At risk of poverty or social exclusion in the EU27 In 2010, 23% of the population were at risk of poverty or social exclusion …and 27% of children aged less than 18

In 2010, 115 million people, or 23.4% of the population, in the EU27 were at risk of poverty or social exclusion. This means that they were at least in one of the following three conditions: at-risk-of-poverty1, severely materially deprived1 or living in households with very low work intensity1. 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 strategy2.

In 2010, the highest shares of persons being at risk of poverty or social exclusion were recorded in Bulgaria (42%), Romania (41%), Latvia (38%), Lithuania(33%) and Hungary (30%), and the lowest in the Czech Republic (14%), Sweden and the Netherlands (both 15%), Austria, Finland and Luxembourg (all 17%).

These figures come from a report3 published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. This publication is based on data from the EU-SILC survey4.

16% of the population in the EU27 at risk of income poverty,…

Looking at each of the three elements defining at risk of poverty or social exclusion, 16% of the population in the EU27 in 2010 were at-risk-of-poverty after social transfers, meaning that their disposable income was below their national at-risk-of-poverty threshold1. The highest at-risk-of-poverty rates were observed in Latvia, Romania, Bulgaria and Spain (all 21%), and the lowest in the Czech Republic (9%), the Netherlands (10%), Slovakia, Austria and Hungary (all 12%).

…8% severely materially deprived …

In the EU27, 8% 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 home1. The share of those severely materially deprived varied significantly among Member States, ranging from 1% in Luxembourg and Sweden to 35% in Bulgaria and 31% in Romania.

… and 10% living in households with very low work intensity

Regarding the indicator on low work intensity, 10% of the population aged 0-59 in the EU27 lived in households where the adults worked less than 20% of their total work potential during the past year1. The United Kingdom and Belgium (both 13%) had the largest proportions of those living in very low work intensity households, and Luxembourg, Sweden and the Czech Republic (all 6%) the lowest.

Children at greater risk of poverty or social exclusion than the rest of the population

In the EU27 in 2010, 27% of children aged below 18 were affected by at least one of the three forms of poverty or social exclusion, compared with 23% of the working age population (aged 18-64) and 20% of the elderly (aged 65 and over). Children were most affected in 20 Member States, while the elderly were the most touched in Bulgaria, Slovenia, Finland and Sweden. In Denmark, it was the working age population which was the most affected.

• Persons at-risk-of-poverty are those living in a household with an equivalised disposable income below the risk-of-poverty threshold, which is set at 60% of the national median equivalised disposable income (after social transfers). The equivalised income is calculated by dividing the total household income by its size determined after applying the following weights: 1.0 to the first adult, 0.5 to each other household members aged 14 or over and 0.3 to each household member aged less than 14 years old.

Severely materially deprived persons have living conditions constrained by a lack of resources and experience at least 4 out of the 9 following deprivation items: cannot afford 1) to pay rent/mortgage or utility bills on time, 2) to keep home adequately warm, 3) to face unexpected expenses, 4) to eat meat, fish or a protein equivalent every second day, 5) a one week holiday away from home, 6) a car, 7) a washing machine, 8) a colour TV, or 9) a telephone (including mobile phone).

People living in households with very low work intensity are those aged 0-59 who live in households where on average the adults (aged 18-59) worked less than 20% of their total work potential during the past year. Students are excluded.

The total number of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion is lower than the sum of the numbers of people in each of the three forms of poverty or social exclusion as some persons are affected simultaneously by more than one of these situations.

• For more information on the Europe 2020 strategy: http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/index_en.htm.
• Eurostat, Statistics in Focus, 9/2012, "23% of EU citizens were at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2010", available free of charge in pdf format on the Eurostat web site.
• The EU-SILC survey is the EU reference source for comparative statistics on income distribution, poverty and living conditions. More information can be found on the Eurostat website:

http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/income_social_inclusion_living_conditions/introduction.

The reference population is all private households and their current members residing in the territory of a given Member State at the time of data collection. Persons living in collective households and in institutions are generally excluded from the target population as well as small and remote parts of the national territory amounting to no more than 2% of the national population.