Material and social deprivation refers to the inability to afford a set of specific goods, services, or social activities that are considered by most people as essential for an adequate quality of life. The material and social deprivation rate is defined as the share of the population unable to afford five or more of these thirteen items. The severe material and social deprivation rate applies to those unable to afford seven or more.
In 2023, the rate of severe material and social deprivation in the EU remained relatively stable, with a slight increase from 6.7% in 2022 to 6.8%. Latvia's rate was 6.2%, so slightly better than the EU average.
The highest rates of severe deprivation were observed in Romania at 19.8%, followed by Bulgaria and Greece. In contrast, the lowest rates were recorded in Estonia, Luxembourg, Sweden, Cyprus, and Slovenia, all below 2.5%.
Between 2022 and 2023, the largest reductions in severe material and social deprivation rates were observed in Romania (down 4.5 percentage points), Latvia (down 1.6 pp) and Croatia (down 1.2 pp).
.png)
Severe material and social deprivation rate by region, 2023 (%)
Source: Eurostat (ilc_mdsd11) and (ilc_mdsd18)
