DREM releases provisional results of the 2020 Survey on Income and Living Conditions

The Regional Directorate of Statistics of Madeira (DREM) conducts annually the Survey on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) in the Autonomous Region of Madeira, under the guidance of Statistics Portugal (INE), since EU-SILC is a statistical operation of national scope.

It is also a harmonised statistical operation in the European Union, carried out within the framework of specific EU legislation (Regulation (EC) No 1177/2003) and it aims to produce statistics on the distribution of income, living conditions and social exclusion, allowing the analysis of:

• composition and income distribution of households and individuals;
• living conditions (conditions of housing and comfort, financial capacity, etc.);
• the impact of social transfers on the level of poverty and social exclusion;
• the link between poverty and social exclusion and economic activity, employment, socio-family typology, education, health and housing.

In this context, DREM releases today, on its website, some provisional results of EU-SILC, carried out between March and September 2020, on previous year incomes. As a result of the public health measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic, namely confinement and social detachment, the survey conducted in 2020 was carried out exclusively through telephone interviews (CATI, or Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing), the size of the annual subsample was increased and the collection period was extended until September.

Median equivalised disposable income in the Autonomous Region of Madeira stood at EUR 9,045

The median equivalised income in the Autonomous Region of Madeira was EUR 9,045, below the national value, which was EUR 10,800.

At-risk-of-poverty rate in 2019 was 26.3%

The national at-risk-of-poverty threshold (which corresponds to 60% of median equivalised income) stood at EUR 6,480, while the regional at-risk-of-poverty threshold for the Autonomous Region of Madeira was EUR 5,427.

The at-risk-of-poverty rate (calculated with the national at-risk-of-poverty threshold) in the country dropped from 17.2% in 2018 to 16.2% in 2019, while in the Autonomous Region of Madeira it decreased by 1.5 percentage points (p.p.) to 26.3%. Área Metropolitana de Lisboa had the lowest value (11.1%) and the Autonomous Region of Azores, the highest (28.5%).

The at-risk-of-poverty rate (calculated with the regional at-risk-of-poverty thresholds) indicates that the Autonomous Region of Madeira and Azores have the highest values (17.3% and 20.4%). Alentejo (14.7%) had the lowest value.

Very low work intensity in the Autonomous Region of Madeira maintained its decreasing tendency in 2019

Persons in a very low work intensity condition are those aged less than 60 who, in the income reference period, lived in households where adults aged 18-59 (excluding students) worked on average less than 20% of the labour potential. This situation can enhance the risk of social exclusion of a household.

In 2019, the proportion of population under 60 years old living in households with very low work intensity stood at 9.2%, dropping by 0.2 p.p. from 2018. The highest value was registered in the Autonomous Region of Madeira and the lowest in Centro (3.9%). The national average was 5.1%, recording a 1.1 p.p. decline.

Severe material deprivation rate in the Region increases to 11.0%

Material deprivation, i.e., the lack of access to a set of economic needs and durable goods, is also a factor that can enhance the risk of social exclusion.

If there is an enforced lack of at least four out of the following nine items, due to economic difficulties, there is a case of severe material deprivation : a) capacity to face unexpected financial expenses (without asking for financial help); b) capacity to afford paying for one week's annual holiday away from home, paying travel and accommodation costs for all household members; c) capacity to pay on time for mortgage or rent payments, utility bills, hire purchase installments or other loan payments; d) capacity to afford a meal with meat, chicken, fish (or vegetarian equivalent) every second day; e) capacity to pay for keeping its home adequately warm; f) capacity to afford for a washing machine; g) capacity to afford for a color TV; h) capacity to afford for a telephone (including a mobile phone); i) capacity to afford a car.

In 2020, in the Autonomous Region of Madeira, the severe material deprivation rate is 11.0%, increasing by 3.7 p.p. from the previous year. The Autonomous Region of Madeira had the highest value and Centro (3.4%) the lowest. The national average was 4.6%, decreasing by 1.0 p.p. from the previous year.

At-risk-of poverty or social exclusion rate in the Autonomous Region of Madeira in 2019 was 32.9%

In the context of Europe 2020, an indicator was set out regarding the population at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion, joining the concepts of relative at-risk-of-poverty rate – people with an annual equivalent income below the poverty threshold – and severe material deprivation with the concept of very low per capita labour intensity.

In 2020, in the Autonomous Region of Madeira, the at-risk-of poverty or social exclusion rate was 32.9%, increasing 0.7 p.p. from 2019. The Autonomous Region of Madeira had the highest rate, flowed by the Autonomous Region of Azores (32.4%), while the Área Metropolitana de Lisboa had the lowest rate (14.6%). The country’s rate was 19.8%, meaning that 2,037 thousand persons in Portugal were in at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion. Compared to 2019, this indicator dropped 1.8 p.p.

Inequality in income distribution in the Region dropped in 2019 and is now below the national average

Two indicators – the Gini coefficient and the S80 / S20 ratio - make it possible to assess asymmetry in income distribution in the Autonomous Region of Madeira and in the country.

The Gini coefficient synthesizes into a single value the asymmetry of the income distribution, assuming values between 0 (when all individuals have the same income) and 100 (when the total income is concentrated in a single individual). In the Autonomous Region of Madeira, this indicator had the value of 30.8%, below the national value (31.2%). The Autonomous Region of Azores had the highest inequality 34.5%) and Algarve the lowest (29.4%).

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