Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC): Enforced Deprivation 2025

Enforced Deprivation

Enforced deprivation is defined as occurring where a household experiences two or more of the 11 national deprivation items discussed in the previous chapter Survey on Income and Living Conditions Fact Sheet.

SILC data collection occurs during the first six months of the survey year. Taking the mid-point (March) of SILC data collection for survey years 2021 to 2025, prices on average, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), rose by

• 0.0% between March 2020 and March 2021
• 6.7% between March 2021 and March 2022
• 7.6% between March 2022 and March 2023
• 2.9% between March 2023 and March 2024.
• 2.0% between March 2024 and March 2025.

The changes seen in enforced deprivation rates (as measured by the SILC survey) over the four-year period 2021 to 2025 reflect the average price changes over this period. The proportion of persons living in households experiencing enforced deprivation increased from 13.7% in 2021 to 16.6% in 2022. The rate increased further to 17.3% in 2023, then dropped to 15.7% in 2024 and 14.8% in 2025. See figure 3.1 and table 3.1.

In 2025, 24.2% of people were living in households that experienced at least one of the 11 deprivation items, down from 28.1% in 2024. In 2021, before households began to experience the impact of price increases, less than one in four (24.8%) people experienced at least one of the 11 deprivation items. See table 3.1.

Of persons that were living in enforced deprivation in 2025, the most commonly experienced deprivation items were:

• Being unable to afford to replace any worn out furniture (76.1%).
• Being unable to afford a morning, afternoon or evening out in last fortnight (62.7%).
• Being unable to get-together with family or friends for a drink or a meal once a month (62.6%). See table 3.2.

Two in five unemployed persons living in enforced deprivation

By self-defined principal economic status (PES), people who were most likely to be living in enforced deprivation were the unemployed (41.7%), followed by those unable to work due to long-standing health problems (39.0%). Persons least likely to be living in enforced deprivation were the employed (9.5%) and the retired (9.0%). See figure 3.2 and table 3.3.

Almost half of people living in single-adult households with children were living in enforced deprivation

In 2025, by household composition, people living in single-adult households with children were the most likely to be living in enforced deprivation (49.0%), whereas people living in two adult households where at least one of the adults was 65 years or older were the least likely to be living in enforced deprivation (8.3%). See figure 3.3 and table 3.4.

Renters more likely to be living in enforced deprivation than those in owner-occupied homes

By tenure status, more than three in ten (31.6%) people living in rented or rent-free accommodation were living in enforced deprivation, compared with less than one in ten (7.7%) living in owner-occupied housing. See figure 3.4 and table 3.5.

While approximately three in ten (30.0%) people live in rented or rent-free accommodation, they account for six in ten (63.8%) people living in enforced deprivation in 2025. See figure 3.5 and table 3.6.