Income gap, poverty risk in Finland lower than EU average | business

Tue, 26 May, 2015 12:07:15 AM

25% EU citizen at risks of poverty

Income gap, poverty risk in Finland lower than EU average

FTimes Report, May 26

Income differentials in European countries 2012, Gini index (%). Source: Income Distribution Statistics 2013, Statistics Finland.

Income differentials in Finland are still smaller than the EU average even though they grew rapidly by international comparison in the late 1990s, according to Statistics Finland.

Every fourth EU citizen is at risk of poverty or social exclusion, while in Finland, 16 per cent of the population are at risk of poverty or social exclusion.

These data derive from the results of the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions, where Finland's data are based on Statistics Finland’s income distribution statistics.

Share of persons at risk of poverty or social exclusion divided to those living in low income households and others at risk of poverty or social exclusion in Europe in 2012. Source: Income Distribution Statistics 2013, Statistics Finland.

In 2012, the smallest relative income differentials in Europe were found in Norway and Iceland and the largest in Bulgaria and Latvia.

In Finland, the average income of the highest-income decile was 5.2-fold that of the lowest-income decile, while in the countries with high income differentials it was more than tenfold.

The most common income differential indicator, the Gini index, was 25.4 in Finland when the average for EU Member States was 30.5. The higher the Gini coefficient, the bigger the income differentials are.

Finland Times