Energy allowance brought poverty risk down to lowest level in 45 years

The share of Dutch people at risk of ending up in poverty was at the lowest level last year since 1977. According to Statistics Netherlands (CBS), 3.8 percent of the population was at risk of poverty in 2022. That was still 5 percent in 2021. CBS explains the decrease by income-supporting measures like the energy allowance.

The poverty risk relates to households that fall below the low-income limit. According to the CBS definition, that limit was between 1,200 and 2,300 net per month in 2022, depending on the composition of the household. If the government had not supported this group, the poverty risk for last year would have been 5.9 percent. That equals approximately 989,000 people, according to CBS.

One of the measures with which the government helped low-income households was the energy allowance. In addition, all households received a discount of 380 euros on their energy bill at the end of last year. Poverty and social security are important themes in the campaign for the parliamentary elections.

The statistics office further notes that the number of children at risk of poverty was historically low. In total, around 165,000 children lived in a family at risk of poverty, 27,000 fewer than a year earlier. However, there is an increased risk for children from refugee countries, CBS said. For example, almost half of the children from Syria live in a family with an income below the low-income limit.

Furthermore, CBS states that almost a quarter of Dutch people who were at risk of poverty lived in the four large cities - Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht. The risk was the highest in Rotterdam at 7.9 percent. The risk of poverty was lowest in the Gelderland municipality of Roozendaal (1.2 percent).