In 2021, the at-risk-of-poverty rate in Serbia was 21.2 per cent, which was 0.5 percentage points lower than in 2020. People aged between 18 and 24 were the most exposed to the risk of poverty.
According to the report of the State Statistical Office, the rate refers to the percentage of people whose (disposable equivalent) income is below the poverty risk threshold, which in 2021, amounted to an average of 24,064 dinars per month for a one-person household.
This rate does not show how many people are really poor, but how many of them have an income below the threshold considered at risk of poverty. Equivalised income is the total disposable household income evenly distributed among household members according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) scale, the explanation states.
The poverty risk threshold for a family with two adults and one child under the age of 14 was 43,315 dinars, while for a family of four with two adults and two children under the age of 14 it was 50,533 dinars. On the other hand, the at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion rate was 28.5 per cent, 1.3 percentage points lower than in 2020.
In terms of age, people aged between 18 and 24 were the most at risk of poverty (27.7 per cent), as were people aged 65 and over (22.7 per cent). People aged 25-54 had the lowest at-risk-of-poverty rate (19.1 per cent).
By household type, households with dependent children were more at risk of poverty (21.4 per cent), than households without dependent children (20.9 per cent). Households with two adults with three or more dependent children had the highest risk of poverty (38.8 per cent), and households that had three or more adults had the lowest risk rate (14.3 per cent).
Self-employed persons had a higher poverty risk rate than those employed at a company – 14.5 per cent compared to 5.4 per cent. For pensioners, this rate was 19.9 per cent.
(Nova Ekonomija, 16.10.2022)