People facing poverty across the European Union are more likely to experience difficulties with everyday activities, including walking, seeing, remembering and personal care, according to Eurostat data for 2025.
The figures reveal a clear gap between people at risk of poverty and those who are not, highlighting the relationship between financial vulnerability and health-related challenges.
Walking was the most frequently reported difficulty among people at risk of poverty, affecting 24.9% of this group, compared with 16.9% of people not facing the same economic risk.
Problems with vision were also common. Almost one in four people at risk of poverty (23.8%) reported difficulties seeing, compared with 18.9% among those not at risk.
The disparity extended to cognitive functions. Difficulties with memory and concentration were reported by 20.6% of people at risk of poverty, while the proportion among those not at risk stood at 14.5%.
Differences were also evident in people's ability to manage personal care. Some 10.1% of those at risk of poverty reported difficulties with self-care, compared with 5.8% of people outside this category.
Communication presented another area of concern. Difficulties in this area affected 7.5% of people at risk of poverty, almost twice the 4.0% recorded among those not at risk.
Hearing was the exception, with a comparatively smaller gap between the two groups. Difficulties with hearing were reported by 12.9% of people at risk of poverty and 11.1% of those not at risk.
The EU-wide findings indicate that people experiencing financial hardship are more likely to report limitations affecting their daily lives across several areas of functioning. However, the figures describe an association between poverty risk and health-related difficulties rather than establishing that poverty directly causes these problems.
