The basic methodological changes of the data collection for the 2021 income reference year implemented in 2022:
| I. | The consumption data collection (HKF), realized by filling in the detailed household consumption diary, has been discontinued. Data were aggregated to the COICOP main group level. The source of the data is provided by the Living Conditions Data Survey for measuring household consumption. The consumption data for 2021 was collected in January 2022 by means of a retrospective survey. |
| II. | When the EU2030 goal came into effect, the Social Protection Committee of the European Union approved the modification of certain components of the At Risk of Poverty or Social Exclusion (AROPE) indicator, which is the basis for measuring poverty. Within this framework, the calculation of the indicator of material deprivation and very low work intensity was transformed, while leaving the income poverty rate unchanged. The material and social deprivation indicator was introduced, which examines 13 items, instead of the previous 7, and in the case of the work intensity indicator, the previous age limit of 59 was raised to 64. In the tables, the poverty indicators calculated on the basis of the new methodology, with the calculation going back to 2015. |
| III. | The recording and methodology of income has not changed. |
The indicators on poverty or social exclusion are collected on the basis of Regulation (EU) No. 2019/1700 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the establishment of a common framework for European statistics on persons and households, based on data collected at the individual level, through sampling, to which belongs delegated regulation no2020/258, which regulates EU-SILC data collection from 2021. In connection with the data collection, an additional module with a changing theme is surveyed every year. Based on this regulation, Hungarian indicators are produced by the Central Statistical Office (HCSO) and forwarded to Eurostat. The indicators published by HCSO are considered preliminary data until they are validated by Eurostat.
Previous change in methodology: from 2018, the Household budget and living conditions data collection switched from the definition of the number of rooms according to the previously applied Hungarian practice to the definition of living quarters according to the EU-SILC data collection methodology. According to the latter methodology, kitchens are also considered living spaces if their area exceeds 4 square meters and they are also used for meals. From 2018, the definition of residential premises according to this international methodology serves as the basis for the calculation of the overcrowding indicator.
Household: consists of persons who – irrespective of kinship – form a common income and consumption unit sharing completely or partly the current costs of their living.
Income deciles: deciles of the population ranked according to the annual net income per capita.
Reference person: the person with the highest income among the members of the household.
At-risk-of-poverty threshold: The threshold is set at 60% of the national median equivalised disposable income.
At-risk-of-poverty rate: The share of persons with an equivalised disposable income below the at-risk-of-poverty threshold, which is set at 60 % of the national median equivalised disposable income (after social transfers).
Severe material and social deprivation: Severe material and social deprivation refers to persons who experience at least seven of the thirteen problems listed below: they cannot afford.
| 1. | a week of holiday away from home annually | Household level |
| 2. | to face unexpected expenses, | |
| 3. | to eat meat, fish or a protein equivalent every second day | |
| 4. | to avoid arrears (in mortgage/house loan, rent, utility bills and/or hire purchase instalments) | |
| 5. | to keep home adequately warm | |
| 6. | have access to a car/van for personal use | |
| 7. | to replace worn-out furniture | |
| 8. | to replace worn-out clothes with new ones | Personal level |
| 9. | having two pairs of properly fitting shoes (including a pair of all-weather shoes) | |
| 10. | to get together with friends/family for a drink/meal at least once a month | |
| 11. | to have regular leisure activities | |
| 10. | to spend a small amount of money each week on themselves (pocket money) | |
| 10. | having an internet connection |
People living in households with very low work intensity: the proportion of people living in a household where members of working age (between 18 and 64 years) spent less than 20% of their total work potential working in the previous year. (value: 0–0.2)
People at risk of poverty or social exclusion: Share of people within the total population who are affected by one or more of the problems of at-risk-of-poverty, severe material and social deprivation or living in households with very low work intensity.
Roma nationality: From the Household Budget and Living Conditions, we only have information on the nationality of persons aged 16 years and older. We consider those people Roma who declared to have Roma nationality in either of two questions. On younger people we only have estimated data. Among people aged 15 years or younger, those are considered Roma, in whose household the majority of household members over 16 years of age declared to be of Roma nationality.