@writersroom.boardwalkThe country where the largest share of people face poverty or social exclusion isn't the one you'd guess: Bulgaria, at 29%. Greece follows at 28%, Romania 27%, then Lithuania and Spain tied at 26%. Latvia 25%, Italy 23%, Estonia 22%. Germany, Croatia and France all land on 21%, which is also where the European Union average sits. Hungary 20%, then Ireland, Malta, Austria, Portugal and Sweden bunched at 19%. Luxembourg and Denmark close it out at 18%. Eurostat's 2025 figures, and the definition matters: this counts people facing low income, severe material and social deprivation, or very low household work intensity. Percentages are rounded from unrounded values.

@writersroom.boardwalkThe country where the largest share of people face poverty or social exclusion isn't the one you'd guess: Bulgaria, at 29%. Greece follows at 28%, Romania 27%, then Lithuania and Spain tied at 26%. Latvia 25%, Italy 23%, Estonia 22%. Germany, Croatia and France all land on 21%, which is also where the European Union average sits. Hungary 20%, then Ireland, Malta, Austria, Portugal and Sweden bunched at 19%. Luxembourg and Denmark close it out at 18%. Eurostat's 2025 figures, and the definition matters: this counts people facing low income, severe material and social deprivation, or very low household work intensity. Percentages are rounded from unrounded values.