Definition: the indicator measures the share of income received by the bottom 40 per cent of the population. The income concept used is total disposable household income.

The data used here are based on the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) survey, with income data that relate to the year preceding the survey year. This means, for example, for the survey year 2020 that in the calculation of this indicator the incomes of 2019 were used, which were not affected by the Covid-19 crisis (Statbel, 2021a).

Statbel organises this EU-harmonised survey in Belgium and makes the results available, in particular to Eurostat. 2004 is the first year for which European harmonised data have been collected in order to calculate the indicator. The data used here come from Eurostat, which publishes detailed and comparable results between EU Member States. Since these data are based on a survey, a margin of uncertainty has to be taken into account. This margin of uncertainty increases as the indicator is calculated on smaller sub-populations. The confidence intervals are available on request from Statbel.

From 2019 onwards, the methodology of the survey has been thoroughly revised for better accuracy. Therefore, the data collected until 2018 are not comparable with those collected from 2019 onwards. In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic impacted data collection. This makes it difficult to compare the results of SILC 2020 with those of previous years. (Statbel, 2021b). Therefore, they are not used to calculate and evaluate the long-term trend. It should also be noted that due to the widespread use of temporary unemployment during the covid-19 pandemic, the category of 'unemployed' in SILC 2021 includes not only the long-term unemployed, but also persons who have been temporarily unemployed for more than 6 months and who are generally living in less precarious conditions (Statbel, 2022).

Goal: the income of the bottom 40 percent should increase.

The Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs adopted by the UN in 2015 include target 10.1: " By 2030, progressively achieve and sustain income growth of the bottom 40 per cent of the population at a rate higher than the national average".

International comparison: between 2010 and 2023, that indicator consistently fluctuated around 21% in the EU27. A very slight increase in that period is observed from 21.4% to 21.7%. The average for Belgium in the same period is 2 percentage points higher than that of the EU27. When Member States are divided into three groups, Belgium is part of the group that performs best in 2023 with 24.6%. In that year, Slovakia ranked first with 25.6% and Bulgaria last with 18%.

UN indicator: the selected indicator approximates the indicator 10.1.1 Growth rates of household expenditure or income per capita among the bottom 40 per cent of the population and the total population.

Sources

• General

  • SDGs, Sustainable Development Goals: United Nations (2015), Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 25 September 2015, document A/RES/70/1.

  • Indicators: United Nations (2017), Work of the Statistical Commission pertaining to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 6 July 2017, document A/RES/71/313.

  • UN Sustainable Development: https://sdgs.un.org/ (consulted on 18/01/2023).

  • UN Sustainable Development Goal indicators website: https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/ (consulted on 18/01/2023).

• Specific

  • Statbel (2021a), Chiffres clés 2021, p. 31, https://statbel.fgov.be/fr/nouvelles/chiffres-cles-2021 (consulted on 10/12/2021)

  • Statbel (2021b), SILC FAQ, https://statbel.fgov.be/fr/themes/menages/pauvrete-et-conditions-de-vie/faq, see in particular "Y a-t-il des ruptures de séries dans la chronologie de l'enquête SILC ?" (consulted on 19/11/2021)

  • Statbel (2022), Risk of poverty or social exclusion - SILC-indicators 2019-2021, https://statbel.fgov.be/sites/default/files/files/documents/Huishoudens/10.7%20Inkomen%20en%20levensomstandigheden/10.7.1%20Armoederisico/Publication_Silc_STATBEL_ENG.xlsx (consulted on 15/06/2022).

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