In 2025, 92.7 million people in the European Union — or 20.9% of the total population — were at risk of poverty or social exclusion. The figures were published by the EU statistical office Eurostat; the regional breakdown shows pronounced disparities across the bloc and lists the German state of Bremen among the regions with high rates.
- 20.9% of the EU population (92.7 million people) met the AROPE indicator in 2025.
- In 24 out of 243 EU regions with available data, the share stood at 31.5% or higher, including Bremen in north-western Germany.
- AROPE is a composite indicator that accounts not only for low income after social transfers, but also for severe material and social deprivation and very low household work intensity.
What AROPE Measures
According to the Eurostat glossary, a person is counted under the AROPE indicator (at risk of poverty or social exclusion) if they experience at least one of three situations:
- risk of monetary poverty after social transfers;
- severe material and social deprivation;
- living in a household with very low work intensity.
For this reason, the indicator cannot be equated simply with the share of people on low monetary incomes.
Regions with the Highest Shares
Eurostat compares regions at level 2 of the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS 2). Regions recording a share of at least 31.5% were concentrated mainly in southern, eastern, and outermost regions of the EU: five in Spain, four each in Bulgaria, Greece, and Italy, three French outermost regions, and two in Romania. The group also included two predominantly urban regions in western EU member states: the Brussels-Capital Region in Belgium and Bremen in Germany.
In five regions, the share was more than double the EU average:
| Region | Share of population at risk (2025) |
|---|---|
| French Guiana (France) | 54.8% |
| Calabria (Italy) | 45.3% |
| Sicily (Italy) | 44.0% |
| Melilla (Spain) | 43.7% |
| Réunion (France) | 42.3% |
Regions with the Lowest Shares
At the other end of the distribution, 24 EU regions recorded rates below 13.0%. These included five capital regions in eastern EU member states — Bratislava, Warsaw, Prague, Budapest, and Zagreb — along with six regions in northern Italy, four additional regions in Czechia, four regions in northern Belgium, two additional regions each in Hungary and Poland, and one region in Austria.
Methodological Context
Eurostat’s release does not state the specific percentage for Bremen or the national figure for Germany as a whole; the mention of Bremen does not describe conditions across Germany. The NUTS classification compares geographic territories rather than population groups by nationality or migration status. The absence of a region from the available dataset does not imply a zero value.
The publication marks the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, observed annually on October 17.