Luxembourg’s at-risk-of-poverty rate was 18.1% in 2024, placing the country above the EU average of 16.2%, according to new regional figures published by Eurostat.

The data, presented at NUTS-2 regional level, reveal substantial variation across the bloc.

Ten regions reported poverty-risk levels above 30%, including Guyane in France’s outermost territories, which recorded the highest rate at 53.3%. Spain’s Ciudad de Melilla followed at 41.4%, while Italy’s Calabria stood at 37.2%.

At the opposite end, 28 regions reported rates below 10%. Romania’s Bucureşti-Ilfov had the lowest figure in the EU at 3.7%, ahead of Belgium’s Provincie Oost-Vlaanderen (5.4%) and Italy’s Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano/Bozen (5.9%).

The share for the European Union as a whole was unchanged from 2023, amounting to 72.1 million people.

The figures show that, while the overall EU rate remained stable, the gap between the lowest- and highest-risk regions remains wide.

Luxembourg’s higher than average 18.1% represents a continued challenge for policymakers, who face mounting pressure to address cost-of-living strains despite strong macro-economic indicators.

With the exception of Lorraine (18.2%), Luxembourg had a higher at-risk poverty rate than all of its surrounding regions: Köln (15.8%), Trier (15.4%), Saarland (15.3%), and Prov. Luxembourg in Belgium (12.1%).