Lowest risk of poverty in Iceland
mbl.is/Kristinn Ingvarsson
Eurostat, the European Union's statistical office, today published data suggesting that Iceland has the lowest percentage of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion in comparison with the EU's 28 member states plus Norway and Switzerland.
According to Eurostat 13 percent of Iceland's total population are at risk of poverty or social exclusion or around 40 thousand people. The percentage has gone up from 11.8 percent back in 2008. The average within the EU is, however, 28.5 percent or more than 122 million people. Back in 2008 that applied to 23.8 percent of the bloc's total population.
The highest rate of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion is in Bulgaria or 48 percent. The lowest, besides Iceland, is in Norway or 14.1 percent.
