Citizens have basic needs, which are essential to them: Being able to buy enough food, to pay the rent on a regular basis, to keep the house heated during winter, to make necessary telephone calls, to do the laundry or to watch the news. In the last years, there has been a decrease in the number of people who cannot fully cover their basic needs in the European Union (EU) i.e. the number has dropped below 40 million – a positive development. On the other hand, there has been an increase of people who have such a low income that they are constantly threatened by poverty (2016: 87 million people EU-wide). These indicators are two of the more than 120 indicators used by Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU, to regularly present Europe's progress regarding sustainable development.
Background: The international community has committed itself to sustainable development by defining 17 goals within 'The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development'. In order to monitor and measure the corresponding progress, Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU, defined a set of indicators and, henceforth, regularly publishes where the EU stands. Would you like to know more? Please read the Eurostat publication (short version, long version), which INFRAS has elaborated in a consortium with the Vienna University of Economics and Business, the Ecologic Institute and the Haymarket Media Group (Update 2018).
Project team
