We belong to the most egalitarian European countries. The proportion of Czechs who feel poor is much smaller than in Greece, Bulgaria, or Slovakia, for example.
The number of people at risk of poverty in our country is low compared to other European Union states. The proportion of those who perceive themselves as poor is, according to Eurostat data, the 12th lowest out of 27 countries in the European Union. We are therefore among the countries with the smallest differences.
The Czech Republic is one of the most egalitarian countries. Therefore, the proportion of poor people is relatively very low. Only 9.5 percent of our population was at risk of poverty last year. This is the lowest in the European Union. The average of the union is 16.2 percent.
We also rank last in the EU in terms of the proportion of people below the poverty line, with 11.3 percent, according to an analysis. This percentage reflects those inhabitants who are either at risk of poverty or severely materially deprived or live in a household with a very low level of work intensity. Thanks to these results, we surpass even Scandinavian countries, such as Finland or Denmark, which historically focus on social equality.
Lone seniors and single parents are the worst off
Compared to the rest of Europe, according to PAQ Research survey agency, some specific types of households here are below the poverty line. These are mainly independently living seniors, of whom 62 percent are below the line of comparable European poverty. The European average is 28 percent according to this source. Poverty also weighs down 43 percent of single-parent households with children, whereas the European average is 16 percentage points lower for them.
Also under the European poverty line are nearly 7 percent of Czech employees, 10 percent of self-employed individuals and about 30 percent of the remaining adults - retirees, students, unemployed, and those caring for their loved ones. The prevalence of poverty among them exceeds the European average.
Low wages and differences in prices
According to the annual Poverty Watch 2025 report, compiled by the Czech branch of the European Anti-Poverty Network, this indicator is aggravated in our country by, for example, inaccessible housing and low wages.
Domestic households suffer from income poverty more frequently than in the most prosperous post-communist state of Slovenia, but less often than in some Mediterranean countries such as Portugal, Greece or Italy.
The report also mentions the minimum decent wage. According to experts' calculations, last year it amounted to 45,865 gross crowns for full-time work to cover the needs of an adult with a child, leisure time and minor savings. In Prague and Brno, due to high housing costs, it was 53,953 crowns. According to the Social Exclusion Index, compiled by the Agency for Social Exclusion, last year there were more municipalities with places with a high proportion of residents receiving benefits, in enforcement, without work or education. The report also points out the small non-seizable amounts of people in debt relief or executions, the high proportion of housing expenses, the unavailability of apartments and the impacts of poor housing conditions and poverty on education and further application of children.
According to PAQ Research agency, when comparing poverty rates, it is important to also take into account the differences in prices in different countries. The median income of households in such countries as Luxembourg, Austria, or Ireland, is roughly 1.9 times higher than in our country, and even 3 times higher than in Bulgaria. Therefore, the poor in Luxembourg or Austria also have significantly higher incomes and standards of living. Their wealth is comparable to the middle class in the Czech Republic.
Most of us don't feel poor
Last year, according to Eurostat, the number of Czechs who felt poor was 14.2 percent. Thus, we were far behind Greece, where it is roughly two-thirds of the population, Bulgaria with 37.4 percent, and Slovakia with 28.7 percent. While in 2024 in the European Union, on average, 17.4 percent of people considered themselves poor, a year earlier it was 19.1 percent.
"The Czech Republic is not a country where there would be a lot of poverty. The extreme poverty is below average. And the so-called shallow poverty is, let's say, average within Europe. But we definitely are not leading in any indicator that makes sense to compare,
The conclusions of the analyses were summarized for Czech Radio by sociologist Daniel Prokop from the PAQ Research agency.
And how is Europe on average? According to their own belief, the poorest in the old continent are mainly young people up to 18 years old, Eurostat claims. They make up about one fifth. On the contrary, there are the least poor among seniors, i.e., people over 65 years old. Another factor determining the wealth of people is the level of education. Only 8.5 percent of the European Union residents with high education believe they are poor. On the other hand, 27 percent of people with the lowest level of education consider themselves poor. The reason is clear: whereas people with a high level of education often come from better conditions where households have space to finance, for example, university education, and offer a network of contacts to start a business or find a suitable job, for poorer households it is much more challenging to financially support their children during expensive studies.
Sources: author's text, ČTK, Czech Radio, PAQ Research
