Poverty situation, income and population consumption under the sign of reduction to the essential: Minimum consumption basket

Abstract

At the level of 2019, the poverty in Romania was still very deep. The National Strategy on Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction (2014-2020) shows that one in five Romanians, poverty caused by insufficient income, and much of the poverty caused by low income is persistent. Three quarters of the poor are has been in this situation for at least three years. Also, a third of the population cannot afford to buy products or services considered desirable or even necessary to live a decent life. According to the same document, there are still children who have never been to school, and the percentage of young people without a proper education is high. Many people are inactive or formally unemployed, with little chance of gaining adequate access to the labor market, and that there are inequalities in coverage with basic health services. The largest categories include children in difficult situations, people with disabilities, single or dependent elderly people and the Roma, who number three million people, but the estimated population as poor or vulnerable is about five million people.