In Belgium, around 20.3 percent of the Belgians cannot afford a holiday for one week away from home. As per the data provided by the Survey on Income and Living Conditions in 2021 (EU-SILC), one in five Belgian residents cannot manage the holiday for a week.
In Flanders, around 13.2 percent of the citizens are concerned about the situation. Meanwhile, in Wallonia, 30.6 percent of the individuals suffered from this condition.
The rate of the Brussels-Capital Region has been mentioned as the highest, which is around one-third of the population, 28.2 percent, according to the sources.
The office has reported, based on a survey of 7,500 households, “The most vulnerable groups to ‘material and social deprivations are the unemployed, tenants, Belgians living in single-parent families and those on the lowest incomes.”
Approximately 6.3 percent of the residents of Belgium are going through the situation of “severe material and social deprivation.” This is determined by the help of a new European indicator (‘severe material and social deprivation’ or SMSD), which takes into account 13 material possessions or social actions. The people who cannot afford around seven of them for financial reasons are called “severely material and socially deprived.”
Along with this, The survey looked at people’s ability to make payments on time, eat meat, chicken, or fish at least every other day, make an unexpected expense, afford their own car, properly heat the house, replace damaged or worn furniture, replace worn-out clothes with new ones, have two pairs of shoes in excellent condition (one of which must be a closed pair – i.e. no flip-flops), and have internet access.
Furthermore, meeting friends or family at least one time in a month for a meal or drink; participating in leisure activities such as sport, cinema, concerts regularly; spending a particular amount of money on each week for personal requirements.
){kind=link}