EU, over 72 million people at risk of poverty - 16.2% of the bloc's population. How do European countries rank?
More than 72 million people in the EU were classified as “at risk of poverty” in 2024, representing 16.2% of the population.
The “at-risk-of-poverty” rate shows the share of people whose income is less than 60% of their country’s median income. Eurostat stresses that this indicator does not measure real wealth or poverty, but reflects low income compared to others in the same country, which “does not necessarily imply a low standard of living.” On average in the EU, the median annual income per person in 2024 was €21,582. 60% of this amount is €12,949, or around €1,079 per month. Anyone with an income below this level is considered at risk of poverty.
However, data by country provide a clearer framework. In the EU, this threshold varies from 391 euros in Bulgaria to 2,540 euros in Luxembourg. When candidate countries with available data and EFTA members are included, the difference goes from 201 euros in Turkey to 2,596 euros in Switzerland, while Norway is also one of three countries where the thresholds exceed 2,000 euros.
The at-risk-of-poverty thresholds are between 1,500 and 2,000 euros in Denmark, Austria, Ireland, the Netherlands and Belgium. Meanwhile, the level is below 750 euros in several countries, including Latvia, Portugal, Croatia, Lithuania, Poland, Greece and Slovakia, and below 500 euros in Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia and Turkey.
Among the four largest EU countries, Germany has the highest at-risk-of-poverty threshold at 1,381 euros, followed by France (1,278 euros), Italy (1,030 euros) and Spain (965 euros).
Differences in productivity and industrial structure help explain the large differences between countries, economists say. Higher productivity allows countries to maintain higher wages. As a result, economies with large, high-value sectors, such as finance, information technology, or advanced manufacturing, tend to pay more, also raising the poverty threshold.
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