Last year, 6.5 percent of the total population in Lithuania – about 187,000 people – lived below the absolute poverty line. This is 2.7 percentage points more than in 2022, the State Data Agency reported on Thursday.
Last year, the absolute poverty line in Lithuania was 354 euros a month per capita and 743 euros for a family with two children under 14.
In urban areas, 5.8 percent of the population received income below the absolute poverty line, compared to 8.2 percent in rural areas.
Among the employed, the share of those living below the absolute poverty line was 3 percent, 32.7 percent among the unemployed, 6.2 percent among pensioners, and 2.6 percent among families with children.
The absolute poverty rate before social benefits was highest among single parents – 32.5 percent.
Moreover, 20.9 percent of the population, or 586,000 people, lived at risk of poverty, 0.9 percent higher than in 2021.
The poverty risk threshold was 510 euros a month per capita and 1,071 euros per family in 2023.
Last year, 19.7 percent of the population in urban areas and 23.3 percent in rural areas earned incomes below the poverty risk line. The highest rate was among those aged 65 and over, and increased by 3.6 percent over the year to 39.5 percent.
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