In 2023, a shocking 94.6 million people across the European Union (EU)—which is just over 21 percent of the entire population—were living at risk of poverty or social exclusion. This means that more than one in five people in the EU were struggling with at least one of three major challenges: not having enough money to live on, facing severe material and social deprivation (like not being able to afford basic necessities or participate in society), or living in a household where adults are barely working.
According to data from Eurostat, the number of people facing these hardships has remained pretty steady compared to the previous year. In 2022, the figure was slightly higher at 95.3 million people, or 22 percent of the population.
But what’s really interesting is how much this risk of poverty or social exclusion varies from one EU country to another. Some countries are doing much better than others, while others are struggling to protect their citizens from these harsh realities.
Take Romania, for example. It had the highest percentage of people at risk, with 32 percent of its population facing poverty or social exclusion in 2023. Bulgaria wasn’t far behind, with 30 percent. Spain and Greece also had high numbers, with 26.5 percent and 26.1 percent of their populations at risk, respectively.
On the other hand, some EU countries had much lower rates. The Czech Republic was the best off, with only 12 percent of its people at risk. Slovenia and Finland also had relatively low numbers, with 13.7 percent and 15.8 percent of their populations facing these challenges.
These numbers show that while the overall situation in the EU has stayed fairly stable, the experiences of people in different countries can be very different. It raises important questions about what’s being done to help those who are most at risk and why some countries are managing to protect their citizens better than others. The story of poverty and social exclusion in Europe is complex, and the numbers reveal a deep divide across the continent.
