In 2019, almost 51% of Albanians (50.8%) were at risk of poverty, or social exclusion, a percentage that is highest in Europe, according to the data are published by the European Institute of Statistics, Eurostat.

The second country in the ranking after Albania is Montenegro, with 36.6% (or 14.4 percentage points less than Albania).

Northern Macedonia ranks fourth with 34.2%, and Serbia with 31.1%. (data for Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo are missing).

Eurostat reports that factors influencing poverty or social exclusion are influenced by indicators such as work intensity, level of education, type of family (how many children depend on it), living conditions and migration.

The percentage of Albanians at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2019 was more than twice as high as the European Union (EU) average of 21.1%. Slovenia and the Czech Republic have the lowest rates in Europe, at 13.7 and 12.1%, respectively.

According to age groups, 53.9% of children under 18 are at risk of poverty and social exclusion, again the highest in Europe. Second behind us is Montenegro with 43.9%, while the EU average is 22.8%.

The poverty rate and social exclusion drop slightly for the 18-64 age group, to 49% (from 21.1% which is the EU average and 35% second after Albania which is again Montenegro.

For the age group over 65, the indicator increases again for Albania, to 54%, from 19.4% which is the European average and 47% second after us, which is Bulgaria.

For European Union countries, data are also published for 2020. For the EU average, in the pandemic year, the percentage of the population at risk of poverty and social exclusion has increased to 21.9%, from 21.1% in 2019.

Factors influencing the risk of poverty or social exclusion in the EU in 2020 included:

- labor intensity: 71.9% of the population under the age of 60 living in families with very low labor intensity, with dependent children, were at risk of poverty;

- level of education: 50.5% of children, the level of education of whose parents was low, were at risk of poverty, compared to 7.7% of children, the level of education of whose parents was high ;

- type of family: families consisting of a single person with dependent children (42.1%), families with one person (33.2%) and families consisting of two adults with three or more dependent children (29.6%) had the highest risk of poverty or social exclusion;

- migrant background: children with at least one parent with a migrant background were at greater risk of poverty than children whose parents were both born in the country (32.9% compared to 15.3%);

Living conditions: 14.1% of households consisting of a single person with dependent children were severely materially and socially deprived compared to 7.5% of all families with dependent children.