In Latvia, 399 000 residents or 21.6% of the country’s population was at risk of poverty in 2023, which is 0.9 percentage points less than in 2022, according to data from the Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia (CSP).
Information from CSP indicates that the disposable income of these residents was below the at-risk-of-poverty threshold last year.
The risk of poverty went down last year for working-age residents, i.e. the people aged 18-64, accounting for 8.5%, which is a decrease of one percentage point since 2022.
CSP notes that the risk of poverty last year was high for residents of pre-retirement age, namely, the population aged 55 to 64 (22.8%). The risk of poverty was particularly high for the population aged 60 to 64 (25.5%).
Last year, with an increase in disposable income, the at-risk-of-poverty threshold also went up, reaching EUR 641 per month for a single-person household, while in 2022 the at-risk-of-poverty threshold was EUR 563 per month. For households with two adults and two children under the age of 14, the at-risk-of-poverty threshold reached EUR 1 346 a month in 2023, as opposed to EUR 1 182 a month in 2022.
The largest proportion of the population at risk of poverty was in Latgale (32.7%), while the smallest was in Riga (14.2%). 29.8% of the population were at risk of poverty in Vidzeme, 26.6% in Kurzeme, and 22.2% in Zemgale.
CSP reports that the risk of poverty last year increased for vulnerable groups of the population – the risk of poverty for the unemployed aged 18 to 64 reached 57.7% last year, which is an increase of 4.1 percentage points compared to 2022, for seniors aged 65 and over – 41.4%, which is an increase of 1.3 percentage points, households with one adult and dependent children – 30.4%, which is an increase of 0.8 percentage points, as well as households with two adults and three or more dependent children – 20.8%, which is an increase of 1.3 percentage points.
Meanwhile, the risk of poverty for the elderly (aged 65 and over), who lived alone, decreased slightly – from 67.8% in 2022 to 66.3% in 2023.
For the rest of the population, the risk of poverty remained unchanged.
In the prevention of the risk of poverty, social transfers play an important role, which include both state and municipal targeted support and pensions, which are formed from the life-long social tax contributions of residents. However, compared to previous years, their impact on the income of the population has diminished slightly, it says in the statistical office.
Last year, the support provided by social transfers reduced the proportion of the population at risk of poverty by 16.2 percentage points, while in 2022 – by 18.1, in 2021 – by 18.2, and in 2020 – by 17.1 percentage points. Without social transfers, without state and municipal support, including the payment of old-age pensions, 37.8% of the population would be at risk of poverty in 2023.
Data was obtained from the CSP income and living conditions survey of 2024, which was conducted from the 31st of January to the 30th of June. The survey was attended by 10 500 respondents aged 16 and over from 6 000 households.