Over fourth of Lithuania’s population at risk of poverty

Last year, 13.6 percent of people in Lithuania were severely materially deprived and 8.8 percent of persons aged 0-59 lived in households with very low work intensity. 19.1 percent were at risk of poverty after social transfers.

In 2014, 122 million people, or 24.4 percent of the population, in the EU were at risk of poverty or social exclusion. This means that they were in at least one of the following three conditions: at-risk-of-poverty after social transfers (income poverty), severely materially deprived, or living in households with very low work intensity. After a slight decrease in 2013 following three consecutive years of rise, the proportion of persons at risk of poverty or social exclusion in the EU remains in 2014 nearly stable but higher than its 2008 level (23.8 percent). The reduction of the number of persons at risk of poverty or social exclusion in the EU is one of the key targets of the Europe 2020 strategy. In 2014, more than a third of the population was at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 3 member-states: Romania (40.2 percent), Bulgaria (40.1 percent) and Greece (36.0 percent). At the opposite end of the scale, the lowest shares of persons being at risk of poverty or social exclusion were recorded in the Czech Republic (14.8 percent), Sweden (16.9 percent), the Netherlands (17.1 percent), Finland (17.3 percent) and Denmark (17.8 percent).

Among member-states for which data are available, the at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion rate has grown from 2008 to 2014 in 14 member-states, with the highest increases being recorded in Greece (from 28.1 percent in 2008 to 36.0 percent in 2014, or +7.9 percentage point), Spain (+4.7 pp), Cyprus (+4.1 pp), Malta (+3.7 pp), Hungary (+2.9 pp) and Italy (+2.8 pp). In contrast, the largest decreases among member-states without break in time series were observed in Poland (from 30.5 percent t24.7 percent, or -5.8 pp), Romania (-4.0 pp) and Slovakia (-2.2 pp). At EU level, the percentage of total population being at risk of poverty or social exclusion has risen from 23.8 percent in 2008 to 24.4 percent in 2014.