The share of Europeans who perceive themselves as poor decreased to 17.4% in 2024, down from 19.1% in 2023, according to the latest Eurostat report on income and living conditions (EU-SILC).
Cyprus recorded a subjective poverty rate of 20.8% in 2024, continuing a downward trend from 24.1% in 2023 and 29.6% in 2022, the data shows.
Young Europeans face highest subjective poverty rates
Children under 18 years faced the highest subjective poverty rate at 20.6%, while working-age adults (18-64 years) registered 17.3%, and elderly persons (65 years and older) reported the lowest rate at 14.9%.
All age groups saw improvements between 2023 and 2024, with working-age adults experiencing the largest decrease of 1.8 percentage points. Both the youngest and oldest age groups recorded declines of 1.6 percentage points.
Greece records highest subjective poverty levels across EU
Greece topped the EU, with 66.8% of its population considering themselves subjectively poor, followed by Bulgaria at 37.4% and Slovakia at 28.7%.
The Netherlands and Germany reported the lowest rates at 7.3% each, with Luxembourg close behind at 8.5%.
Subjective poverty measures how individuals perceive their own financial situation, assessing households’ difficulties in making ends meet. The indicator considers various factors, including income, expenditure, debt and wealth, as reported in the EU-SILC survey.
The survey is conducted across EU member states as well as most EFTA and candidate countries.
