Nearly a quarter of self-employed EU citizens are at risk of poverty and social exclusion, according to Eurostat figures released.

The situation of the self-employed over the age of 18 worsened from 2020 to 2021, as the percentage of those at risk of poverty and social exclusion increased from 22.3% in 2020 to 23.6% in 2021. Conversely, according to Eurostat, from 2020 to 2021, the at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion rates fell for the unemployed, pensioners, and employed by 1.6, 0.6, and 0.3 percentage points, respectively.

At the national level, in 2021, the highest percentages of self-employed people at risk of poverty and social exclusion were recorded by Romania (70.8%), Portugal (32.4%), Estonia (32.2%), Spain (30 %), Poland (28%) and Greece (27%).

In particular, in Greece, the situation of the self-employed worsened from 2020 to 2021, as the percentage of the self-employed at risk of poverty increased by more than 2 percentage points.

The highest increase from 2020 to 2021 was recorded by Romania (5.1 percentage points).

In contrast, the poverty situation for the self-employed improved in 11 countries, with Ireland and Hungary reporting the largest reduction in such rates from 2020 to 2021 (-3.2 and -3.7 percentage points, respectively).