Social exclusion and poverty
This article introduces the possibilities of measuring social exclusion and poverty. A closer look is taken at the trends and expression of poverty in Estonia in 2015 by socio-demographic factors.
Social exclusion and poverty
Multidimensional poverty in society
Poverty cannot be described simply as a shortage of income but rather as a much wider concept, also encompassing the nonmaterial elements of poverty which are not directly associated with monetary resources. Poverty and social exclusion can be defined through limited resources, material deprivation, perceived need, living standard, class affiliation, lack of access to various opportunities and resources, lack of security or even intolerable life struggles (Spicker 2007).
Last year every fifth person in Estonia lived in relative poverty
According to Statistics Estonia, in 2015, 21.3% of the Estonian population lived in relative poverty and 3.9% in absolute poverty. The overall percentage of people living in relative poverty decreased 0.3 percentage points compared to the previous year, the percentage of people living in absolute poverty decreased 2.4 percentage points.
Social exclusion and poverty
Social exclusion is understood as a situation in which a person is unable to fully participate in social life due to insufficient education, low income, poverty, material deprivation, unemployment or poor health, and his/her access to resources and services is limited. Social exclusion entails negative consequences not only for the excluded individual but for the society as a whole, since the individual’s potential contribution to the society diminishes.
Every fifth person in Estonia lived in relative poverty in 2014
According to Statistics Estonia, in 2014, 21.6% of the Estonian population lived in relative poverty and 6.3% in absolute poverty. The overall percentage of people living in relative poverty decreased 0.5 percentage points compared to the previous year, the percentage of people living in absolute poverty decreased 1.7 percentage points.