According to the Survey data, the at-risk-of-poverty rate was 19.9% in 2023, and compared to 2022, it was lower by 0.3 percentage points. The at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion rate amounted to 27.2%, and it was lower by 1.8 percentage points relative to 2022.
1. Key indicators of poverty and social exclusion
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| At-risk-of-poverty rate, % | 23.0 | 22.4 | 21.4 | 20.2 | 19.9 |
| Аt-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion rate, % | 31.1 | 31.0 | 28.9 | 29.0 | 27.2 |
| At-risk-of-poverty threshold (on a monthly level), RSD | 19200 | 21680 | 23638 | 25960 | 29100 |
Indicators of poverty, social exclusion and living conditions for the year 2023 were calculated using a weighting system based on revised demographic estimates from the 2022 Census results. To ensure comparability of data, the indicators in this Statistical release have been revised for the period from 2019 to 2022. (more details in section: Revision of data)
The at-risk-of-poverty rate represents the share of persons whose equivalised disposable income is below relative poverty line, which amounted to 29 100 RSD a month on an average for a single person household in 2023.
The at-risk-of-poverty threshold amounted to 52 380 RSD a month on an average for a household with two adults and one child aged below 14, while for a four-member household with two adults and two children aged below 14, it amounted to 61 110 RSD.
The at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion rate shows the share of individuals who are at risk of poverty or are severely materially and socially deprived or live in households with very low work intensity.
Observed by age, the at-risk-of-poverty rate shows that individuals aged 65 and over were the most exposed to the poverty risk – 23.5%, as well as individuals aged from 55 to 64 – 23.0%. The lowest at-risk-of-poverty rate was recorded for the group of persons aged from 25 to 54 – 16.8%.
By the type of household, the highest at-risk-of-poverty rate was recorded for households composed of two adults with three or more dependent children – 34.7%, while the lowest at-risk-of-poverty rate was recorded for the households composed of three or more adults – 13.3%.
According to the activity status for persons aged 18 and over, the most exposed to the at-risk-of-poverty were unemployed persons – 50.9%. Self-employed persons were at the higher risk-of-poverty rate – 12.9%, compared to employees working for employers – 4.9%. The at-risk-of-poverty rate for pensioners was 20.3%.
At-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion rate, %
2. Poverty and social exclusion indicators
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| At-risk-of-poverty rate, % | 23.0 | 22.4 | 21.4 | 20.2 | 19.9 |
| At-risk-of-poverty threshold (on a monthly level), RSD | |||||
| Single person | 19200 | 21680 | 23638 | 25960 | 29100 |
| Household with two adults and one child younger than 14 years | 34560 | 39024 | 42549 | 46729 | 52380 |
| Two adults with two children younger than 14 years | 40320 | 45528 | 49641 | 54517 | 61110 |
| Аt-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion rate, % | 31.1 | 31.0 | 28.9 | 29.0 | 27.2 |
| At-risk-of-poverty rate before social transfers, % | |||||
| Social transfers not included in the income | 28.2 | 27.6 | 29.2 | 26.1 | 26.1 |
| Pensions and social transfers not included in the income | 46.9 | 45.9 | 46.3 | 42.0 | 41.9 |
| Relative at risk of poverty gap | 32.9 | 28.7 | 29.8 | 25.7 | 28.6 |
| Income quintile share ratio S80/S20 | 6.6 | 6.4 | 6.1 | 5.7 | 5.6 |
| Gini coefficient | 33.6 | 33.8 | 33.3 | 32.6 | 31.7 |
| Persistent at-risk-of-poverty rate | 15.9 | 14.5 | 16.5(b) | 12.6 | 12.9 |
3. At-risk-of-poverty rate by sex and age
| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Male | Female | Total | Male | Female | Total | Male | Female | |
| Total | 21.4 | 20.6 | 22.1 | 20.2 | 19.6 | 20.8 | 19.9 | 19.7 | 20.1 |
| 0–17 | 20.3 | 19.8 | 20.8 | 19.9 | 19.8 | 20.0 | 19.5 | 19.1 | 19.9 |
| 18–64 | 21.2 | 21.1 | 21.4 | 19.2 | 19.3 | 19.2 | 18.7 | 19.4 | 18.0 |
| 18–24 | 27.9 | 26.7 | 29.2 | 19.8 | 18.2 | 21.5 | 20.5 | 22.3 | 18.6 |
| 25–54 | 19.1 | 19.0 | 19.3 | 17.8 | 17.8 | 17.7 | 16.8 | 16.9 | 16.7 |
| 55–64 | 23.6 | 23.9 | 23.4 | 23.0 | 23.9 | 22.1 | 23.0 | 25.4 | 20.9 |
| 65 year and more | 22.8 | 20.1 | 24.7 | 23.2 | 20.5 | 25.2 | 23.5 | 21.2 | 25.3 |
Revision of data
The revision of indicators on poverty, social exclusion and living conditions was carried out based on recommendations from Eurostat and represents a standard procedure that EU member states, and other countries implementing the SILC survey, apply after the Census is conducted.
Up to 2022, indicators were calculated using a weighting system based on the results of demographic estimates from the 2011 Census. For the year 2023, the indicators were calculated using a weighting system based on the results of demographic estimates from the 2022 Census. Following the post-census revision of the population estimates, in order to ensure the comparability of data, a revision of the indicators has been carried out in this Statistical release for the period from 2019 to 2022. Revised data for previous years will be available in the database in the coming period.
Currently, the data in this Statistical release are not comparable with previously published data in statistical releases prior to 2023.
Due to the method of calculation, the Persistent at-risk-of-poverty rate has been revised only for 2022 and is not comparable with previous years.
An overview of the basic poverty and social exclusion indicators before (previously published data) and after the application of new weights (revised data)
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
| At-risk-of-poverty rate, previous data, % | 23.2 | 21.7 | 21.2 | 20.0 |
| At-risk-of-poverty rate, revised data, % | 23.0 | 22.4 | 21.4 | 20.2 |
| At-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion rate, previous data, % | 31.1 | 29.8 | 28.4 | 28.1 |
| At-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion rate, revised data, % | 31.1 | 31.0 | 28.9 | 29.0 |
| At-risk-of-poverty threshold (on a monthly level), previous data, RSD | 19 381 | 22 000 | 24 064 | 26 509 |
| At-risk-of-poverty threshold (on a monthly level), revised data, RSD | 19 200 | 21 680 | 23 638 | 25 960 |
Methodological notes
The reference source of data for the compilation of indicators on poverty, social exclusion and living conditions is the annual survey Statistics of Income and Living Conditions (SILC). The survey is fully compliant with EU regulations and Eurostat methodological guidelines and description of EU-SILC.
The calculation of poverty and social exclusion indicators published in this statistical release is based on data obtained from the survey conducted in 2023.
The calculation of the at-risk-of-poverty threshold, the at-risk-of-poverty rate and other monetary poverty indicators is based on the household income received by all members of a household in 2022.
Reference period
- for household income is the previous calendar year – the year 2022,
- for material deprivation is the moment of surveying – the year 2023.
In 2023. out of total number of households envisaged for the survey - 5 915, a total of 5 324 households were surveyed, i.e. 13 848 persons aged 16 and over.
A household means any family or other community of persons who live together and jointly spend funds for meeting their basic life needs (food, housing, etc.), regardless of whether all members are permanently at the place where the household resides or some of them temporarily reside in some other place in the country or abroad on account of work, education or for some other reason.
Dependent children relate to all persons under the age of 18, as well as persons aged from 18 to 24, living with at least one parent, and being economically inactive.
Equivalised disposable income is the total household disposable income evenly distributed among the members of the household according to the modified OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) equivalence scale. In accordance with this scale, first adult member of the household receives the value of 1, other adults aged 14 and over 0.5, and children under the age of 14, 0.3. Household income does not include income in kind.
The at-risk-of-poverty threshold (relative poverty line) represents 60% of the median equivalised disposable income and it is presented in dinars.
The at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion rate (AROPE) shows the share of individuals who are at risk of poverty or are severely materially and socially deprived or live in households with very low work intensity.
The at-risk-of-poverty rate represents the share of persons whose equivalised disposable income is below relative poverty line. It does not show the actual number of poor people, but rather how many of them have an income below the at-risk-of-poverty threshold.
The material and social deprivation rate presents the percentage of persons living in households that are not financially able to afford at least 5 out of 13 items of material and social deprivation (7 related to the household and 6 related to the individual). According to the new methodology, material and social deprivation items are:
- inability of the household to keep its home adequately warm,
- inability of the household to replace worn-out furniture,
- inability of the household to afford a car,
- inability of the household to afford paying for one week annual holiday away from home,
- inability of the household to afford unexpected financial expenses (24 000 RSD),
- inability of the household to afford a meal with meat, chicken, fish (or vegetarian equivalent) every second day,
- being in arrears with mortgage or rent payments, utility bills, hire purchase instalments or other loan payments,
- inability to replace worn-out clothes by some new ones,
- inability to afford two pairs of properly fitting shoes (including a pair of all-weather shoes),
- inability to spend a small amount of money each week on him/herself,
- inability to have regular leisure activities,
- inability to together with friends/family for a drink/meal at least once a month,
- inability to have to have access to the Internet in the household.
The severe material and social deprivation rate shows the percentage of persons living in households that are not financially able to afford at least 7 out of 13 items of material and social deprivation.
The work intensity of the household refers to the number of months that all working-age household members have been working during the income reference period as a proportion of the total number of months that could theoretically be worked within the household. The work intensity is defined as very low (0-0.20), low (0.20-0.45), medium (0.45-0.55), high (0.55-0.85) and very high (0.85-1).
The age limit of persons for the calculation of the work intensity indicator is 0-64 years. Working-age household members are persons aged 18-64, excluding: students (aged 18-24), persons who are retired according to the most frequent activity status or receive a pension (except survivors pension), as well as persons aged 60- 64 years old who are inactive and living in a household where the main income is pensions (except survivors pension).
Very low work intensity refers to households whose working-age members worked less then 20% of the total number of months they could have possibly worked during a referent period.
The relative at-risk-of-poverty gap represents the difference between the at-risk-of-poverty threshold and the median equivalised disposable income of the persons who are below the at-risk-of-poverty threshold.
The S80/S20 income quintile share ratio compares the total equivalised disposable income of the upper income quintile (20% of the population with the highest equivalised disposable income) with those from the lower income quintile (20% of the population with the lowest equivalised disposable income).
The Gini coefficient represents the measure of inequality in the distribution of income. The value of this coefficient goes within the interval from 0 to 100, where 0 represents perfect equality, i.e. each person has equal income. As the value of the coefficient grows, so grows the income inequality.
Persistent at-risk-of-poverty rate presents the percentage of persons who are at-risk-of-poverty in the current year and who have been in the same position for at least two of the three previous years.
The most frequent activity refers to the activity status which the person had for at least 7 months during the reference period. It is calculated for the persons aged 18 and over.
The dispersion around the at-risk-of-poverty threshold shows sensitivity of the at-risk-of-poverty rate to the selection of the poverty threshold – 40%, 50%, 70% of the median equivalised disposable income.
Subjective poverty rate (Ability to make ends meet) represents a subjective feeling of the households about the difficulties faced in its attempt to pay all of its necessary costs taking into consideration the total income of that household.
Financial burden of the total housing cost refers to the subjective assessment of the household about the extent of the burden of the total housing costs. These expenditures include mortgage and rent payments, utility bills, and other expenditures related to housing.
Starting from 1999 the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia has not at disposal and may not provide available certain data relative to AP Kosovo and Metohija and therefore these data are not included in the coverage for the Republic of Serbia (total).