Albania leads in Europe, over 46 % of the population at risk of poverty

According to European Statistics Agency data, Eurostat, over 46 percent of Albania's population is at risk of poverty or social exclusion.

The assessment of Albania in the report released Tuesday on the risk of poverty and social exclusion in Europe is based on 2021 data this period when in the southern region of the country 46.5% of the population was at risk of poverty and social exclusion, in the central region 46.6% and in the northern region 46.7%.

Indexs for Albania, according to Eurostat, are significantly higher compared to other neighbouring Western Balkan countries where Montenegro has 34.1% of the population in poverty risk, Northern Macedonia 32.6%, Serbia 30%, while for Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo has no data.

Eurostat data on European Union countries reports that in 2023, about 21.4% of the European population, or 94.6 million people, were at risk of poverty or social exclusion.

The highest population levels at risk of poverty, according to Eurostat, were registered in the most remote French regions, in southern Italy and in rural Romanian areas.

According to Eurostat definitions “the risk of being poor” includes those who are severely deprived materially and socially and live in families with very low employment income.

According to the Albanian Statistics Institute (INSTAT) the risk limit for being poor for one person in 2022 has been estimated at $225.931 a year, compared to 191.71 a year in 2021.

But according to INSTAT in 2021, 622,705 individuals living under the risk of poverty were estimated, while in 2022 some 576,316 individuals were estimated. /VOA