In Slovakia, 980 000 people were at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion in 2024

In Slovakia, more than 980 000 people, i.e. approximately every sixth resident, faced poverty or social exclusion in 2024. Both the share and the number of people at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion increased year-on-year. Poverty indicators in Slovakia have been gradually deteriorating since 2020. On the positive side, the situation improved in 2 out of the 8 SR regions in 2024 and remained unchanged in one. At the same time, more than 20% of the population continued to face poverty in 3 SR regions.

In 2024, 18.3% of the population in Slovakia, which represents more than 980 thousand people, were at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion. The number and share of people at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion increased by 37 thousand people year-on-year. In the previous year (in 2023), 17.6% of the population were at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion, which means that their share increased by 0.7 percentage points (p. p.) year-on-year. This follows from the results of the survey on household income and living conditions (EU SILC 2024) of the Statistical Office of the SR.

The survey allows identifying the number of people who are at risk of one or more of the three dimensions or dimensions of poverty. The aggregate indicator expresses the share of people affected by poverty from the entire population and is called the "At- risk-of poverty or social exclusion rate". Within the three dimensions (manifestations) of poverty, these are people who suffer from income poverty, or are affected by at least 7 out of 13 material deficiencies - severe material and social deprivation, or live in a household with very low work intensity.

Development of the main indicator over time

In terms of development over time, the share of people at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion in Slovakia decreased until 2020. As early as 2015, 907 thousand people were at-risk-of-poverty in Slovakia. Until 2020, the situation improved every year, with over 250 thousand people facing poverty decreasing. However, the situation gradually deteriorated since 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the increase in prices and inflation, and poverty indicators in the SR have been increasing slightly year-on-year for the last four years. However, the growth rate of the number of people affected, as well as the at-risk-of-poverty rate or social exclusion, are slowing down.

The most vulnerable group are those facing all three forms of poverty or social exclusion. According to data from EU SILC 2024, this is 2.1% of the Slovak population, which represents approximately 112 thousand people. This group of people should be included as a priority in measures to combat poverty.

The share of people at risk has increased most significantly in Nitra region

The number and share of people at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion has long-term significantly varied across the SR regions, and this was also true in 2024. The highest poverty rate has long been in Prešov region, where every fourth resident of the region was currently facing it in 2024, which was approximately 224 thousand people (28.0%). High shares of people at-risk-of-poverty above 20% were also in Banská Bystrica and Košice region.

On the contrary, Bratislava region has long had the lowest share of people affected by poverty, currently in 2024 it was 8.6% of the population. This was followed by Trnava region with 12.1% and Žilina region with 13.7% of people at risk of poverty.

The situation deteriorated year-on-year in 5 out of 8 SR regions. The most significant relative year-on-year deterioration of the situation was recorded in Nitra and Trenčín region. In Nitra region, the number and share of people affected by poverty increased from 16.1% to 19.4% (+22 thousand people). In Trenčín region, it was a shift from 13.8% in 2023 to last year's 15.2%.

The total share of people at risk of poverty decreased year-on-year in only 2 regions, more dynamically in Bratislava region from 9.5% (in 2023) to 8.6% (in 2024). A decrease in the number of people at risk of poverty was also recorded in Žilina region, from 14.0% to last year's 13.7%. In Banská Bystrica region, the situation remained almost unchanged, the total number of people facing poverty decreased very slightly and the at-risk-of-poverty rate remained at 23.1%.

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Families with children are most at risk

In the Slovak Republic, it has long been true that households with children are significantly more at-risk-of-poverty than households without children. In 2024, one fifth of households with dependent children (20.4% of people) faced poverty and slightly more than 15% of people living in households without children.

Among households with children, single-parent families (1 parent/adult with 1 or more children) were most at risk, with almost 38% of people facing poverty. A positive thing is that the situation has improved significantly year-on-year, in the previous year, 2023, it was 46.4% of people.

Furthermore, complete households with a higher number of children, i.e. households of 2 adults with 3 or more dependent children, were most at risk of poverty. Almost 33% of people living in this type of household were affected by one of the three forms of poverty or a combination of them. But even this type of household experienced a decrease from the value of 37.1% in 2023.

Among households without children, single-person households of women aged 65 and over were most at risk (30.3%).

Low income is the most common problem

Among the three dimensions of poverty or social exclusion, the most people in Slovakia are at risk of so-called income poverty. These are residents living in households with incomes lower than the national poverty line calculated annually. In 2024, this line for a single-person household was EUR 6 103 per year, or EUR 509 per month. For these calculations the annual household income for 2023 was used.

The income poverty line is set separately for different types of households according to the number of its members. In 2024, 14.5% of people lived below the income poverty line, which is approximately 778 thousand inhabitants of the SR. Year-on-year, their number increased only slightly by almost 12 thousand people, or 0.2 p. p.

The second dimension of poverty - severe material and social deprivation expresses what households cannot afford. These are the numbers or shares of people living in households that face at least 7 out of 13 identified material deficiencies. In total, 7.6%, or 408 thousand inhabitants of the SR, were at risk of this dimension of poverty in Slovakia. Their number increased by more than 33 thousand people year-on-year. The most common inadequacy was the inability to pay for one week annual holiday away from home (33.4% of residents), followed by the inability to face unexpected financial expenses of EUR 461 (28.2%), and the problem of ensuring the replacement of worn-out furniture also persisted (23.3%).

The third dimension of poverty – very low work intensity – affected 3.8% of the population last year, almost 206 thousand people. This is the share of people of working age living in households who worked less than a fifth of their annual work potential. The share of people at risk of this manifestation of poverty increased by 0.2 p. p. year-on-year.

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