Greece: 28.9% of population at risk of poverty

Last year, 28.9% of the country’s population (3,043,869 people) was at risk of poverty or social exclusion, showing a decrease of 1.1 percentage points (3,161,936 people or 30% of the population) compared to 2019.

The corresponding study by ΕΛΣΤΑΤ, among other things, leads to the following conclusions: the risk of poverty or social exclusion is higher in people aged 18-64 years (31.9%). An estimated 30.2% of this age group are Greek and 54% are foreigners living in Greece.

The poverty line is € 5,266 per year for a one-person household and € 11,059 for households with two adults and two dependent children under the age of 14.

The indicator is set at 60% of the median total equivalent disposable income of the household, which is estimated at 8,777 euros, and the average annual is estimated at 17,250 euros.

The number of households at risk of poverty is estimated at 697,590 out of 4,115,678, and their members – 1,861,963 out of 10,514,769.

The risk of poverty for children aged 0-17 (child poverty) is 21.4%, 0.3 percentage points higher than in 2019. While for the age groups 18-64 and 65+, it is 18.5% and 13.2%, respectively.

Five regions (Ionian, Attica, Crete, South Aegean and Epirus) have lower risk of poverty than the country as a whole, and eight (Thessaly, Central Greece, Peloponnese, North Aegean, Central Macedonia, West Macedonia and Thrace and West Greece) the corresponding figures are higher.

The risk of poverty before all social benefits (i.e. excluding social benefits and pensions in the total disposable income of households) is 49.6%, while taking into account only pensions, not social benefits, it decreases to 23.6% …

With regard to social benefits, it should be noted that they include social assistance benefits (for example, minimum guaranteed income, housing allowance, heating allowance, etc.), family benefits (for example, for a child), and unemployment benefits or illness, disability (disability), or learning assistance.

The risk of poverty after social payments is 17.7%, so it was found that social benefits reduce the risk of poverty by 5.9%, followed by pensions by 26%.

General social transfers reduce the risk of poverty by 31.9%. Social transfers (including pensions) account for 34.9% of the country’s total household equivalent disposable income, of which pensions account for 87.3% and social benefits for 12.7%.

The risk of poverty in 2020 is slightly higher for women (17.9%) than for men (17.5%).

The poverty rate for men decreased by 0.2% in 2020 compared to 2019, while the share of women decreased by 0.1%. In addition, 5.6% of households said that their income has increased in the past twelve months, while 21.9% of households said that it has decreased, and another 72.5% that it has remained the same.

14.4% of those surveyed said that the main reason for the increase or decrease in income was the pandemic, of which 2.1% said that their income had increased, and 12.3% that it had decreased.

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