Households
Poverty indicators in Belgium in 2018 (EU-SILC)
Statbel, the Belgian statistical office, publishes today the new poverty figures for 2018 from the survey on income and living conditions (EU-SILC). The main findings are:
- In Belgium, 16.4 % of the population was considered at risk of monetary poverty in 2018. These persons live in a household with a total disposable income lower than 1,187 euros per month for a single person. In 2017, this figure was 15.9 %, but the difference is not statistically significant. The other results also show no statistically significant differences.
- This indicator of the risk of monetary poverty (16.4 %) is the highest ever obtained based on the SILC survey. When the survey was launched in 2004, this figure was 14.3 %.
- 12.1 % of the population lives in a household with low work intensity, compared to 13.5 % in 2017.
- 4.9 % of the Belgian population was facing severe material deprivation in 2018, compared to 5.1 % in 2017.
- People who are confronted with at least one of the above situations are considered at risk of poverty or social exclusion according to the European poverty indicator of the Europe 2020 strategy. In 2018, this concerned 19.8 % of the population, compared to 20.3 % in 2017.
- This indicator of the risk of poverty or social exclusion (19.8 %) is the lowest ever obtained based on the SILC survey. In 2005, this figure was 22.6 %.
Risk of poverty or social exclusion
| People at risk of monetary poverty (%) | People living in households facing severe material deprivation (%) | People (aged under 60) living in households with low work intensity (%) | At risk of poverty or social exclusion (European indicator) (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 16.4% | 4.9% | 12.1% | 19.8% |
| AGE | ||||
| 0-17 | 20.6% | 7.0% | 11.5% | 23.2% |
| 18-64 | 14.9% | 5.2% | 12.3% | 19.3% |
| 65 years and over | 16.7% | 1.7% | - | 17.6% |
| MAIN ACTIVITY STATUS | ||||
| Employed | 5.2% | 1.6% | 0.2% | 6.2% |
| Unemployed | 49.4% | 17.5% | 60.6% | 63.1% |
| Retired / early retired | 14.3% | 1.7% | 56.9% | 16.2% |
| Other inactive people | 34.4% | 11.9% | 33.5% | 44.1% |
| GENDER | ||||
| Male | 15.6% | 4.5% | 11.2% | 18.8% |
| Female | 17.2% | 5.3% | 13.1% | 20.7% |
| HOUSEHOLD TYPE | ||||
| One-person | 23.8% | 9.2% | 27.7% | 29.9% |
| 2 adults < 65 without children | 8.9% | 3.5% | 11.7% | 14.6% |
| 2 adults, at least 1 > 65 years, without children | 15.7% | 0.6% | 32.7% | 16.9% |
| Other households without children | 4.5% | 1.5% | 6.3% | 7.4% |
| Single parent with child(ren) | 41.3% | 16.8% | 34.6% | 50.5% |
| 2 adults, 1 child | 12,0% | 2.5% | 7.4% | 13.7% |
| 2 adults, 2 children | 9.8% | 3.4% | 5.4% | 10.8% |
| 2 adults, 3 children or + | 25,0% | 5.5% | 8.4% | 27.2% |
| Other households with child(ren) | 13.9% | 5.8% | 7.9% | 15.9% |