The risk of poverty is greater in these European countries

In 2023, 21 percent of the EU population, or 94.6 million people, were at risk of poverty or social exclusion. This percentage has decreased slightly compared to 2022, when it was 22 percent (95.3 million people).

The risk of poverty or social exclusion is determined by three factors: too little income, material and social deprivation and too little work.

There are significant differences between EU countries. Not surprisingly, people in Romania and Bulgaria are more at risk of poverty at 32 and 30 percent, but surprisingly, Spain (26.5 percent) and Greece (26.1 percent) ‘continue near the end.

And even more surprising: in the Czech Republic (12 percent), Slovenia (13.7 percent) and Finland (15.8 percent) the least number of people are at risk of poverty or social exclusion.

These figures show that poverty and social exclusion are still a major problem in the EU, despite some improvement compared to last year. The large differences between countries indicate the need for targeted policy measures to address this problem, especially in the countries with the highest rates.