Some 19.3 percent of Croatians were at risk of poverty in 2018, state statistics bureau said on Monday. When the risk of social exclusion is added, the figure rose to almost a quarter, or 24.8 percent, with people aged 65 and over - and especially women - affected the most.

In 2018, 8.6 percent of Croatians experienced “severe material deprivation” and 24.8 percent lived at risk of either poverty or social exclusion or both.

The at-risk-of-poverty rate is calculated by comparing people’s disposable income to 60 percent of the national median dosposable income.

After excluding social transfers and pensions, the percentage of Croatians at risk of poverty rises to a staggering 42.9 percent.

The state statistics bureau’s survey divided Croatia into Adriatic and Continental geographic portions, and showed that people living on the coast seem to have a slightly better quality of life compared to those in the interior of the country.

The poverty risk rate for Adriatic Croatia was put at 18.4 percent, while in Continental Croatia it was 19.7 percent.

In terms of age and gender, the risk was highest among people aged 65 and above – in that age bracket, 28.1 percent of people were deemed at risk of poverty. Within that age group, the gender difference was reportedly the highest, with women being at 31.1 percent risk of poverty and 23.5 percent for men.

The risk of poverty rate was the lowest in the age group 25-54, at 14.3 percent, with the rates similar for both genders in that age group.

Unemployed persons were also at a high risk of poverty, as high as 47.6 percent, and the risk rate was the lowest for employed persons – 4.6 percent. The poverty risk threshold for a single-member household was a yearly income of 29,820 kuna (€4,035), while for a household with two adults and two children under the age of 14 it was set at 62,622 kuna (€8,474).

As for material deprivation, which measures quality of life of households, 52.9 percent of Croatians were found to live in households that could not cover any unexpected financial expenses and 51.3 percent could not afford a week-long holiday outside their town.

As many as 17.5 percent of people lived in households that were late with paying bills due to financial problems; 10.1 percent reportedly could not afford a meal containing meat, chicken, or fish at least every other day; and 7.7 percent could not afford adequate heating.

The indicators are based on the concept of relative poverty that takes into account disposable household income, the number of household members, and the distribution of income within population, the basic indicator being the at-risk-of-poverty rate.

The poverty risk rate does not show how many people are really poor but rather how many have an income that is below the poverty risk threshold, the bureau said.

(€1 = 7.39 kuna)