Based on EU-SILC (European Community Statistics on Income and Living Conditions) each year results on poverty and social inclusion are published. Key indicators for Austria from EU-SILC 2019 and earlier years are available from the table below.
In
The Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth
is aiming to lift at least 20 million people out of the risk of poverty
and social exclusion within ten years (observation period: 2008
With respect to the statistical margin of error, the variation from year to year must be interpreted cautiously. Nevertheless, the trend over the last several years clearly shows an overall downward tendency.
Projected to the Austrian population as a whole the figure – with 95% confidence – was between 15.6% and 18.2%, i.e. between 1 362 000 and 1 582 000 persons had to be considered as being at risk of poverty or social exclusion. They are either at-risk-of-poverty or severely materially deprived or living in a household with very low work intensity.
The at-risk-of-poverty rate is calculated on the basis of the equivalised household income, the available household income divided by the number of consumption equivalents in the household (see Household Income). People are considered to be at-risk-of-poverty if their equivalised household income is below an at-risk-of-poverty threshold of 60% of the national median household income. In 2019, the equivalised income median was €25 729. The at-risk-of-poverty threshold was therefore €15 437 for a single-person household, i.e. approximately €1 286 a month (12 times).
Severely materially deprived persons have living conditions severely constrained by a lack of resources, they experience at least four out of the following nine deprivation items: (1) cannot afford to pay rent or utility bills, (2) keep home adequately warm, (3) face unexpected expenses, (4) eat meat, fish or a protein equivalent every second day, (5) a week holiday away from home, (6) a car, (7) a washing machine, (8) a TV, or (9) a telephone.
In households with very low work intensity the work intensity
of all working-age household members (18
Based on the national regulation (Einkommens- und
Lebensbedingungen-Statistikverordnung ELStV) in EU-SILC 2012 register
information was for the first time used to calculate components of household
income and also for weighting purposes (see Methodenbericht
EU-SILC 2012, PDF, 1MB). Advantages of this changed methodology
– for former years only survey data is available – are an increase
in the data quality and reduced burden for respondents to the survey.
To monitor the Europe 2020 strategy which started with data of EU-SILC
2008 despite switching to register data in EU-SILC 2012, Statistics
Austria has done a back-calculation for EU-SILC 2008
On its website Eurostat provides indicators on social inclusion for all European countries in the section “Statistics on Income and Living Conditions”.
Recent Eurostat publications on the topic containing cross-country comparisons can be found by clicking the following links:
To Eurostat´s comparative study “Income and Living Conditions“ (PDF, 6MB) Statistics Austria provides an article that shows the dynamics of change concerning deprivation in the EU member states based on EU-SILC longitudinal data. A more detailed version can be found as working paper (“Towards an inclusion balance - accounting for gross change in Europeans' living conditions“(PDF, 3MB) in Eurostat´s series on methodological issues in EU-SILC. Material deprivation and child-specific indicators on deprivation are described in detail in the working paper “Measuring Material Deprivation in the EU” (PDF, 4MB)
Please consult our German website for tables and charts containing further information.