In 2022, 95.3 million people in the European Union, roughly 22% of its population, were at risk of poverty or social exclusion, according to Eurostat.
The figure has remained relatively stable compared to 2021 when 95.4 million in the EU were considered at risk of poverty or social exclusion.
The highest figures were recorded in Romania (34%), Bulgaria (32%), as well as Greece and Spain (both 26%). The lowest rates were meanwhile found in the Czech Republic (12%), Slovenia (13%), and Poland (16%).
The European average is 21.6%, with France just below and followed closely by Germany and Portugal, which both remain just above 20%.
Contrary to popular belief, Luxembourg does not top the list and only ranks 13th ahead of Belgium, Sweden, and the Netherlands in terms of the risk of tipping over the poverty line. The Grand Duchy is just behind Malta and Croatia with a rate hovering around 19%, almost a fifth of the Luxembourgish population.
In 2022, more than a fifth (22.4%) of people living in households with children in the EU were at risk of poverty or social exclusion, which was slightly higher than the respective share for households without children (20.8%).
However, these rates vary considerably from one member state to another. For people living in households with children, the rate ranged from 36% in Romania, 30.7% in Bulgaria, and 29.2% in Spain to 11.7% in Denmark, 11.3% in the Czech Republic, and 8.9% in Slovenia.
For households without dependent children, the rates ranged from 34.5% in Estonia, 33.8% in Bulgaria, and 33.4% in Latvia to 14.5% in Luxembourg, 12.3% in the Czech Republic, and 11.4% in Slovakia.
