Bulgaria is in second place after Slovakia in terms of the share of people at risk of poverty who cannot afford to eat normally - nearly 38%. This is according to Eurostat data for 2024, quoted by the Bulgarian National Radio.
According to the methodology of the study, this means that these people cannot buy meat, fish or their vegetarian equivalent every other day.
The leader in the indicator at the bottom of the ranking - Slovakia, has a share of almost 40 percent of the population at risk of poverty, which cannot afford to eat normally.
Last year, a total of 8.5 percent of people in the entire European Union were in this situation, which is a decrease of one percentage point compared to 2023.
Immediately after Bulgaria is Hungary with a little over 37 percent.
At the other extreme are Cyprus with a share of 3.5 percent, as well as Ireland and Portugal with a little over 5%
The ability of a person to afford a meal with meat, fish or a vegetarian equivalent every second day is one of the elements observed at the household level to calculate the percentage of people living in severe material deprivation.
This is one of the components of the indicator for people at risk of poverty or social exclusion.