The risk of poverty or social exclusion fell for 344,000 Belgians in 2024, according to figures from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) survey reported on Tuesday by the Social Security Ministry.
This decline means Belgium has temporarily met the European target for combating poverty, which aims to reduce the number of people living in precarious circumstances across the continent by 15 million by 2030.
However, challenges remain, the administration stresses.
"It is striking to see that all the sub-indicators – whether 'monetary poverty', 'households with virtually no employment' or 'severe material and social deprivation' – are showing a positive trend," said the Social Security Ministry's Jeroen Horemans.
Reducing the number of people at risk of poverty
The proportion of the population living in a household with a net equivalent income below the poverty line fell by 3.9 percentage points in 2024, to 10.9%.
The number of virtually jobless households (families where almost no one is working) has not continued to rise and has remained below the one-million mark.
Additionally, the risk of severe material and social deprivation is falling slightly (-1.3 percentage points, to 4.9%). "This figure reflects people’s ability to meet their basic needs and has hovered around 6% for years," said the Social Security Ministry.
To meet the EU’s 2030 target, Belgium must reduce the number of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion by 279,000 by 2030.
Credit: Belga
Based on poverty indicators for 2024, Belgium has therefore exceeded its target ahead of schedule, with the risk of poverty or social exclusion having fallen for 344,000 Belgians.
"Despite this positive progress, around 1.9 million Belgians are still at risk of poverty or social exclusion. Around 40% face multiple social risks. Among children, this overlap is even more common," said Horemans. "In 2025, for example, more than half of children are at risk of poverty or social exclusion if at least two sub-indicators are taken into account."
The Social Security Ministry is therefore calling on the Federal Government to take into account “the complexity of the issue of poverty and the investment nature of social policy”, by boosting household income, reducing the proportion of low-work-intensity households and strengthening purchasing power.
