POVERTY IN CROATIA (1990-2010)

This article deals with problems of poverty in Croatian society. The introductory part points out the economic and political circumstances in which the poverty of a considerable number of citizens becomes an important social problem. In the next part, concepts of absolute, relative and subjective poverty are defined. This is followed by an overview of the results of research into the extent of absolute and relative poverty in Croatian society conducted from 1998 to 2009. The results show that the rate of relative poverty basically remained the same throughout the above-mentioned period. Furthermore, it is shown that the risk factors causing citizens' poverty are the following: low level of education, unemployment, low retirement pensions, old age, and large number of children in the family. The author concludes that the Croatian government neither developed nor carried out any systematic and efficient plan of fighting poverty in Croatian society.