Overview
- About 13.3 million people were below the EU poverty threshold, up from 15.5% to 16.1% year over year, an increase of roughly a few hundred thousand.
- Counting income, material deprivation or very low work intensity, 17.6 million people—21.2% of the population—were at risk of poverty or social exclusion, a share that was essentially unchanged.
- Risk is concentrated among single adults (30.9%), single-parent households (28.7%) and especially the unemployed (64.9%), with retirees also above average at 19.1%.
- The 2025 thresholds were €1,446 net per month for a single adult and €3,036 for two adults with two children, reflecting a relative measure tied to median incomes.
- Destatis cautions these are first results from the EU-SILC/Microcensus sub-sample referencing 2024 incomes, as social groups and political parties press competing remedies ranging from stronger benefits to tighter welfare rules.