The data of the 2008 Household Budget Survey show that 7.9% of the population lived beneath the absolute poverty line. Relative to the data of the 2007 Living Standards Measurement Survey (LSMS), increase of 0.2 percentage points is observed.

According to the 2008 Household Budget Survey, all the households with consumption under RSD 7,937 per consumer unit were considered poor. The poverty line for a three-member family totalled RSD 18,652/month in 2008. The relative poverty line, calculated as 60% median of personal consumption per consumption unit, indicates that there was 13.2% poor population in Serbia.

The depth and severity of poverty were reduced in the period 2007-2008. The depth (gap) of poverty in 2007 amounted to 3.1%, as compared to 2.5% in 2008. Severity of poverty – an indicator taking into account the fact that some poor are more deeply in poverty i.e. further below the poverty line than others (and are given more significance) amounted to 0.8%, as compared to 1.9% in 2007. Both the depth and the severity of poverty are lower in urban areas.

The Gini coefficient remained almost unchanged (0.27 in 2007 and 0.26 in 2008), indicating that there are no significant changes in inequality among households. 

Poverty is somewhat more pronounced in female-headed families – 8.3%, as compared to male-headed households: 7.8%.

Data for 2007

Data for 2006

Data for 2003