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.
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In SILC 2022, the at risk of poverty rate was 13.1%, a 1.5 percentage point increase on the 2021 estimate of 11.6%. This figure is similar to the 2020 estimate of 13.2%, indicating that the decrease in 2021 may have been temporary and linked to the COVID-19 pandemic and associated economic measures. See figure 5.1 and table 5.1.
An individual is defined as being at risk of poverty if their nominal equivalised disposable income is under the at risk of poverty threshold, i.e. 60% of the median nominal equivalised disposable income. See At Risk of Poverty Indicators Explained (PDF 1,094KB) .
| 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 |
An analysis by socio-demographic characteristics shows that those most at risk of poverty in SILC 2022 were those individuals who described their Principal Economic Status (PES) as unemployed (35.6%), followed by persons unable to work due to long-standing health problems (35.2%). This compares with an at risk of poverty rate of 5.8% for those that described themselves as employed.
The at risk of poverty rate for persons who stated their PES as unemployed was 23.2% in SILC 2021, a 10.0 percentage point decrease on the 2020 estimate of 33.2%. This subsequently increased to 35.6% in SILC 2022. As outlined in the previous chapter, SILC respondents’ PES is self-defined at the time of interview (first six months of 2022), whereas their income reference period is the calendar year 2021, therefore reported income may not be perfectly aligned with PES. Measures put in place to mitigate the economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis contributed to the decrease in the at risk of poverty rate for unemployed respondents in SILC 2021. See figure 5.2 and table 5.1.
| X-axis label | At Risk of Poverty | Deprivation | Consistent Poverty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employed | 5.8 | 12.7 | 2.3 |
| Unemployed | 35.6 | 48.6 | 18 |
| Retired | 19.1 | 12 | 3.8 |
| Unable to work due to long-standing health problems | 35.2 | 44.3 | 19.7 |
| Student, pupil | 13.7 | 20.1 | 6.6 |
| Fulfilling domestic tasks | 23.8 | 23.1 | 7.9 |
Looking at the profile of the population, in SILC 2020 3.9% of persons described their PES as unemployed, increasing to 5.1% in 2021 and decreasing to 2.5% in 2022. See table 5.3.
In SILC 2022, 45.4% of persons defined themselves as being employed, while employed persons made up 19.9% of people that were at risk of poverty. See figure 5.3 and table 5.3.
| X-axis label | Other | Children under 16 years of age | Fulfilling domestic tasks | Student, pupil | Unable to work due to long-standing health problems | Retired | Unemployed | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Consistent Poverty | 1.3 | 27.7 | 7.7 | 9.2 | 17.1 | 8.9 | 8.4 | 19.7 |
| Enforced Deprivation | 1.9 | 23.4 | 6.7 | 8.5 | 11.6 | 8.5 | 6.8 | 32.5 |
| At Risk of Poverty | 1.5 | 24 | 9.3 | 7.8 | 12.4 | 18.3 | 6.8 | 19.9 |
| Population | 0.9 | 21.4 | 5.2 | 7.5 | 4.6 | 12.6 | 2.5 | 45.4 |
By age group, the largest year on year change in the at risk of poverty rate was in persons ages 65 or over, going from 11.9% in 2021 to 19.0% in 2022.
By household composition, the at risk of poverty rate was highest amongst single adult households. One in three persons living in households composed of one adult aged 65 years and over (33.6%), or composed 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%). See table 5.1.
The at risk of poverty rate for individuals in households with one adult and one or more children aged under 18 was 23.8%, compared with 13.1% of persons living in two adult households with 1-3 children. See figure 5.4 and table 5.1.
| X-axis label | At risk of poverty | Deprivation | Consistent poverty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 adult aged 65 years and over | 33.6 | 16.8 | 8.1 |
| 1 adult aged less than 65 years | 32 | 25.2 | 14.5 |
| 2 adults, at least 1 aged 65 years and over | 14.4 | 9 | 1.6 |
| 2 adults, both aged less than 65 years | 6.1 | 17.9 | 2.2 |
| 3 or more adults | 4.7 | 12.9 | 2.5 |
| 1 adult, with children under 18 years | 23.8 | 43.5 | 14.1 |
| 2 adults, with 1-3 children under 18 years | 13.1 | 17.7 | 5.3 |
| Other households with children under 18 years | 9.2 | 17.1 | 5.8 |
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In 2022 the enforced deprivation results were published in a separate earlier release. See SILC: Enforced Deprivation 2022.
In SILC 2022, 17.7% of the population were defined as living in enforced deprivation, i.e. experienced two or more of the eleven types of deprivation. This compares with 13.8% in 2021.
The deprivation rate for those at risk of poverty was 40.7% in SILC 2022 compared with 34.1% in 2021. The deprivation rate for those not at risk of poverty was 14.3% in 2022, compared with 11.2% in 2021. See table 5.5.
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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. See figure 5.1 and table 5.1.
For persons of working age, the risk of poverty, deprivation and consistent poverty tends to be correlated with employment status. An analysis by PES shows that the consistent poverty rate was highest among persons unable to work due to long-standing health problems (19.7%) and the unemployed (18.0%), while it was lowest amongst those who were employed (2.3%).
Similarly, the risk of poverty, deprivation and consistent poverty tends to follow a downward trajectory as the number of employed persons within a household increase. For persons living in households where no one is at work, the consistent poverty rate is 13.8%, compared with 6.5% for those living in households with one person at work, and 1.5% for those in households with two persons at work.
In terms of tenure status, the consistent poverty rate for those living in owner-occupied dwellings was 2.2% compared with 12.9% for those living in rented or rent-free accommodation. See figure 5.5 and table 5.1.
| X-axis label | At Risk of Poverty | Deprivation | Consistent Poverty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner-occupied | 8.7 | 10.2 | 2.2 |
| Rented or rent free | 23.6 | 35.6 | 12.9 |
Looking at the profile of the population, while less than 30% of the population are living in rented or rent-free accommodation, such people make up over 70% of those living in consistent poverty. See figure 5.6 and table 5.3.
| Owner-occupied | Rented or rent free | |
| Consistent Poverty | 28.4 | 71.6 |
| Enforced Deprivation | 40.6 | 59.4 |
| At Risk of Poverty | 46.7 | 53.3 |
| Population | 70.4 | 29.6 |
For a given year, the “at risk of poverty rate anchored at a moment in time” is the share of the population whose income is below the at risk of poverty threshold calculated in the standard way for a previous base year and then adjusted for inflation. The purpose of this indicator is to get some indication of the changes in ‘absolute poverty’ over time. The deflator is derived from the monthly Consumer Price Index and takes into account the T-1 income refence period of SILC data. For SILC 2020 the income reference period is the calendar year January to December 2019.
In SILC 2022, the at risk of poverty rate anchored at 2020 was 9.1%, compared with 13.2% in 2020. See figure 5.7.
| X-axis label | At Risk of Poverty Anchored at 2020 | At Risk of Poverty |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 13.2 | 13.2 |
| 2021 | 9 | 11.6 |
| 2022 | 9.1 | 13.1 |
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At risk of poverty rate after deducting rent and mortgage interest is used to help analyse inequalities in housing costs and their impact on poverty risk. Using the standard at risk of poverty threshold (€15,754 in SILC 2022), if rent and mortgage interest payments were deducted from income the at risk of poverty rate would have been 21.9%, 8.8 percentage points higher than without the deduction. See the Background Notes for full technical details.
Analysis by tenure shows that after deducting rent paid, more than one in two (57.5%) of those that stated they lived in accommodation rented from the Local Authority would have been at risk of poverty. The at risk of poverty rate for those living in accommodation rented with other forms of social housing supports such as the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP), Rent Supplement and the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS), was 67.6% when rent was deducted from disposable income. For persons living in accommodation rented without housing supports, the at risk of poverty rate was 41.6% after deducting rent paid. See figure 5.8 and table 5.6.
| X-axis label | At risk of poverty rate after rent and mortgage interest | At risk of poverty rate |
|---|---|---|
| Owner-occupied: with outstanding mortgage | 5.9 | 4.2 |
| Owner-occupied: without outstanding mortgage | 13.1 | 13.1 |
| Rent free | 40.4 | 40.4 |
| Rented: from Local Authority | 57.5 | 35.8 |
| Rented: other forms of social housing support | 67.6 | 12.7 |
| Rented: without housing supports | 41.6 | 16.7 |
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