(14 April 2016) – In 2015, 8.2% of the population or around 41 million people in the EU were severely materially deprived, meaning that they had living conditions constrained by a lack of resources such as not being able to afford to pay their bills, keep their home adequately warm, or take a one week holiday away from home.
In 2015, the proportion of persons severely materially deprived in the EU continued the downward trend observed since its peak in 2012 (9.9%).
Families with dependent children are affected more than households without children. 8.3% of households with two and more adults with children suffer from severe material deprivation, compared with 6.0% for those without dependent children; and severe material deprivation hits 17.3% of single parent families, compared with 11.0% for single adults without dependent children.
As it can be seen from the same figures, severe material deprivation also affects single-adult households more than households composed of at least two adults.
Among Member States for which 2015 data are available, Finland has the lowest rate of people in severe material deprivation (32.2%) and Bulgaria the highest (34.2%).