Up to 1.4 million Czechs live on the margins of society, including approximately 15.4% of children at risk of poverty, according to an analysis by the Centre for Economic and Market Analysis (CETA), presented to journalists by representatives of the Neviditelni (Invisible) project today.
People living on the margins of society include single parents, young families, seniors living alone, low-income households, poor students, young adults leaving children’s homes, caregivers and people working in the shadow economy.
These people represent 12% of the Czech population and an annual cost to public finances of roughly CZK 279 billion, the researchers said.
CETA analyst Michael Fanta noted that the proportion of children at risk of poverty in the Czech Republic is the third lowest in the European Union. On the other hand, however, the country has one of the widest gaps in the risk of poverty between children of college-educated parents and children of parents with low levels of education.
For children growing up in households at risk of poverty, family disadvantage represents a barrier to achieving higher education and better prospects in the labour market, Fanta said. Nearly 6,000 children a year reach the age of 18 with a lower level of education, which is a direct consequence of the environment in which they grew up.
According to the analysis, the estimated annual cost to the state of the group of children who enter adulthood each year with this invisible disadvantage is about CZK 374.1 million.
“The analysis clearly shows that the problems faced by vulnerable groups accumulate,” said CETA director Ales Rod. “The ‘invisible’ reveal systemic weaknesses that cost the state and society billions, result in the loss of human potential, trigger a crisis in social services and fuel growing distrust.”
Fanta further stated that up to 50,000 people in the Czech Republic live in socially excluded areas, of which there are more than 600 across the country. Nearly 600,000 people are subject to debt enforcement proceedings, including many minors.
According to Karel Krivanek, chair of the Czech Association of Citizens’ Advice Bureaus, about 500 minors are currently subject to debt enforcement proceedings, while in the 18-29 age group, the number ranges from 62,000 to 90,000. He said the most common trigger for new debt collection proceedings shortly after turning 18 is health insurance debt.
Dana Pavlouskova, director of the Single Mothers’ Club NGO, stated that there are approximately 210,000 to 250,000 single-parent families in the Czech Republic, the majority of which are headed by single mothers. Up to 400,000 children are growing up in these households, which typically rely on a single income. After paying for basic necessities, a low-income single mother with a child is left with approximately 106 crowns per person per day, which she must use to cover the child’s clothing, transportation, healthcare and education, according to the analysis.
The Invisible project was launched in 2021. Participants include the Consumer Forum, Provident Financial and CETA. Its goal is to raise public awareness of the phenomenon of social invisibility, including efforts to improve the living conditions of this group through expert recommendations.
