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Living Conditions Survey (ULF/SILC):

Sweden has lowest share in the EU of people with great difficulty in making ends meet

Statistical news from Statistics Sweden 2016-11-23 9.30

Two percent of Swedes state that they have great difficulty in meeting the household budget. The average in the European Union is 10 percent. Both in Sweden and the EU, single persons with children above all state that they have great difficulty in making ends meet.

In the EU, Sweden is the country with the lowest proportion of households, 2 percent, to state that they have great difficulty in making ends meet. Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, France and Estonia also show low proportions between fully 2 percent and 5 percent. However, in Greece, Cyprus and Bulgaria, about one third of households have great difficulty in making ends meet. Croatia, Portugal and Romania also report high proportions, about 20 percent.

The percentage of the Swedish population to state that they have great difficulty in making ends meet has been relatively constant in recent years.

Percentage of the population that report great difficulty in making ends meet. The European Union, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland, 2015

Chart

* Information regarding Ireland and Switzerland refer to 2014, since information regarding 2015 was not available at the time of publication. Source: Eurostat, EU-SILC

Single persons with children is the household type that has the greatest difficulty in making ends meet. In Sweden, 8 percent of single persons with children have great difficulty in making ends meet, which is a higher proportion than among single persons who do not have children (4 percent). These data are lower compared with data regarding single persons in the EU. In the EU, 17 percent among single persons with children state that they have great difficulty making ends meet, compared with 10 percent among single persons without children.

Share of single persons among population that report great difficulty in making ends meet. The European Union compared with Sweden, 2015

Chart

Source: Eurostat, EU-SILC

Other results from EU-SILC

  • In Sweden and the other Nordic countries, about one-fifth of young adults aged 16 to 34 live at home with their parents. In the EU, this proportion is higher, as every second young adult lives at home with their parents.
  • About 16 percent of Swedish households is not able to finance an unexpected expense within one month, which is the lowest percentage in the entire European Union. The corresponding figure for all households in the EU is nearly 40 percent.
  • In Sweden, 5 to 6 percent of households were behind in payments between 2008 and 2015. This refers to payment of rent, amortisations, interest costs and electricity costs. In many European households, this problem was larger in 2015 than in 2008. The average figure for all households in the European Union was 12 percent in 2015, which can be compared with 10 percent in 2008.

Definitions and explanations

The indicator Difficulty in making ends meet is one of the indicators that is used to follow up how households meet economic strains. The share is estimated from those who answered "great difficulty" to the question "If you look at your household finances on the whole, do you think it is easy or difficult (for you) to make ends meet?".

More about the statistics

The EU-SILC (EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions) is a statistical survey that is conducted annually in the EU countries as well as several other countries. Since 2008, the survey has been a part of the Survey on Living Conditions, enabling us to make international comparisons. More results are presented under tables and graphs.

Detailed information about the EU-SILC is available on Eurostat's website. Income and Living Conditions.

Next publishing will be

2017-01-25 at 09.30.

Statistical Database

More information is available in the Statistical Database

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