Report: two million people live in extreme poverty in Poland in 2024
Poland’s 2024 “Report on Poverty” from the Wiosna Association shows that nearly 2 million people lived in extreme poverty, with seniors particularly at risk. While the share of extremely poor residents fell from 6.6 percent to 5.2 percent y/y, one in five older adults was undernourished, and more than 400,000 received “starvation pensions” below the legal minimum. Authors note that extreme poverty now exceeds statutory poverty for the second year, creating a “gray zone” of over one million people too “rich” for social assistance yet too poor for basic living standards.
Despite Poland’s economic growth, many seniors face isolation, inadequate housing, and impossible choices between food and medication, highlighting widening social inequality.
