Population below the poverty threshold

According to the 2023 EU-SILC survey, 7.8% of the residents in the Flemish Region lived in a household with a household income (open definition) below the Belgian poverty threshold (open definition). That corresponds to approximately 520,000 inhabitants. It is assumed that households with an income below the poverty threshold are at an increased risk of poverty.

The above figures were calculated based on the total disposable income of households in the year preceding the survey. The 2023 EU-SILC survey figures therefore refer to 2022 household incomes.

The EU-SILC survey was thoroughly updated in 2019. Caution is therefore advised when making comparisons with the results of previous years. It can be said that the share of inhabitants below the poverty threshold has remained more or less stable since 2021.

The differences in poverty risk according to gender remain limited. There are differences by age: the share below the poverty threshold was highest among people aged 65 and older in 2023 (13%).

Broken down by household type, the risk of poverty in 2023 was highest among single-parent families (17%), single-person households (14%) and older couples (13%).

By employment status, the unemployed have the highest risk of poverty (33%). Inactive people (excluding pensioners) also score relatively high (15%).

The risk of poverty in 2023 was also much higher among tenants (19%) than among home owners (5%).

The risk of poverty decreases as the level of education increases: among the highly educated inhabitants it was 5% in 2023, and 16% among the low-skilled inhabitants.

Finally, the risk of poverty also varies by country of birth. Persons born in Belgium have the lowest risk of poverty (6%), persons born outside the European Union (EU27) have the highest risk of poverty (25%).

The risk of poverty in 2023 was highest in the province of Antwerp (10%) and lowest in the province of East Flanders (5%).

The risk of poverty in 2022 was lower in the Flemish Region (8%) than in the Walloon Region (18%) and the Brussels-Capital Region (30%). In Belgium as a whole, the risk of poverty was 13%.

The share of people below the poverty threshold in 2022 was 17% of the population in the 27 countries of the European Union (EU27). The risk of poverty was the lowest in the Czech Republic (10%). In Hungary, Slovenia, Poland and Slovakia, the share below the poverty threshold was also at a similar level as in the Western and Northern European countries, while the standard of living in the first group of countries is lower. This is related to the fact that this is a relative poverty measure, calculated on the basis of the income distribution in each country separately.

Figures for 2023 are not yet available for all EU countries. But this is the case for Belgium and the regions. In 2023, the risk of poverty in the Flemish Region was 8%, in the Walloon Region at 15% and in the Brussels-Capital Region at 28%. In Belgium as a whole it was 12%.