Every Third Bulgarian Lives in a Serious Risk of Poverty

Society | April 25, 2018, Wednesday // 11:30
Bulgaria: Every Third Bulgarian Lives in a Serious Risk of Poverty Source: Twitter

About 30 percent of the Bulgarian population or nearly every third Bulgarian lives in a serious risk of poverty, according to Eurostat analysis of the share of people in severe material deprivation in the EU in 2017. The EU average indicator of people living in severe material deprivation , is 6.7 per cent.

Still, our country has achieved a significant growth in its social policy, as in 2010 the share of people in severe material deprivation in Bulgaria was 46 percent, compared with 30 percent in the previous year, according to Eurostat data.

Depending on the population of the country, the figures show that approximately 3.5 million Bulgarians lived in material deprivations in 2010, while in 2017 their number was about 2.1 million or a decrease of 1.4 million people in Bulgaria, who have had serious material deprivations.

According to current NSI data, the highest share of people in Bulgaria who live in serious risk of poverty or material deprivation is the largest among Bulgarians aged 65+,  about 46 per cent of citizens in this age category or close over 670 thousand people.

The second group, which also reports indicators of poverty and material deprivation, is young Bulgarians up to 17 years of age, who are about 42 percent or over 550 thousand. Among Bulgarians aged 18-64, the risk of poverty is 37 per cent, according to the statistics.

About 33 million Europeans or 6.7 percent of EU citizens were in a situation of serious material deprivation in 2017, according to Eurostat data.

The lowest levels of material deprivation are recorded in the following Member States: Sweden (0.8%), Luxembourg (1.6%), Finland (2%) and the Netherlands (2.6%).

At the other end of the scale, the EU countries with the highest percentage of people in material deprivation are: Bulgaria - 30 per cent, Greece - 21 percent, Romania - 19, 4 percent and Hungary - 14, 5 percent.

The highest shares of people in the EU who were in severe material deprivation were registered among households with one adult - about 10 per cent. 

For households with two or more members / with or without children, the poverty indicator is significantly lower and ranges between 5-6 percent.

According to European practice, one person is considered to be at risk of poverty when he can not afford at least four of the following things most people think is desirable or necessary for an adequate social life: to pay their bills on time ; to keep your home warm; facing unexpected costs and to handle them without problems; to eat meat / or vegetarian equivalent regularly; to be able to afford a week away from home; to make use of the TV, washing machine, car, telephone.

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Tags: Bulgaria, eurostat, poverty

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