Almost a third of Lithuanians at risk of poverty

Some 28.3 percent of the Lithuanian population were at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2018, one of the highest rates in the EU, the latest figures from the EU statistical office Eurostat showed on Wednesday.

Lithuania's rate remained unchanged in 2018 compared with 2008.

Last year, higher rates were only registered in Latvia (28.4 percent), Greece (31.8 percent), Romania (32.8 percent), and Bulgaria (32.8 percent).

In Estonia, the share of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion stood at 24.4 percent in 2018. The EU average rate was 21.7 percent.

Persons at risk of poverty are those with incomes below 60 percent of the national average.