y,0;INDIC_IL,L,Z,0;CURRENCY,L,Z,1;INDICATORS,C,Z,2;&zSelection=DS-053418INDICATORS,OBS_FLAG;DS-053418CURRENCY,NAC;DS-053418INDIC_IL,LI_C_MD60;&rankName1=INDIC-IL_1_2_-1_2&rankName2=CURRENCY_1_2_-1_2&rankName3=INDICATORS_1_2_-1_2&rankName4=HHTYP_1_2_0_0&rankName5=TIME_1_0_1_0&rankName6=GEO_1_2_0_1&rStp=&cStp=&rDCh=&cDCh=&rDM=true&cDM=true&footnes=false&empty=false&wai=false&time_mode=ROLLING&time_most_recent=true&lang=EN&cfo=%23%23%23%2C%23%23%23.%23%23%23






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