Fewer Albanians below the survival limit in 2024/ Pensions and social benefits, the main shield against poverty
The Institute of Statistics has published the results of the Income and Living Standards Survey for 2024, which measures the standard of living, relative poverty and material and social deprivation in Albanian families. The data show a slight improvement in some of the main indicators of well-being, continuing the positive trend of recent years, although social challenges remain evident.
Relative poverty falls to 19.2%
According to INSTAT, the risk of being poor indicator in 2024 is 19.2%, marking a decrease of 0.6 percentage points compared to 2023. This means that approximately 1 in 5 people in Albania continues to live with income below the relative poverty line.
This threshold, which represents the minimum income level for an individual per year, is 324,336 lekë in 2024, compared to 262,325 lekë in 2023, which indicates an increase in average income and a slight improvement in economic conditions. The number of individuals below this threshold has decreased by about 4.7% compared to the previous year.
Declining material and social deprivation
Another indicator calculated according to the “Europe 2030” objectives is material and social deprivation, which measures the percentage of the population that cannot afford at least 7 out of 13 basic living needs, such as food, heating, holidays, or buying new clothes. For 2024, this indicator has fallen to 32.8%, from 35.9% in 2023, a significant improvement that shows that more and more families are managing to afford basic living expenses.
Meanwhile, for the 18-64 age group living in households with very low employment intensity, the percentage has decreased from 9.7% to 8.4%, indicating greater activation in the labor market and a decrease in families that depend on a single income or none at all.
According to INSTAT, social transfers, such as old-age and family pensions, remain crucial in reducing the risk of poverty. If all social benefits are excluded from household income, the risk of poverty would be 36.7%.
If only pensions are included, this indicator drops to 22.7%, proving that the pension system is a key shield for many Albanian families, especially for the elderly and low-income families.
The data show that the decline in poverty is most noticeable among children and young people under 17, where the risk has decreased by 0.9 percentage points compared to 2023. In contrast, the age group over 65 has recorded a slight increase of 0.2 percentage points, reflecting the impact of inflation and living costs for seniors on fixed incomes.
Also, individuals living in families without dependent children have a lower risk of poverty, compared to families with children, who face higher costs and more economic dependence.
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