1 10 facts about poverty in Europe10 statistics which mean Zero Poverty is a slogan not a reality. 10 reasons to act in 20101. 17% of the EU s population is classified as materially deprived [see below for definition][1]. The rate of material deprivation is above 50% in Romania, 40% in Latvia and 30% in Poland, Hungary, Cyprus, Slovakia and Lithuania. Material deprivatio n is higher for women than for men in all countries, except Sweden [2]. 2. Out of the EUs estimated 501 million inhabitants, over 84 million live at risk of poverty [see below for definition] [3]. The country with the highest risk of poverty rates is Latvia where 26% of the population lives below the poverty line. In Romania, 23% of the population lives at risk of poverty [4].3.32 million people in the EU are estimated to be both at risk of poverty and materially deprived [5].4.According to a recent poverty survey conducted by the World Bank, 60 million people in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union live on less than $2 a day [6]5.Child poverty rates were found to be higher than general poverty rates in 21 out of 29 European countries covered in a comprehensive survey carried out by the EU in 2007 [7]. On average, one in five children in the EU is living in poverty (20%). Child poverty rates range from 9% in Denmark to 33% in Romania, 26% in Bulgaria and 25% in Italy and Latvia [8]. 6.On average, the elderly face a higher risk of poverty than the overall population. 28% of single people over the age of 65 are at risk of poverty. In some countries, for example, Estonia, Bulgaria and Cyprus, the prevalence of poverty amongst single people over the age of 65 is shockingly high (79%, 68% and 67% respectively). In Luxembourg, Hungary and the Netherlands single people over the age of 65 are significantly less likely to be at risk of poverty (8%, 8% and 9% respectively) [9].
