One in five older adults was malnourished, according to the latest Poverty Report by the charity Wiosna. Despite a year-on-year decline in extreme poverty, the numbers remain stark.
The report shows that 5.2% of the population lived below a threshold where monthly spending is so low it threatens health and life.
For a single person, that threshold was 972 PLN (approx. 233 EUR) - and many survive on less.
A new report warns that nearly two million people in Poland live in extreme poverty, outnumbering the residents of the capital, Warsaw.
Poland’s seniors trapped between malnutrition and isolation
Among the most vulnerable are older adults. In 2024, 433,100 seniors received so-called “starvation pensions” - payments below the legal minimum of 1,789.96 PLN (approx. 430 EUR). Four in ten seniors experience social isolation, and more than half live alone.
Children are also affected: 364,000 remain at risk of poverty, and one in three pupils had no holiday last year - nearly half due to lack of funds.
Luxury boom in Poland contrasts with growing social deprivation
The report highlights deep inequalities. While Poland’s luxury property market grew to 3.5 billion PLN, 5% of homes still lack a toilet, and 1.1 million people cannot afford adequate heating. More than 30,000 people experience homelessness.
Wiosna describes a “grey zone of poverty”: over one million people who are too poor to live with dignity yet ineligible for social assistance.
As one author noted, for many seniors, “the flat becomes a prison, and the balcony the only courtyard.”
(mp)
Source: PAP/Raport o biedzie