336,000 people lived in absolute poverty in Austria in 2024

This corresponds to 3.7 percent of the population in private households. After a sharp increase in 2023, this figure remained unchanged compared to the previous year. Additionally, 1.529 million people or 16.9 percent of the population were at risk of poverty or social exclusion.

The number of those significantly materially and socially disadvantaged - that is, people in absolute poverty - had risen sharply in 2023. In 2022, 2.3 percent or 201,000 people in Austria fell under this definition. In 2024, the number of affected individuals remained constant compared to 2023 with 336,000 people. For example, they could no longer manage unexpected expenses of 1,390 euros or afford a vacation in the year.

Poverty: People with Lower Education Increasingly at Risk

People with lower education are increasingly at risk - 9.7 percent of those who only have a compulsory school diploma are significantly materially and socially disadvantaged. They also have an income disadvantage of 17.5 percent compared to the median of the total population, while those with a university or college degree have an income advantage of 24 percent.

Additionally, in 2024, 1.288 million people or 14.3 percent of the population were considered at risk of poverty. Here, equivalised net household incomes are used - anyone with less than 60 percent of the median value is considered at risk of poverty. The change compared to 2023 (1.338 million people or 14.9 percent) is statistically not significant according to Statistics Austria. However, this figure does not provide information on the extent to which households can manage with their income.

Ministry of Social Affairs Focuses on Social Assistance Reform and Child Basic Security

A total of 1.529 million people or 16.9 percent of the population in private households were also considered at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2024. This definition includes those affected by absolute poverty, whose household has less than 60 percent of the median income available, or who are only marginally involved in the workforce.

The Ministry of Social Affairs pointed out in response that 63,000 fewer people fell under this definition in 2024 compared to 2023. Minister Korinna Schumann (SPÖ) also referred to government-planned measures such as the child basic security and the reform of social assistance. The already implemented "rent price stop" was also "urgently necessary."

Organizations Demand Measures Against Child Poverty

Volkshilfe criticized that 344,000 children and adolescents are also affected by poverty or exclusion. Director Erich Fenninger, like the Federal Youth Representation, advocated for the rapid implementation of the child basic security anchored in the government program. The Poverty Conference and Caritas demanded that child basic security and social assistance be designed together. SOS Children's Villages insisted that savings should not be made at the expense of children and families during budget consolidation.

The Diakonie pointed out the situation of people with disabilities - 82,000 of them live under significant social deprivation and exclusion, 207,000 are at risk of poverty. In social assistance, it should no longer happen that adult people with disabilities are forced to sue their parents for financial support, said Diakonie Director Maria Katharina Moser.

Criticism also came from the FPÖ. The numbers are "extremely alarming," said social spokesperson Dagmar Belakowitsch. She misses effective measures against inflation from the government. It should focus on Austrian citizens, not "asylum seekers illegally residing in the country."

(APA/Red)

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