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...