The at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion rate (AROPE) defines the proportion/number of people who are at-risk-of-poverty or severely materially and socially deprived, or living in households with very low work intensity. In 2022, people who were at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion were less likely to perceive their general health as being good. In fact, only 57.9 per cent of the persons who were at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion perceived their general health as good, compared to 81.3 per cent of those respondents who were not at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion (Table 1).

When considering the main predictors of ill health and chronic illness, females, individuals over 65 years of age, and individuals at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion, were more likely to report suffering from chronic illness or conditions, and to experience limitations because of health problems. Such trends were also observed in 2021 and 2020 (Tables 2 and 3).

Well-being indicators

On a scale from 0 to 10, where 0 represents not at all satisfied, and 10 represents completely satisfied, an average score of 8.6 was reported by respondents with regard to their satisfaction with their personal relationships with family and friends. A mean score of 7.7 was reported with regard to their satisfaction with their current job, and a mean score of 7.4 was reported with regard to their satisfaction with their overall life. The lowest average scores were reported with regard to respondents’ satisfaction with their financial situation and with their time use, at 6.8. Respondents between 16 and 29 years of age reported a higher mean score with regard to overall life satisfaction (7.8), when compared to respondents aged 65 years and over (7.1). The highest mean score with regard to personal relationship satisfaction was reported by respondents aged between 18 and 29 years (8.7). Respondents who were at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion reported lower average scores with regard to their satisfaction with overall life, financial situation, current job, and personal relationships, when compared to those not at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion. On the other hand, a higher average score with regard to their satisfaction with time use was reported by these respondents.

The National Equivalised Income (NEI) of a household is defined as the household’s total disposable income divided by its ‘equivalent size’ (also referred to as consumption units). The NEI considers the size and age distribution of household members. In 2022, people within the highest equivalised income bracket reported higher mean values for satisfaction with overall life, financial situation, current job, and personal relationships. Conversely, a higher mean value for satisfaction with time use was reported by people within the lowest equivalised income bracket (Table 5a).