Poverty among migrants in Europe

Migrants from outside the European Union are occasionally exposed to a multiple times higher risk of poverty than the “indigenous” population, according to the widely used Laeken indicator of poverty (with a threshold of 60% of national median income). EU and non-EU migrants constitute two rather distinct groups in most countries in terms of their exposure to poverty.

A potential cause for social tension, however, is relative disadvantage: in other words, the difference between poverty rates of migrants on the one hand, and of the indigenous population on the other. In the worse case, the situation of migrants is disadvantageous both in absolute and relative terms, characterised by both high poverty rates and relatively higher poverty rates than the “indigenous” population. Such countries include Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Finland and Sweden.

The results include various tests of reliability, including the estimation of confidence intervals for the poverty estimates, and the use of alternative definitions of migrants.

The series of Policy Briefs of the European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research, Vienna, provides a synthesis of research and policy advice on which the European Centre researchers have been working.