Analytics, Estonia, Financial Services, Statistics, Wages

In 2018, a person was considered to be at risk of poverty, if his or her equivalised monthly disposable income was less than 569 euros, and in absolute poverty, if it was less than 215 euros.

The at-risk-of-poverty rate decreased for single person households, i.e. people living alone, as well as among single parents. The gap between the richest and poorest quintile of the population did not change year over year. By age groups, the gap is smallest among older persons (aged 65 and older), although in the last decade, it has widened slightly each year.

The at-risk-of-poverty rate anchored at a fixed moment in time, i.e. the share of people with an equivalised yearly disposable income lower than the at-risk-of-poverty threshold three years ago adjusted for inflation, increased from 11.0% in 2017 to 12.1% in 2018.

Social transfers, i.e. state benefits and pensions, helped to prevent falling into poverty. Without including these in income, 39.1% of the population would have been at risk of poverty and 22.7% in absolute poverty.

Compared to 2017, the at-risk-of-poverty rate remained at the same level (20.9%) among young people aged 16–24, but increased among children. Among children under 18, the at-risk-of-poverty rate was 17.1% in 2018, i.e. 1.9 percentage points more than in 2017. At the same time, the absolute poverty rate of children fell from 2.5% in 2017 to 1.6% in 2018. There has been a decrease in the share of older people living at risk of poverty – the rate among persons aged 65 and older fell from 46.4% in 2017 to 43.1% in 2018.

Of the Estonian population, 7.6% lived in deprivation in 2019. The deprivation rate was highest among older persons (aged 65 and older) at 10.4% and lowest among 18–24-year-olds at 5.3%.