Two Greek regions were included in the regions of the EU Member States where their inhabitants were at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2023, with more than 35% of their citizens, while in five regions around 1 in 3 citizens are at such risk, as emerges from the data released on Tuesday by the European statistical agency, Eurostat.
While for this year, on average, 21.4% of the EU population – or approximately 94.6 million people – were at risk of poverty or social exclusion, in Greece, the Peloponnese with 35.7% (in 17th place overall of the EU) and Western Greece with 35.2% were ranked sixth and worst in the EU with regions where their citizens face such risks at a rate equal to or greater than 35%.
On the next scale, with the percentage of citizens facing the risk of poverty or social exclusion ranging from 25% to 35%, five other Greek regions were included: Western Macedonia with 32.7%, Anat. Macedonia – Thrace with 31.5%, the North Aegean with 30.4%, Central Macedonia with 29.6% and the Ionian Islands with 27.7%.
In total, in five Greek regions, that is, more than 30% of their citizens face serious risks of material deprivation, poverty and social exclusion.
At regional level, the highest regional rates of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion, among regions classified at level 2 of the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS 2), were recorded in the outermost regions of France, southern Italy and rural regions of Romania.
In 2023, people living in the capitals of some EU countries were generally less likely to be at risk of poverty or social exclusion than their counterparts living in the rest of the country. This difference was more pronounced in Romania, where the national rate was 32.0%, compared to just 12.3% in the Bucureşti-Ilfov region. Similarly, in Poland, the national rate was 16.3%, while in Warszawski Stołeczny it was only 8.9%. In Croatia, the national rate was 20.7%, while in Grad Zagreb it was 11.9%.
In contrast, the opposite trend was observed in Belgium and Austria, where the percentage of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion in the capital regions of the Brussels-Capital Region/Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest (37.6%) and Vienna (29.5 %) was significantly higher than the national averages of 18.6% and 17.7%, respectively.
Poverty and SMSD index
The rate of severe material and social deprivation (SMSD) is an EU-SILC indicator showing the severe lack of necessary and desirable items for an adequate life. The indicator, adopted by the Indicators Sub-group (ISG) of the Social Protection Commission (SPC), distinguishes between people who cannot afford a particular good, service or social activity. It is defined as the proportion of the population experiencing forced deprivation in at least 7 of 13 types of deprivation (6 related to the individual and 7 related to the household).
At the household level, possibilities are considered such as dealing with unexpected expenses, paying for a week’s annual holiday away from home, dealing with late payments (mortgage or rent, utility bills, loan installments), affording a meat meal, chicken, fish or vegetarian equivalent every other day, household heating, access to car/van for personal use and replacement of worn furniture.
At the individual level, the ability to connect to the internet, the ability to replace worn clothes and shoes, leisure activities, meeting friends/family for a drink/meal at least once a month are taken into account.
Source: ot.gr
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