In Croatia, nearly every fifth resident is at risk of poverty, with the poverty risk rate in 2025 standing at 19.5 per cent, according to data from the Croatian Bureau of Statistics (Državni zavod za statistiku) for last year. One fifth of the population, or 20.7 per cent, was at risk of poverty or social exclusion. The poverty threshold for a single-person household was 9,034 euros per year.
The most endangered group are older people. Among those aged 65 and over, 39.4 per cent were at risk of poverty, with the rate higher among women at 42.4 per cent, and 35.3 per cent among men. Among single-person households of those aged 65 and over, the risk rate reached 64.4 per cent, while among pensioners it stood at 36.3 per cent.
For comparison, in the European Union, 20.9 per cent of residents, that is 92.7 million people, were at risk of poverty or social exclusion. The data was published ahead of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty and Social Exclusion, marked on Saturday, 17 October. The day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 1992 and has been observed since 1993.
The government programme for the period from 2024 to 2028 foresees bringing the poverty risk rate below 15 per cent. The national target is to reduce the number of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion by 298,000 by 2030, including 40,000 children. The basis for calculating the guaranteed minimum benefit as of this year is 170 euros, ten euros more than last year, with the aim of reaching 200 euros by the end of the current government's mandate. For older and work-incapable persons, the guaranteed minimum benefit is 221 euros. Last year, 43,171 people used this benefit, while about 97,500 people used it ten years ago.
The pensioners' party warned on the occasion of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty and Social Exclusion that pensions are not keeping pace with the cost of living, and that more and more older people are exchanging property for care. Public notaries and courts registered 6,321 life maintenance contracts and 1,446 death maintenance contracts, the latter involving the immediate transfer of property, in the register last year. Compared with 2024, the number of such contracts rose by 22.5 per cent.
The party also warns that the palliative care system is not well organised and considers that action plans for active ageing and social integration are needed for all counties, cities and municipalities. A permanent annual supplement of seven euros per year of party membership is welcomed by the pensioners' party but considered an insufficient measure. The statement is signed by the party president, Lazar Grujić.
