Poverty statistics in Croatia have been compiled since 1998 and the official poverty line is considered to be 60 percent of the median GDP. According to the national Statistics Institute, the poverty risk rate in Croatia in 2003 was 16.9 percent, the poverty risk threshold for a single-member household was 18,896 kuna annually, and for two adults + two children households it was 39,681 kuna.
A comparison with EU countries shows that the relative poverty rate in Croatia does not differ significantly from the EU average, although Croatia has a somewhat higher rate than most EU countries. If it were a member of the EU, Croatia would have the highest poverty rate along with Ireland, said Zoran Sucur of the Zagreb Law Faculty. Countries with poverty rates that are somewhat higher than the EU average are Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Ireland, he added.