Panel: One in Five People in Serbia at Risk of Poverty, Children and Pensioners Most Vulnerable

(BETAPHOTO/MILAN ILIC)

Nearly one in five people in Serbia lived at risk of poverty, with children and pensioners making the most vulnerable group, it was said during a panel titled “From economic growth to collective wellbeing - understanding and combating multidimensional poverty,” held in Belgrade on Oct. 21.

Over the last decade, of this figure, 50.8 percent were the unemployed – those older than 15 years of age, high school students, pensioners or university students.  Among those at risk of poverty, self-employed, such as business owners or farmers, represent 12.7 percent, while the share of the public sector employees is 4.8 percent, according to the Serbian Statistical Office. 

Borka Jeremic, the head of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Country Office in Serbia, said that “more than half of women in Serbia, 51.2 percent, are not in the labor force, with childcare being the typical reason for being out of work, while men point to the inability to find a full-time job.” She added that children and pensioners were the biggest victims of poverty, while 25 percent of older women who lived alone were at the highest risk of poverty.

Deputy Head of EU Delegation to Serbia Plamena Halacheva said that Belgrade had a low share of the poverty rate, but that southern and eastern Serbia faced a higher percentage, noting that social protection and pensions played a key role in dealing with poverty. Marko Jovanovic, a state secretary in the Finance Ministry, said the at-risk-of-poverty rate in Serbia was 19.7 percent, adding that in 2024, GDP had increased by 3.9 percent and unemployment dropped to 8.6 percent.