The poverty risk rate in Croatia in 2019 was 18.3%, and it was the highest among people aged 65 and above, notably women, show the latest data from the national statistical office. The poverty risk rate in 2018 was 19.3%.
The poverty threshold for a single-member household in 2019 was HRK 32,520 a year, while for a household of two adults and two children under the age of 14 it was HRK 68,292 a year. The rate of severe material deprivation in 2019 was 7.3%.
If social transfers and pensions are excluded from one’s income, the poverty risk rate rises to as much as 41%.
The statistical data divide Croatia into the Adriatic and the continental Croatia, with the poverty risk rate for the coastal region being 16.1% and that for the continental part of the country 19.4%.
The poverty risk rate was the highest among people aged 65 and above and stood at 30.1%. The gender gap in that age group was the highest, with the poverty risk rate among women being 33.6% and that among men 24.9%.
Poverty risk rate highest for unemployed
Also, the poverty risk rate was the highest for unemployed persons, at 45.3%.
As for material deprivation, i.e. indicators that affect the quality of household life, 51.7% of people live in households that cannot cover an unexpected financial expense from their own funds, and 48.6% of people cannot afford a week’s holiday for all members of their household.
Financial problems were the reason why 15.7% of people were late in the past year with meeting their obligations (housing loan, rent, utilities or consumer loan).
The statistics also show that 7.9% of people live in housholds that cannot afford a meal containing meat, poultry, fish (or a vegetarian equivalent) every other day, and 6.6% of people cannot afford adequate heating in the coldest months.
Also, more than 35% of people live in households that have difficulty making ends meet or barely make them meet.
Among the EU countries, Romania had the highest poverty risk rate in 2019, of 23.8%, while the Czech Republic had the lowest, of 10.1%.
