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Deprivation

Deprivation

More than one in five people severely limited in usual activities cannot afford to keep their home adequately warm

CSO statistical publication, , 11am

SILC data 2020 to 2022 was revised on 07 March 2024 due to changes made to weights, reflecting updated household population benchmarks, because of the availability of Census 2022 data.

The data in this publication does not reflect these revisions. For revised data please see Poverty Indicators by Health Status - Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) 2023 or PxStat.

Deprivation

Deprivation Items

In the Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC), the identification of people living in enforced deprivation is currently achieved on the basis of 11 basic deprivation indicators. See SILC Fact Sheet (PDF 497KB)

In November 2022, the CSO published SILC Enforced Deprivation from the 2022 SILC that focused on the types of deprivation experienced and enforced deprivation rates by demographic and other characteristics. 

The most common deprivation items in 2022 for people aged 16 years and older were; being unable to afford to replace worn out furniture (19.6%), being unable to afford a morning, afternoon, or evening out in the last fortnight (9.2%) and going without heating at some time in the past 12 months due to a lack of money (9.2%). See Figure 2.1 and view Table SIH01 in PxStat.

X-axis label% of Individuals aged 16 years and over
Unable to afford to replace any worn out furniture19.6
Unable to afford a morning, afternoon or evening out in last fortnight9.2
Without heating at some stage in the last year9.2
Unable to afford to get together once a month with family or friends for a drink or a meal9.1
Unable to afford new (not second-hand) clothes8.9
Unable to afford to keep the home adequately warm7.4
Unable to afford to buy presents for family or friends at least once a year4.4
Unable to afford a roast joint (or its equivalent) once a week3.4
Unable to afford two pairs of shoes that are suitable for daily activities2.3
Unable to afford a warm waterproof coat1.4
Unable to afford a meal with meat, chicken, fish (or vegetarian equivalent) every second day1.4

Higher deprivation rates for people severely limited in usual activities

The Global Activity Limitation Indicator (GALI) measures long-standing health related activity limitations. The Editor’s note in the Key findings section of this report describes the questions used to derive the GALI status of survey respondents aged 16 years and older.

Analysis of deprivation experienced in 2022 by the GALI status of survey respondents shows that people severely limited for at least six months in usual activities because of health problems had higher rates of deprivation for each of the 11 deprivation indicators when compared with those who were ‘not limited’. More than one in five (22.8%) ‘severely limited’ people were unable to afford to keep their home adequately warm compared with 5.4% of those ‘not limited’.

In 2022, one in four (24.0%)  ‘severely limited’ people were unable to afford new (not second-hand clothes) compared with 6.8% of those ‘not limited’. Almost one in five (19.4%) ‘severely limited’ people were unable to afford to get together once a month with family or friends for a drink or a meal. This compares with 7.5% of people ‘not limited’. Less than one percent (0.7%) of people not limited (because of a health problem) in usual activities for at least six months were unable to afford a meal with meat chicken, fish (or vegetarian equivalent) every second day. The rate for ‘severely limited’ people was eleven times higher (7.7%). See Figure 2.2 and view Table SIH01 in PxStat.

X-axis labelSeverely limitedNot limited
Unable to afford to replace any worn out furniture41.316.8
Unable to afford new (not second-hand) clothes246.8
Unable to afford a morning, afternoon or evening out in last fortnight23.37.3
Unable to afford to keep the home adequately warm22.85.4
Unable to afford to get together once a month with family or friends for a drink or a meal19.47.5
Unable to afford to buy presents for family or friends at least once a year19.32.6
Without heating at some stage in the last year16.77.6
Unable to afford a roast joint (or its equivalent) once a week12.72.1
Unable to afford two pairs of shoes that are suitable for daily activities8.11.5
Unable to afford a meal with meat, chicken, fish (or vegetarian equivalent) every second day7.70.7
Unable to afford a warm waterproof coat6.10.8

1The Global Activity Limitation Indicator (GALI) measures long-standing health related activity limitations

Enforced Deprivation

Enforced deprivation is where a household experiences two or more of the 11 deprivation items referenced above. The percentage of people aged 16 years and older living in households experiencing enforced deprivation increased by over four percentage points, from 13.0% in 2021 to 17.3% in 2022.

Over two in five people with severe limitations are living in enforced deprivation

Analysis by the GALI status of survey respondents shows that the enforced deprivation rate in 2022 for ‘severely limited’ people was over ten percentages points higher than the 2021 rate (43.7% and 33.0% respectively). The enforced deprivation rate for people who were ‘limited but not severely’ was 27.6% in 2022 (up from 21.7% in 2021) and for those ‘not limited’ the 2022 rate was 13.4% (up from 10.2% in 2021). See Figure 2.3 and view Table SIH04 in PxStat.

X-axis label202020212022
Severely limited32.23343.7
Limited but not severely20.421.727.6
Not limited10.410.213.4
State13.11317.3

1 The Global Activity Limitation Indicator (GALI) measures long-standing health related activity limitations

As general health declines the likelihood of enforced deprivation increases

Survey respondents aged 16 years and over were asked two additional questions related to their health.

The first one related to self-perceived general health:

Q. How would you describe your health in general? Is it…

  1. Very Good
  2. Good
  3. Fair
  4. Bad
  5. Very bad

The second related to the presence of chronic morbidity.

Q. Do you have any long-standing illness or longstanding health problem? By long-standing I mean illnesses or health problems which have lasted, or are expected to last, for six months or more.

  1. Yes
  2. No

Analysis of enforced deprivation rates by self-perceived general health status shows that people with bad health have much higher rates of enforced deprivation when compared with those with good health. For example, the enforced deprivation rate for people who described their health in general as ‘very bad’ was 42.9%, over thirty percentage points higher than for people with ‘very good‘ health (12.2%). See Figure 2.4 and view Table SIH02 in PxStat.

X-axis label202020212022
Very Good8.97.512.2
Good13.11314.3
Fair21.82131.3
Bad32.33840.1
Very bad46.648.942.9
State13.11317.3

Higher enforced deprivation rates for people with chronic illnesses

The enforced deprivation rate was twice as high for those with a self-reported chronic illness when compared with those without a chronic illness (27.4% and 13.0% respectively). See Figure 2.5 and view Table SIH03 in PxStat.

X-axis label202020212022
Has a chronic illness20.320.727.4
Does not have a chronic illness10.69.913
State13.11317.3