SILC data 2020 to 2022 was revised on 7 March 2024 due to changes made to weights, reflecting updated household population benchmarks, because of the availability of Census 2022 data. The data in this publication does not reflect these revisions. For revised data please see SILC 2023 or PxStat.
The income reference period of SILC in year T is the calendar year T-1, i.e. for SILC 2022 the income relates to Jan-Dec 2021.
Tá leagan Gaeilge den leathanch seo ar fáil. Féach Achoimre ar Thorthaí.
The median nominal household disposable income in the Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) 2022 was €46,999, an increase of €528 (+1.1%) from the previous year.
Using a base year of 2019 to adjust for inflation, the real median household disposable income in SILC 2022 was €46,076, a decrease of €551 (-1.2%) from the previous year.
In SILC 2022, the quintile share ratio stood at 4.0, compared with 3.8 in 2021. This indicates that the total income of the richest 20% was four times that of the poorest 20%.
The at risk of poverty rate was 13.1% in SILC 2022, up from 11.6% in 2021.
If COVID-19 income supports were excluded, the at risk of poverty rate would have been 20.5% in SILC 2022.
In SILC 2022, 5.3% of people were found to be living in consistent poverty, up from 4.0% in 2021.
The SILC household survey is the official source of data on household and individual income, and it provides a number of key national poverty indicators, such as: the at risk of poverty rate, the rate of enforced deprivation and the consistent poverty rate. This publication focuses on income related indicators. The enforced deprivation results are available separately in the SILC Enforced Deprivation 2022 publication.
In 2022, the SILC Enforced Deprivation publication was released early, before the income data was fully processed, to provide more timely statistics on households. The weights used, and as a result, estimates contained in the SILC 2022 Enforced Deprivation publication have been revised. This has resulted in an increase of the published enforced deprivation rate from 17.1% to 17.7%. See Information Note.
Data collection for SILC was carried out between January to July 2022. The income reference period for SILC 2022 is the calendar year Jan-Dec 2021. The COVID-19 income supports introduced by the government to mitigate the negative impact of the pandemic on household incomes affected households across the whole income distribution and changed the composition of income deciles. See Chapter 6.
For further information, please see Background Notes.
| Table 1.1 Summary of main results | |||
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
| Income | € | € | € |
| Real1 household disposable income | |||
| Median | 43,915 | 46,627 | 46,076 |
| Mean | 52,941 | 54,930 | 55,377 |
| Real1 equivalised disposable income per individual | |||
| Median | 24,013 | 25,349 | 25,741 |
| Mean | 27,762 | 28,850 | 29,376 |
| At risk of poverty threshold | |||
| (60% of median income) | 14,408 | 15,209 | 15,445 |
| Nominal household disposable income | |||
| Median | 43,915 | 46,471 | 46,999 |
| Mean | 52,941 | 54,746 | 56,486 |
| Nominal equivalised disposable income per individual | |||
| Median | 24,013 | 25,264 | 26,257 |
| Mean | 27,762 | 28,753 | 29,965 |
| At risk of poverty threshold | |||
| (60% of median income) | 14,408 | 15,158 | 15,754 |
| Poverty & deprivation rates | % | % | % |
| At risk of poverty rate | 13.2 | 11.6 | 13.1 |
| Deprivation rate2 | 14.3 | 13.8 | 17.7 |
| Deprivation rate for those at risk of poverty | 35.3 | 34.1 | 40.7 |
| Consistent poverty rate | 4.7 | 4.0 | 5.3 |
| Income equality indicators | |||
| Gini coefficient (%) | 28.5 | 27.0 | 28.0 |
| Income quintile share ratio | 4.1 | 3.8 | 4.0 |
| 1 Deflator base year 2019, corresponding with the T-1 income reference period of SILC 2020. | |||
| 2 Experienced two or more types of enforced deprivation. | |||
| X-axis label | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| At Risk of Poverty | 13.2 | 11.6 | 13.1 |
| Deprivation | 14.3 | 13.8 | 17.7 |
| Consistent Poverty | 4.7 | 4 | 5.3 |
| Deprivation rate for those at risk of poverty | 35.3 | 34.1 | 40.7 |
These are audio files with 30-second quotes from CSO Statisticians Eva O'Regan and Lianora Bermingham with the Income Consumption and Wealth (ICW) Division, about the Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) 2022.
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Household Income - Eva O'Regan, Statistician:
At Risk of Poverty - Eva O'Regan, Statistician:
At Risk of Poverty Unemployed - Eva O'Regam, Statistician:
COVID-19 Supports - Lianora Bermingham, Statistician:
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (22 February 2023) issued results from the Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) for 2022.
SILC is a household survey covering a broad range of issues in relation to income and living conditions. It is the official source of data on household and individual income and provides a number of key national poverty indicators, such as the at risk of poverty rate, the consistent poverty rate, and rates of enforced deprivation. This report presents the results for 2022, using an income reference period of the 2021 calendar year.
Commenting on today’s publication, Eva O’Regan, Statistician in the Income, Consumption and Wealth Division, said:
“Today’s results from the CSO’s SILC 2022 show an increase in household income from the previous year, but when adjusted for inflation this increase is eroded. An overall increase in the proportion of people at risk of poverty in 2022 compared with 2021 is also observed, but levels are similar to those seen in SILC 2020. The report also highlights the higher incidence of the risk of poverty amongst certain groups such as persons unable to work due to long-standing health problems; the unemployed; single-adult households; and those in rented accommodation.
No real gain in household income in 2022
The median nominal household disposable income in SILC 2022 was €46,999, representing an increase of €528 (+1.1%) from the previous year’s estimate of €46,471. However, when adjusted for inflation using a base year of 2019, the median real household disposable income in SILC 2022, covering the January to December 2021 income reference period, was €46,076, a decrease of €551 (-1.2%) when compared with the previous year. For a glossary of terms used, see Survey on Income and Living Conditions Fact Sheet (PDF 497KB) .
On average, households received €1,321 (85.2% of gross weekly income) from market income[1] sources such as employment, occupational pension, private pension or other income, and €229 (14.8% of gross income) from social transfers. After deducting tax, social insurance contributions, pension contributions and inter-household transfers paid, the average weekly disposable income was €1,083. However, this varied considerably by decile, where households are ranked from lowest disposable income to highest and divided into ten equally sized groups.
The 10% of households with the lowest disposable income (i.e. the first decile) had a mean weekly nominal gross income of €250. This is composed of an average €26 (10.5% of gross income) from market income and €224 (89.5% of gross income) from social transfers. After deductions, these households had an average net disposable income of €243 per week.
For households in the fifth decile (i.e. the mid-point of the income distribution) the mean weekly gross income was €1,058, composed of an average €768 (72.5%) market income and €291 (27.5%) in social transfers. After deductions, households in the fifth decile had an average of €826 in disposable income.
Households in the tenth or highest decile had a mean weekly gross income of €4,741, composed of an average €4,604 (97.1%) market income and €138 (2.9%) in social transfers. After deductions households in the tenth decile had an average €2,865 in disposable income.
[1] The SILC definition of market income includes employer’s social insurance and pension contributions
Richest 20% have four times the income of the poorest 20%
The Quintile Share Ratio was 4.0 in SILC 2022, compared with 3.8 in 2021, indicating that the richest 20% of people had four times the income of the poorest 20%.
The Gini coefficient measures income equality across the entire income distribution, with 0% indicating perfect equality (i.e. that income is distributed equally amongst all persons) and 100% representing perfect inequality (i.e. that all the income is held by one person). In SILC 2022 the Gini coefficient was 28.0%, compared with 27.0% in 2021.
One in three adults living alone are at risk of poverty
In SILC 2022, the at risk of poverty rate was 13.1%, compared with 11.6% in 2021 and 13.2% in 2020.
Looking at factors such as employment status, household composition, and tenure, CSO analysis reveals significant differences.
Self-defined economic status: One in three unemployed persons (35.6%) and people unable to work due to long-standing health problems (35.2%) were at risk of poverty in SILC 2022. This compares with an at risk of poverty rate of 5.8% for those that described themselves as employed.
Household composition: The at risk of poverty rate was higher amongst single-adult households. One in three persons living in households comprised of one adult aged 65 years and over (33.6%), or comprised of one adult aged less than 65 years (32.0%) were at risk of poverty in SILC 2022. The rate was lowest for those living in households with three or more adults (4.7%).
Tenure: People living in rented or rent-free accommodation was more likely to be at risk of poverty at 23.6% when compared with those living in owner-occupied accommodation (8.7%).
One in twenty persons living in consistent poverty
The consistent poverty measure is defined as people who are both at risk of poverty and experiencing enforced deprivation. The consistent poverty rate in SILC 2022 was 5.3%, compared with 4.0% for the previous year.
Analysis by household composition shows that persons living in households comprised of one adult aged less than 65 years and persons living in one adult households with children had the highest consistent poverty rates (14.5% and 14.1% respectively). Persons living in two adult household where at least one adult was aged 65 years or older had the lowest consistent poverty rate at 1.6%. Analysis by tenure status shows that the consistent poverty rate for persons living in rented accommodation was 12.9% compared with 2.2% of those living in owner-occupied dwellings.
Impact of COVID-19 income supports
Without COVID-19 income supports[2] the at risk of poverty rate (using the standard at risk of poverty threshold) would have been 20.5% in 2022.
By age, the COVID-19 income supports had a greater impact on the risk of poverty of younger age groups in SILC 2022. Those aged 18-34 were the most affected as their poverty risk was reduced by more than nine percentage points from 17.1% without supports to 7.8% when supports were included. The next most affected group was those aged 0-17 whose at risk of poverty rate without supports would have been 24.2%, nine percentage points higher than the rate of 15.2% with supports included. The at risk of poverty rate of those aged 65 and over was least affected by COVID-19 income supports in SILC 2022 with the rate decreasing from 20.0% without supports to 19.0% with supports.”
[2] Income from the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP), the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS) and the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS)