Rising living costs are exposing the limits of Czechia’s wages, leaving millions of workers struggling to make ends meet, according to the Poverty Watch 2025 report by the European Anti-Poverty Network (EAPN). Presented Tuesday in Prague, the study emphasizes that income alone paints an incomplete picture of hardship.
The true picture is worse than it seems
Officially, only 9.5 percent of Czechs fall below the poverty line, one of the lowest rates in the EU. But when housing, food, and other essential expenses are taken into account, roughly one in five residents effectively lives in poverty.
After adjusting for prices, roughly one in five residents would be considered poor, a rate closer to the European average, according to PAQ Research. “We warn against the simplification [of data],” Eliška Halaštová of Caritas ČR, one of the report’s authors, noted. “Real purchasing power shows a much bleaker picture,” Halaštová added.
Housing costs magnify the problem
The report identifies housing expenses as the main factor that makes low wages so damaging. In Prague and Brno, a parent with one child needs nearly CZK 54,000 per month to cover basic living costs, compared with a national average of CZK 45,865. Yet 2.5 million workers earn less than these amounts, forcing many to rely on benefits or forgo essentials.
“The Poverty Watch report shows that poverty and homelessness are not the failure of individuals, but the result of shortcomings in housing policy and benefits. Today, a Czech household spends an average of 28 percent of its income on housing,” Martin Máša, director of the IQ Roma service organization, told Caritas ČR.
Policy gaps and recommendations
Experts argue that low wages alone are not enough to prevent poverty. The authors call for stable national funding for anti-poverty programs and stronger legal protections, as well as measures to expand affordable housing.
They also recommend involving affected communities in designing solutions and setting measurable outcomes to ensure reforms reach those who need them most. The report also “recommends increasing the minimum wage so that it can be considered dignified…and also supporting the return of workers to the legal economy.”
Why this matters
Experts warn that high housing expenses and debt burdens have lasting effects on children’s education and employment prospects. With rents consuming a growing share of income, more working families risk slipping into poverty.
The report urges local governments to expand rent subsidies and community debt counseling to curb social exclusion.
🇨🇿 Poverty Watch 2025: Fast findings