Story perspectives

Italy’s Regional Poverty Gap Tops EU; 20.9% EU at Risk

5/18/2026

Summary

Story summary

Italy’s regional poverty gap reached 39.7 percentage points in 2025, the widest among EU regions.
Eurostat reported that 92.7 million people (20.9 % of the EU) were at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2025.
Bulgaria, Greece and Romania had the highest national AROPE rates at 29.0 %, 27.5 % and 27.4 % respectively, while Brussels recorded 33.6 %—17 points above Belgium’s 16.5 % average.
Calabria’s AROPE rate was 45.3 % compared with Valle d’Aosta’s 5.6 %.

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Story summary

Italy’s regional poverty gap reached 39.7 percentage points in 2025, the widest among EU regions.
Eurostat reported that 92.7 million people (20.9 % of the EU) were at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2025.
Bulgaria, Greece and Romania had the highest national AROPE rates at 29.0 %, 27.5 % and 27.4 % respectively, while Brussels recorded 33.6 %—17 points above Belgium’s 16.5 % average.
Calabria’s AROPE rate was 45.3 % compared with Valle d’Aosta’s 5.6 %.