France is one of the few European countries where poverty rates have increased over the past decade.
According to the latest Eurostat data, Paris has reported an almost 2% increase since 2014 in the number of people experiencing “difficulties” or “great difficulties” in making ends meet, as the statistics institute puts it.
Aside from France, over the past ten years poverty rates have risen only in northern Europe: Denmark (+2.4%), Finland (2%), Sweden (2.8%) and, outside the EU, Norway (+4.7%).
Which EU countries have reduced poverty rates the most?
At the same time, many Eastern and Southern European nations have slashed their poverty rates by dozens of percentage points, with Cyprus leading the way in the EU(-38%), followed by Croatia (34.6%), Hungary (26.8%), Bulgaria (26.5%), and Romania (21.8%).
The overall poverty rate in the EU is now 17.4%, meaning nearly two out of ten people have serious issues getting by.
The latest rate reported by Eurostat represents a slight improvement compared to 2023, when it stood at 19.1%, and a ten-point improvement on 2015 (27.1%).
But some countries still have far higher rates.
For example, in Greece, the current share is at almost 67% — the highest rate of people living in poverty among all EU countries. Neighbouring Bulgaria follows with 37%, and Slovakia with almost 29%.
Poverty rate among non-adults remains alarming
When broke down by age, the youngest generation is struggling the most.
The poverty rate among the under-18s is the highest at 20.6%, while people aged 65 and older reported the lowest rate at 14.9%.
“All age groups saw a decrease in the overall share from 2023 to 2024”, Eurostat says.
“The biggest fall was found in the age group of 18-64 years at 1.8 percentage points (pp), while the decline for both the youngest and the oldest age group was 1.6 pp.”