One-third of Czech citizens (32 %) currently consider their family to be ‘poor’, of which just under one tenth (7 %) is quite certain. We have observed a slight decline in the sense of poverty since 2015. Half of the population (51 %) indicated that they are managing to save, the highest percentage to date since STEM began conducting its surveys. Over two-fifths of citizens (44 %) said that they can easily get by on their household income. Once again this figure represents a historical high. Since the beginning of the nineties, STEM has been monitoring the way in which Czech citizens subjectively assess their household’s financial situation. In the most recent survey conducted in mid-February, one-third of citizens described their family as ‘poor’. The proportion of those who answered “definitely yes” gives a more realistic indication of the degree of poverty in the country. The “somewhat yes” answers are more an indication of a subjective sense of material deprivation.
Source: STEM, Trends 2/2016, 1014 respondents aged 18+
In March 2015 there was already evidence of a slight decline in the proportion of those who considered their family to be poor. The present survey reaffirms this decline. The current figures are close to those from the mid-nineties, which are the lowest ever recorded. A decline in the sense of poverty is definitely closely linked to satisfaction with the overall development of the Czech economy monitored in the data, as is last year’s more positive assessment of the financial situation of households.
Source: STEM, Trends 1993-2016
People with a primary school education (49 %) and the unemployed (56 %) describe their family as ‘poor” considerably more often than other groups of the population, as do those with apprenticeships (38 %) and pensioners (35 %), but to a lesser extent. Divorced respondents are also more likely to consider their family to be poor (49 %), as are one-member families(44 %). The proportion of people who consider their family to be poor is somewhat higher among the citizens of the Moravian-Silesian and Olomouc regions.
*Marurita: equiv. A Level in the UK, High School Diploma in the US
Source: STEM, Trends 2/2016, 1014 respondents aged 18+
Source: STEM, Trends 2/2016, 1014 respondents aged 18+
As expected, an analysis of the data shows that the sense of poverty experienced depends on the family’s financial situation. Nevertheless, it is interesting that over one-third of people with total assets of up to CZK 300,000 do not consider their family to be poor. By contrast, almost one-fifth of those who estimated their assets to be in excess of CZK 2 million, consider themselves to be poor. These figures confirm the subjective perception of poverty.
Source: STEM, Trends 2/2016, 1014 respondents aged 18+
Another key indicator of the economic situation of households in the Czech Republic is the responses given in relation to the ability to save for the future. In the February survey the total number of respondents could almost be divided into two equal groups, with half managing to save part of their income, and the other half stating that they were unable to do so. Given that in the past the large majority of the population was unable to save, this can be seen as a very positive development. Indeed, the number of savers is at its highest level recorded to date.
Source: STEM, Trends 1993-2016
STEM has another unique series of surveys which illustrates household financial management since 1990. The following graph illustrates that the greatest strain on the economy came immediately after price deregulation, i.e. at the beginning of the nineties. The second strain on the economy came at the end of the nineties (1997-98) following the independent state’s first economic problems of a more serious nature which, to exacerbate matters, was accompanied by a political crisis. The economic crisis in the wake of 2008 was not so evident in the assessment of household income. The present data shows a substantial decline (of 7 %) in the proportion of respondents who said that they found it “very difficult” or “difficult” to make ends meet on their household income. This figure currently stands at 18 %, the lowest proportion to date. At the same time, there has been a significant increase since 2013 in the proportion of people who find it easy to get by on their household income.
Source: STEM, Economical expectations 1990-1992, Trends 1993-2016
Source: STEM, Trends 2/2016, 1014 respondents aged 18+
