EU countries by people unable to face unexpected expenses

Croatia had the highest people unable to face unexpected expenses of 27 EU countries in 2019, at 51.7%. Malta had the lowest, at 15.1%. The median was 31.4% and the figure for the European Union (27) was 30.8%. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

Highest51.7Croatia

Lowest15.1Malta

Median31.427 EU countries

European Union (27)30.8History

Map of EU countries, 2019

Under 22
22 to 30
30 to 33
33 to 43
43 and over

%, 2019. Source: Eurostat, Inability to face unexpected financial expenses, total population, all household types and incomes (ilc_mdes04). Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain).

All EU countries, 2019

%. Source: Eurostat, Inability to face unexpected financial expenses, total population, all household types and incomes (ilc_mdes04). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

Rank	EU countries	2019 (%)	Change on 2018
1	Croatia	51.7	-1.2 pts
2	Latvia	49.8	-5.5 pts
3	Greece	47.8	-2.6 pts
4	Lithuania	46.8	-2 pts
5	Cyprus	46.7	-2.8 pts
6	Romania	44.3	-1.6 pts
7	Ireland Series break	37.1	-0.2 pts
8	Bulgaria	36.5	+4.4 pts
9	Spain	33.9	-2 pts
10	Italy	33.8	-1.3 pts
11	Portugal	33	-1.7 pts
11	Slovenia	33	-0.1 pts
13	Hungary Series break	32.9	-0.4 pts
14	Estonia	31.4	-3.3 pts
15	France	30.6	-0.8 pts
16	Slovakia	30	-1.5 pts
17	Poland	29.3	-2.4 pts
18	Finland	26.4	-0.8 pts
19	Germany	26	-2.1 pts
20	Belgium Series break	25.3	+0.8 pts
21	Denmark	22.9	-2.3 pts
22	Netherlands	21.9	+0.4 pts
23	Czechia	21.8	-1.9 pts
24	Sweden	20.5	+0.3 pts
25	Austria	18.5	-1.6 pts
26	Luxembourg	16.7	-3 pts
27	Malta	15.1	+1.2 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Share of the population living in households that cannot pay an unexpected but necessary expense from their own resources (EU-SILC, all household types and incomes). The amount is set for each country, close to the monthly at-risk-of-poverty threshold.

EU statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC). The reference year is the survey year. Self-reported by households; a share of people, not of households.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the EU countries are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

Eurostat. Inability to face unexpected financial expenses, total population, all household types and incomes (ilc_mdes04). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ilc_mdes04/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

Eurostat, European Commission. (2026). Inability to face unexpected financial expenses, total population, all household types and incomes (ilc_mdes04) (EU countries by people unable to face unexpected expenses, 2019) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ilc_mdes04/default/table

MLA 9

Inability to face unexpected financial expenses, total population, all household types and incomes (ilc_mdes04), EU countries by people unable to face unexpected expenses, 2019. Eurostat, European Commission, 17 Sept. 2026, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ilc_mdes04/default/table. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unable-to-face-unexpected-expenses/eu-countries?period=2019. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Eurostat, European Commission. 2026. Inability to face unexpected financial expenses, total population, all household types and incomes (ilc_mdes04). EU countries by people unable to face unexpected expenses, 2019. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ilc_mdes04/default/table. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unable-to-face-unexpected-expenses/eu-countries?period=2019.

Harvard

Eurostat, European Commission (2026) Inability to face unexpected financial expenses, total population, all household types and incomes (ilc_mdes04), EU countries by people unable to face unexpected expenses, 2019 [Dataset]. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ilc_mdes04/default/table, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/unable-to-face-unexpected-expenses/eu-countries?period=2019 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_people_2019,
  author = {{Eurostat, European Commission}},
  title = {{Inability to face unexpected financial expenses, total population, all household types and incomes (ilc\_mdes04): EU countries by people unable to face unexpected expenses, 2019}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ilc_mdes04/default/table},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unable-to-face-unexpected-expenses/eu-countries?period=2019. Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Inability to face unexpected financial expenses, total population, all household types and incomes (ilc\_mdes04). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ilc\_mdes04/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}

RIS

TY  - DATA
AU  - Eurostat, European Commission
TI  - Inability to face unexpected financial expenses, total population, all household types and incomes (ilc_mdes04): EU countries by people unable to face unexpected expenses, 2019
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/17
PB  - Eurostat, European Commission
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ilc_mdes04/default/table
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/unable-to-face-unexpected-expenses/eu-countries?period=2019
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unable-to-face-unexpected-expenses/eu-countries?period=2019.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Inability to face unexpected financial expenses, total population, all household types and incomes (ilc_mdes04). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ilc_mdes04/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

Embed this chart

Paste this code into a web page or a blog post. The chart shows the latest figures as they are published, with the source and a link back to this page.

Embed code

<iframe src="https://invokely.ai/embed/rankings/unable-to-face-unexpected-expenses/eu-countries?period=2019" width="760" height="500" title="EU countries by people unable to face unexpected expenses, 2019, chart from Invokely" loading="lazy" style="border:0;width:100%;max-width:760px" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin"></iframe>

Sites that read oEmbed links, such as WordPress, can show the chart when you paste the link to this page.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank EU countries by people unable to face unexpected expenses using official data, and cite the source.

rank_places {"indicator":"unable_to_face_unexpected_expenses_share","level":"country","within":"European Union (27)","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=unable_to_face_unexpected_expenses_share&level=country&within=European%20Union%20(27)&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which EU country has the highest people unable to face unexpected expenses?

Croatia, with 51.7% in 2019, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which EU country has the lowest people unable to face unexpected expenses?

Malta, with 15.1% in 2019.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: Eurostat, European Commission, Inability to face unexpected financial expenses, total population, all household types and incomes (ilc_mdes04). Retrieved 2026-10-12.