One in three people living in Serbia don’t have enough money to cover an unexpected expense of 140 euros, one in ten does not have enough money to adequately heat their flat or house, while almost 50% cannot take a week’s holiday away, according to the State Statistics Office (RZS).
However, there has been some improvement compared to the previous year. For instance, in 2016, more than 62% of citizens could not afford a holiday away from home, while 50% could not cover a sudden expense.
The data for 2020 showed that although the rate of people at risk of poverty is falling, the subjective feeling of poverty among citizens is still strong. Thus, almost half the population manages to make ends meet with some difficulty, while more than 40% of those who do find it difficult or very difficult and only 12% said they could easily or very easily make it through the month on their earned income.
Last year, the at-risk-of-poverty rate was 21.7%, which was 1.5% lower than the previous year and 4.2% lower than in 2016. The at-risk-of-poverty rate actually represents the percentage of people whose disposable income is below the at-risk-of-poverty threshold, which last year averaged 22,000 dinars per month for a household in Serbia.
The at-risk-of-poverty threshold for households with two adults and one child under the age of 14 was 39,600 dinars, while for a four-member household with two adults and two children it was 46,200 dinars.
Here too the situation has improved, as the threshold for one-member households five years ago was 14,680 dinars and for four-member households 30,828 dinars. If we look at age, the youngest are the most at risk of poverty, with one in four children under the age of 18 being at risk, and no less at risk are young people between 18 and 24, of whom 23.6% fell into this category last year. People aged between 24 and 54 are the least at risk of poverty, 19.6% in 2020.
According to the statistical data, the lowest risk of poverty is in those households where there are three or more adults, without children, while the risk is highest in households with two adults and three or more children, at 37%. Compared to 2016, this is a change because the risk of poverty for families with three or more children was over 50%.
Although the percentage of single parents at risk of poverty is decreasing, five years ago over 40% of them were at risk of poverty, while in 2020, it was still high. In fact, almost 1/3 of these families, or 31% of them, were on the brink of poverty.
(Danas, 17.10.2021)
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