May the 8th, 2026 – According to the latest research, every 5th EU resident is at risk of falling below the poverty line, but what’s the situation in Croatia?
As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, over 20 percent of the population in EU countries lives at risk of poverty or social exclusion, and the rate is approximately the same here in Croatia.
This means that every fifth inhabitant of the European Union lives at risk of falling into poverty. This is as many as 92.7 million people across the EU, or 20.9 percent of the entire population, according to Eurostat data for 2025, reports Mirovina.hr.
This research refers to people in households who experienced at least one of the three risks of poverty and social exclusion – risk of poverty, severe material and social deprivation, and living in a household with very low work intensity. Compared to 2024, the number of people at risk decreased by 600,000 people (from 93.3 million or 21 percent of the population).
The highest share of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion was recorded in Bulgaria (29 percent), followed by Greece (27.5 percent) and Romania (27.4 percent). In contrast, the lowest shares were recorded in the Czech Republic (11.5 percent), Poland (15 percent) and in neighbouring Slovenia (15.5 percent).
Slovenia is thus in a much, much better position than Croatia, where the risk of poverty exceeds a deeply worrying 20 percent, reaching the European Union average in a nation of less than 4 million people.
The situation is also slightly better in neighbouring Hungary, where slightly less than 20 percent of the population is at risk of falling below the poverty line.
Poverty is particularly worrying among the older population, and many EU countries (including Croatia) have an ageing population. Almost 40 percent of people over 65 are at risk of poverty in Croatia. The risk rises to 65 percent for single people, and as many as 80 percent of pensioners are currently living fully below the threshold.
