Poverty is increasing in Austria amid accelerating inflation
A new European report on poverty in EU countries shows that more than 1.5 million people in Austria are at risk of poverty or social exclusion.
The report, prepared within the framework of the "EU-SILC" study on income and living conditions, revealed that 336,000 people in the country live in absolute poverty, meaning they are unable to afford the basic costs of living that are considered the minimum standard of living in Europe. This percentage represents 3.7% of the population of Austria living in private households.
According to the report, about 16.9% of the population, equivalent to 1,529,000 people, are at risk of poverty or social exclusion. It has been shown that the level of education plays a crucial role in this issue. One in ten people who have not completed compulsory education lives in poverty and is unable to bear the costs of daily life. The Director General of Statistik Austria, Tobias Thomas, explained that individuals who have not received secondary or higher education are at a much higher risk of poverty than the general population average.
Thomas explained that those who only have a compulsory education certificate earn, on average, a household income that is about 20% lower than the median income of the community. The higher the level of education, the lower the risk of falling into poverty.
A person in Austria is considered at risk of poverty if their net monthly income is less than 60% of the average equivalent income in the country. In 2024, this threshold was set at 1,661 euros for an individual living alone, with an additional 831 euros for each additional adult in the household, and 498 euros for each child under the age of 14. This minimum threshold has steadily increased in recent years due to inflation, as it was only 1,392 euros two years ago, representing an increase of nearly 20%.