SDG 10 highlights the importance of combating social, economic and political disparities by promoting economic inclusion of all people regardless of their sex, age and ethnicity. It focuses on three topics: ‘inequalities between countries’, ‘inequalities within countries’ and ‘migration and social inclusion’.
Economic disparities between EU member states narrowed moderately over time. The last available data show that in 2016, adjusted gross disposable income of households per capita in PPS showed a large variation between countries, and especially between Austria and Croatia. Apart from this gap, inequality within countries increased in Europe, but slightly decreased in Austria and Croatia.
The income quintile share ratio compares the income received by the 20 % of the population with the highest disposable income to that received by the 20 % of the population with the lowest disposable income. The higher this ratio, the bigger the income inequality. In the EU, this ratio has increased by 0.2 points since 2005 and has stagnated at a ratio of 5.2 over the last three years. This means that the richest 20 % of households have income that is about five times as much as the poorest 20 %.
However, Austria and Croatia show neutral/positive developments: “Inequality of income distribution” is quite stable in Austria, and decreasing in Croatia.
Widening inequality can also be observed when looking at the income share of the bottom 40 % of the population in the total equivalized disposable income. Their income share has been shrinking over time, from 21.5 % in 2005 to 20.9 % in 2016. In 2016, 86.9 million people — 17.3 % of the EU population — were at risk of poverty after social transfers. The number of people living in income poverty in the EU has risen substantially since 2005 (+ 8.3 %), with the largest increases occurring in recent years.
But also regarding “Income share of the bottom 40%”, Austria and Croatia show – different to EU – a positive development. However, the “risk of poverty” increased also in Austria and Croatia (and Croatia was already at a high level.).
The purchase power adjusted GDP per capita by country shows that Austria is still among the most advanced EU countries, whereas Croatia lags behind at the very end of the list.
In 2017, the EU received 654 610 first-time asylum applications (equaling 1 278 applications per million inhabitants), which is almost 50 % less then at the height of the refugee crisis in 2015 but still a 4.3 times increase in comparison to 2008. However, it’s a clear decrease in Austria and Croatia.
