It reflects low income compared to other residents of the same country.
Millions of Europeans live in poverty, but the concept of a comfortable income varies greatly across countries. In 2024, over 72 million people in the EU were classified as 'at risk of poverty', which accounts for 16.2% of the population.
However, when comparing poverty thresholds across countries, living on the edge looks completely different.
The 'at-risk-of-poverty' indicator is the share of people whose median equivalent disposable income is below a certain threshold. This threshold is set at 60% of the national median income.
However, Eurostat notes that this indicator does not measure wealth or actual poverty. Rather, it reflects low income compared to other residents of the same country, which 'does not necessarily mean a low standard of living'.
On average across the EU, the annual median equivalent income per person in 2024 was 21,582 euros. 60% of this amount is 12,949 euros, or about 1,079 euros per month. Any person with an income below this level is considered at risk of poverty.
However, country data provides a much clearer picture. In the EU, this threshold ranges from 391 euros in Bulgaria to 2,540 euros in Luxembourg.
If candidate countries for which data is available and EFTA members are included, it varies from 201 euros in Turkey to 2,596 euros in Switzerland. Norway is also among the three countries where the threshold exceeds 2,000 euros. The at-risk-of-poverty threshold ranges from 1,500 to 2,000 euros in Denmark, Austria, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Belgium (listed from highest to lowest in this group).
This level is below 750 euros in several countries, including Latvia, Portugal, Croatia, Lithuania, Poland, Greece, and Slovakia. It drops below 500 euros in Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Turkey.
Among the 'big four' EU countries, Germany has the highest poverty threshold at 1,381 euros, followed by France (1,278 euros), Italy (1,030 euros), and Spain (965 euros).
For a household consisting of two adults and two children under 14, the at-risk-of-poverty threshold is 2.1 times higher than that for a single person. It is 2,266 euros in the EU, 423 euros in Turkey, and 5,452 euros in Switzerland.
What explains the differences?
At-risk-of-poverty thresholds are directly dependent on the median equivalent income in the country. According to Julia De Lazzari, an economist at the International Labour Organization (ILO), differences in labor productivity and industrial structure help explain why these levels vary so greatly. Higher labor productivity allows countries to sustain higher wages.
As a result, in countries with large high-cost sectors such as finance, information technology, or advanced manufacturing, wages tend to be higher. This also means that the poverty threshold in these countries is higher.
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