LONELY-EU Policy Brief No. 6
Key findings
- In the EU Loneliness Survey (2022), 21.3% of respondents in the lowest income quintile felt lonely most or all of the time. In the upper income quintiles the share was roughly 10 to 11%.
- The EU Loneliness Survey (2022) shows 22.3% of unemployed adults reporting frequent loneliness, compared with 12.8% of employed adults and 8.1% of retirees.
- Cohort studies summarised in the 2025 report of the WHO Commission on Social Connection show that loneliness predicts later unemployment and lower income. Poverty and loneliness can therefore reinforce each other.
- Countries with stronger welfare systems and more opportunities for social participation tend to have lower average levels of loneliness.
- The authors recommend counting anti-poverty measures, such as minimum-income protection and employment support, as part of loneliness prevention.
Executive summary
Loneliness is linked to poorer mental and physical health and an elevated risk of mortality. Poverty increases the risk of loneliness because it limits people’s social opportunities. This happens not only at the individual level, through low income, unemployment, and insecure housing, but also at the systemic level, through deprived neighborhoods, weak welfare support, and a lack of accessible places to meet. Loneliness is therefore not only an individual problem, but a systemic policy issue with consequences for social cohesion, labor market participation, public service demand, trust, and civic engagement. Policies that reduce financial strain, strengthen welfare support, and invest in inclusive social infrastructure can help break the reinforcing cycle between poverty and loneliness.
How to cite
Yixin Tang, Maike Luhmann, Judith Merkies (2026). Poverty and Loneliness: Evidence and Policy Implications. LONELY-EU Policy Brief No. 6. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21100712
