This article explores the latest Eurostat data for 2023 on severe material and social deprivation across European countries and regions. The severe material and social deprivation rate (SMSD) is a key EU indicator for measuring poverty and social exclusion.
The SMSD rate captures the percentage of people who cannot afford certain basic goods, services, or social activities that are considered essential for a decent standard of living. Out of 13 items—ranging from the ability to keep the home warm to participating in social activities—a person is considered severely materially and socially deprived if they cannot afford seven or more of these items. The items are at both household and individual level.
At household level:
- Capacity to face unexpected expenses
- Capacity to afford paying for one week annual holiday away from home
- Capacity to being confronted with payment arrears (on mortgage or rental payments, utility bills, hire purchase instalments or other loan payments)
- Capacity to afford a meal with meat, chicken, fish or vegetarian equivalent every second day
- Ability to keep home adequately warm
- Have access to a car/van for personal use
- Replacing worn-out furniture
At individual level:
- Having internet connection
- Replacing worn-out clothes by some new ones
- Having two pairs of properly fitting shoes (including a pair of all-weather shoes)
- Spending a small amount of money each week on him/herself
- Having regular leisure activities
- Getting together with friends/family for a drink/meal at least once a month
For the full definition and criteria, you can refer to the official Eurostat SMSD definition.
Latest EU trends
Between 2015 and 2023, the share of the population in the EU27 experiencing the severe material and social deprivation rate (SMSD-rate) dropped from 9.7% in 2015 to 6.8% in 2023. However, the pace of improvement has not been uniform, and from 2021 to 2023 the rate increased by 0.5 percentage points.
In terms of absolute numbers, the EU27 has seen a substantial reduction in the total population affected by severe material and social deprivation. In 2015, the figure stood at 40.9 million people, and by 2023 it had dropped to 29.3 million—a decline of more than 11 million people over the period. However, recent data suggests a slight uptick in the number of people affected, rising by almost 2.5 million from 2021.
Country trends
The latest country data from 2023 highlights significant variation in severe material and social deprivation (SMSD) rates across European countries. Among EU27 countries, the highest rates were observed in Romania (19.8%) and Bulgaria (18.0%), while the lowest were in Slovenia (2.0%) and Cyprus (2.2%). Including non-EU countries, Albania reported the highest rate at 39%, though it should be noted that the latest data for Albania is from 2021.
The next chart provides an overview of country trends in the SMSD-rate from 2015 to 2023. Notably, many countries with historically higher rates have experienced significant improvements over time.
Bulgaria reduced its SMSD-rate from 36.8% in 2015 to 18.0% in 2023, while Romania dropped from 34.0% in 2015 to 19.8% in 2023. Hungary, Montenegro, and North Macedonia have also seen notable declines in their SMSD-rates.
In contrast, most Western and Northern European countries have maintained low and stable SMSD-rates. However, some countries, including Spain, Germany, Denmark, and Austria, have seen an uptick in recent years.
The following table presents the latest data on the estimated number of people affected by severe material and social deprivation, alongside the corresponding share of the population.
Regional trends
The map below illustrates the severe material and social deprivation (SMSD) rates across European regions for 2023, highlighting stark differences in living standards within Europe. The regional disparities are significant, with the highest SMSD rates—shown in purple and dark blue—concentrated in Eastern and Southeastern Europe. In many regions of Albania, Romania, and Bulgaria, over 20% of the population experiences severe material and social deprivation. In contrast, much of Western, Northern, and Central Europe shows relatively low SMSD rates, depicted in light blue and teal shades.
The table below ranks all regions from highest to lowest SMSD rates, based on the latest regional data. Out of the four regions with SMSD rates above 30%, three are in Albania and one is in Romania. Guyane (FRY3), a French overseas region, also reports a notably high rate of 27.2%.
At the other end of the spectrum, several regions show rates below or near 1%. Flevoland in the Netherlands has the lowest rate at 0.7%, followed by Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano/Bozen in Italy at 0.8%. Other regions, such as Mellersta Norrland in Sweden, Zentralschweiz in Switzerland, and Emilia-Romagna in Italy, report rates of 0.9%.
For example, Italy displays a substantial divide between its northern and southern regions. While northern regions like Emilia-Romagna and Bolzano report rates below 1%, southern regions such as Campania and Puglia experience much higher levels of deprivation. Similarly, Romania exhibits sharp contrasts, with Bucharest-Ilfov showing much lower SMSD rates compared to the Sud-Est region, which has one of the highest deprivation rates in Europe at 30.8%.
France also presents noticeable variation in SMSD rates. While most mainland French regions report relatively low rates—generally under 7%—the overseas regions paint a different picture. The French overseas territory of Guyane stands out with an SMSD rate of 27.2%, one of the highest across all European regions. In addition to Guyane, France’s overseas regions of La Réunion and Guadeloupe also face high levels of severe material and social deprivation compared to mainland France.
Read more:
- This Eurostat Statistics Explained article provides a detailed overview of the latest data on severe material and social deprivation.
- The country-level data used in this article is from this Eurostat table, while regional data at the NUTS2 level is sourced from this table.