26.3% of Greek citizens are at risk of poverty or social exclusion, compared to the EU average of 22%, according to Eurostat data for 2022 released today.

In 2022, 95.3 million people in the EU (22% of the population) were at risk of poverty or social exclusion, i.e. living in households facing at least one of the three risks: poverty, severe material and social deprivation, living in a household with very low employment rate of its members. The figure remained relatively stable compared to 2021 (95.4 million, 22% of the population).

The percentages of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion differed between EU countries in 2022.

The higher rates recorded in Romania (34.4%), Bulgaria (32.2%), Greece (26.3%) and Spain (26%).

On the other hand, the lower shares recorded in the Czech Republic (12%), Slovenia (13%) and Poland (16%).

According to Eurostat data, women, young adults aged 18-24, people with low levels of education and the unemployed were, on average, more likely to be at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2022 than other groups of the EU population.

In particular, the risk of poverty or social exclusion in the EU was higher for women than for men (22.7% vs. 20.4%).

As for her agethe highest risk of poverty or social exclusion in the EU was recorded for young adults aged 18-24 (26.5%), while the lowest risk was recorded for adults aged 25-49 (19.9%).

The risk of poverty or social exclusion was 20.2% for people aged 65 and over and 21% for the population aged 50-64. The youngest age group, people under the age of 18, also had a relatively high risk (24.7%).

In addition to age, the educational level had a significant impact on the risk of poverty or social exclusion. At EU level, more than a third (34.5%) of all people aged 18 and over with a low level of education were at risk of poverty or social exclusion, compared to 10.5% of people in the same age group with tertiary education (high) educational level. The corresponding percentage for people with an average educational level was 19.8%.

In the EU, almost two-thirds (65.2 %) of unemployed aged 18 and over were at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2022. The proportion of pensioners at risk of poverty or social exclusion was 19.1% and the share of employed people was 11.1%.

In the EU as a whole, the risk of poverty or social exclusion for households with dependent children was slightly higher than for those without. Over a fifth (22.4 %) of people living in households with dependent children in the EU were at risk of poverty or social exclusion, which was slightly higher than the proportion among households without dependent children (20.8 %) .