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Qualitative Info |
According to the research note Detailed Analysis of the Relative Position of Migrants developed under the Social Situation Observatory – Income distribution and living conditions (2010), which analyses the occurrence of risk-of-poverty and deprivation among the migrant population based primarily on the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC), compared to EU migrants there is at least a twofold difference in the at-risk-of-poverty of non-EU migrants in Portugal. However, the research note highlights that there is no significant additional poverty risk for non-EU born population in Portugal. The report presents the following at-risk-of-poverty rates among different migrant groups according to 2007 data (income year): 9.4% (EU migrants), 18.5% (non-EU migrants), 18.5% (local population).
According to the research note, in contrast to the norm migrants seem to have a more favourable situation than the local population in a few countries, which are not typical destination countries. In Lithuania, Hungary, Poland and Portugal, the at-risk-of-poverty rates of both EU and non-EU migrants are lower than that of the local population. All of these countries have relatively small migrant groups, much below the EU average.
In Portugal non-EU elderly migrants appear to have a much lower risk of poverty than local elderly. Regarding education, in Portugal the share of migrants with tertiary education is larger than that of the local population, holding for both EU and non-EU migrants.
However, Portugal figures between the countries with the highest material deprivation rates in the case of non-EU migrants. According to the research note, there is weak relationship between average material deprivation across countries and the risk of poverty, reflecting the fact that the latter measures relative rather than absolute poverty. While material deprivation rates are defined at an EU level, poverty thresholds vary depending on the average level of national incomes, so some low-income countries may have low poverty rates, while a large share of the population may be materially deprived according to the universal EU standard. This would be the case in Portugal, according to the report.
According to the report Indicators of Immigrant Integration - A Pilot Study developed by Eurostat, in Portugal the proportion of foreign born persons at risk of poverty after social transfers is lower than the proportion for the total population. This pilot study presents information for each Member State about common indicators of migrant integration in four main policy areas - employment, education, social inclusion and active citizenship - based on data available from the European Union Labour Force Survey (EU-LFS), the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC), Eurostat's migration statistics and the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).
Sources
Lelkes, O. (2007), Poverty Among Migrants in Europe, European Centre Policy Brief, http://www.euro.centre.org/data/1178099907_77304.pdf, Date of access: 24.02.2012.
Lelkes, O., Zolyomi, E. (2010), Research Note 1/2010: Detailed analysis of the relative position of migrants, Social Situation Observatory – Income distribution and living conditions 2010, European Centre for the European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research, http://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=6722&langId=en, Date of access: 24.02.2012.
Kraszewska, K. (2011), Indicators of Immigrant Integration - A Pilot Study, Eurostat Unit - Population, http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_OFFPUB/KS-RA-11-009/EN/KS-RA-11-009-EN.PDF, Date of access: 24.02.2012.
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