BR Analysis. Romanian paradox: Pensioners are far less poor than children and working-age population

The Romanian pensioners are far less poor than the children or the working-age population as only one out of six pensioners is at risk of poverty, Eurostat data show.

In 2017, 16.1 percent of Romanian pensioners were considered at risk of poverty, slightly above the EU average of 14.2 percent. The share of Romanian pensioners at risk of poverty is even lower than the proportion seen in much more developed countries like the United Kingdom (19.1 percent in 2017), Germany (17.5 percent) or Sweden (16.2 percent).

However, the proportion of pensioners at risk of poverty has steadily increased in Romania during the last few years, from 10.1 percent in 2011 up to 15.8 percent in 2015, 15.9 percent in 2016 and 16.1 percent in 2017.

However, the proportion of pensioners at risk of poverty is much lower than the proportion of general population considered in the same situation.

In 2017, more than 1 out of 3 Romanians (35.7 percent) were considered “at risk of poverty or social exclusion”.

This means that 7.04 million people in the country are at risk of poverty or severely materially deprived or living in households with very low work intensity, according to Eurostat definition.

Other Eurostat data showed that the share of children living in a household at risk of poverty or social exclusion ranged from around 14 percent in Sweden, to 46.8 percent in Romania in 2015.