According to the official data, Sweden and Luxembourg may quite reasonably boast of the lowest poverty percentage in the entire EU. In both of the countries, this indicator is equal to mere 1%, whereas it is approximately 9% across the EU.
As for people defined as materially poor, they live a life that does not meet certain standards. In particular, such people find themselves incapable of paying for housing, electricity and heating. They lack funds for incidental expenditures or settle the mortgage. Moreover, they also do not have such common capital goods as, for example, a colour TV or a washing machine.
The indicator of poverty is the highest in Latvia and Bulgaria. 31% of Latvian population and 44% of Bulgarians are considered to be materially poor.
On the other hand, Sweden enjoys a stable 1% poverty. It should be added that poor Swedes are mainly represented by jobless citizens.
