Survey Shows Slovenia Had a 12% Poverty Rate in 2004
Slovenia had a poverty rate of 12.15% in 2004, with women and single-member households being the most vulnerable categories, Stanka Intihar from the Level of Living Statistics Department of the National Statistics Office told the press on Friday.
People with income below 60% of the median disposable income for a household member equivalent are considered as being under the poverty line, said Intihar.
The poverty threshold for 2004 was 5,278 euros per person, which means that a family of four needed a disposable monthly income of at least EUR 924 to exceed the poverty threshold, she added.
For the first time, poverty indicators have been calculated from the results of a survey on life conditions, conducted in 2005.
The survey shows that the poverty rate increases if social transfers are not considered as an income. In that case the poverty rate would have been 25%, which indicates that social transfers have a positive impact on the poverty rate.
The most vulnerable households in terms of poverty rate in 2004 were single-member households, with women being more exposed.
A high poverty rate was also observed among single-parent households with at least one child, and households with three children, which were slightly above the average poverty rate.
Accommodation status also influenced the poverty rate, with 25% of tenants living under the poverty threshold, compared to only 10% of apartment owners, said Intihar.
Vulnerable groups also include all inactive persons with the exception of retired men.
Retired women and other inactive persons were at high risk of poverty, while the lowest poverty rate was observed among employed persons aged between 25 and 49, and among families with one or two children.
The survey shows that Slovenia had a low poverty rate in 2004, with only Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Sweden having a lower share of poor people, said Intihar.
European countries with the highest percentage of people under the poverty line were Ireland, Greece, Spain, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Portugal.
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