The net cash income of Czech households increased by 7.2 % yoy in 2023, but declined in real terms for the second year in a row. The income poverty rate reached 9.5 % and the material and social deprivation rate was 6.1 1 %. This is shown by the results of the regular household living conditions and income survey conducted last year.
In 2023, each person in a Czech household had an average net income of CZK 278,700, which is approximately CZK 18,800 more than in 2022. The monthly average net income was CZK 23,223 per person.
After accounting for inflation, which reached 10.7 % in 2023, net household income fell by 3.1 1 % in real terms year-on-year. The worst off were full families with children, whose incomes fell by 6.5 % in real terms year-on-year. The decline was not the case for senior households, whose incomes grew the fastest, even recording a real growth of 3.9 %.
Total household expenditure on housing in spring 2024 averaged CZK 8,869 per month. Compared to the previous year, this represents an increase of 6.7 %. However, the share of housing expenditures in net household income was virtually unchanged year-on-year, averaging 16.6 %.
"The proportion of people below the at-risk-of-income poverty line in 2024 fell slightly year-on-year to 9.5 %. Households consisting of an individual aged 65 years or over were the most likely to move out of this threat. More than a third of these were at risk in 2023, compared to just under 19 % in 2024. In contrast, households with children saw an increase in the proportion of individuals at risk of income poverty from 10.3 % to 12.0 %," notes Tanya Dvornakova, Head of the Income, Expenditure and Living Conditions Division of the CZSO. In 2024, the most income vulnerable group was the household represented by a single parent with children with a value of 36.3 %.
There was a slight year-on-year reduction in the material and social deprivation rate to 6.1 %. This indicator indicates the proportion of people whose households cannot afford five or more of the thirteen items monitored for financial reasons. Most often, households could not afford to buy new furniture to replace worn out furniture, pay an unexpected expense of 15,600 crowns, or take a week's vacation for all household members.
The survey also included a special module focusing, among other things, on public transport. "In large cities, almost two-thirds of people use public transport at least once a week and only 9.1 % do not use it at all. In villages or small towns the situation is quite different. Only one in five people use public transport at least once a week and 42.7 % of people in rural areas said they do not use public transport at all." Says Simona Měřinská from the Income, Expenditure and Living Conditions Division of the CZSO
Further information is provided by the current publication Living conditions 2024.
The Living Conditions Survey has been conducted annually in the Czech Republic since 2005. This year's data collection started on 1 February and will run until 22 June 2025. Interviewers will visit almost 11.3 thousand households across the country to assess their situation at the time of the survey and their income situation in the past year (2024).
The basic purpose of the survey is to map the current living situation of households, their socio-demographic structure, the manner, quality and financial demands of housing, as well as the working, material and health conditions of the persons living in the households. It also ascertains the level and composition of their income and provides information on the proportion of the population living in certain material deprivation, or the proportion of people at risk of income poverty. Such comprehensive information cannot be obtained from any administrative data sources. Thus, the only way to find out is by direct enquiry of households.
The survey is being conducted in a total of 34 European countries and the results are internationally comparable.
CSO/ gnews.cz - RoZ
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