In 2010, the European Statistical System Committee (ESSC), in response to the Stiglitz–Sen–Fitoussi Commission (SSFC) and European Commission initiatives for the better measurement of social progress, launched a joint project with the purpose of translating the recommendations from the SSFC report and Commission's Communication into concrete actions. In spring 2010, a so-called Sponsorship Group "Measuring Progress, Well-being and Sustainable Development", dedicated to develop specific and concrete sets of indicators to assess those phenomena, was formed. 

The Sponsorship Group proposed a set of indicators to be used as quality-of-life measures. Part of these indicators is already produced by the NSIs of the EU countries; part of the indicators, after the methodology is developed, will be calculated using information available at the NSIs or by carrying out new surveys. The set of indicators may be revised in order to better implement quality-of-life measurement tasks: to provide policy-makers with information about what is making European citizens (un)happy, and, above all, what are the main differences between various social groups in terms of overall well-being (quality of life).

At-risk-of-poverty rate, %

At-risk-of-poverty rate is a share of persons with equivalised disposable income below the at-risk-of-poverty threshold. At-risk-of-poverty threshold is a relative income level such that the households with disposable income lower than this amount are categorised as living in poverty. The at-risk-of-poverty rate is calculated using the at-risk-of-poverty threshold equalling 60 per cent of the median equivalised disposable income in cash.

Severe material deprivation rate, %

Material deprivation rate – indicator, defined as the percentage of population with an enforced lack of certain number or more material deprivation items out of well-defined list of the deprivation items.

Person with an enforced lack of at least four out of six deprivation items as severe deprived. The defined list contains 5 items in the economic strain and one item – car – in the durables dimension. Economic strain items are as follows: the household could not afford 1) to pay arrears (mortgage or rent, utility bills or hire purchase instalments), 2) to go for a week’s annual holiday away from home, 3) a meal with meat, chicken, fish or vegetarian equivalent at least every second day, 4) to keep home adequately warm, 5) to face unexpected financial expenses. Before 2015, three more items had been included in the durables dimension: telephone (including mobile), colour TV, and washing machine. However, since 2016, after it had been determined that the impact of those elements on the material deprivation rate is insignificant, they were removed from the list.

Income quintile share ratio S80/S20

The ratio of equivalised disposable income in the fifth to that in the first quintile. Income quintile groups are calculated by dividing the line of all persons arranged in ascending order according to the equivalised disposable income into five equal parts. The first fifth, i.e. the first quintile group, covers persons with the smallest equivalised disposable income, the second quintile group – with equivalised disposable income higher than the first quintile but lower than the second quintile, etc. The number of persons is the same in each income quintile group.

Severe housing deprivation rate, %

Severe housing deprivation rate is defined as the percentage of population living in the dwelling which is considered as overcrowded, while also exhibiting at least one of the housing deprivation measures. Housing deprivation is a measure of poor amenities and is calculated by referring to those households with a leaking roof, no bath/shower and no indoor toilet, or a dwelling considered too dark. A person is considered as living in an overcrowded dwelling if the household does not have at its disposal a minimum number of rooms equal to: one room for the household; one room per couple in the household; one room for each single person aged 18 or more; one room per pair of single people of the same gender between 12 and 17 years of age; one room for each single person between 12 and 17 years of age and not included in the previous category; one room per pair of children under 12 years of age.

Very low work intensity, %

Share of people living in households with very low work intensity. There are people aged 0-59 living in households where the adults work less than 20% of their total work potential during the past year.

Temporary employment rate, %

Temporary employees as percentage of the total number of employees. Temporary employment includes work under a fixed-term contract, as against permanent work where there is no end-date. A job may be considered temporary employment (and its holder a temporary employee) if both employer and employee agree that its end is decided by objective rules (usually written down in a work contract of limited life). These rules can be a specific date, the end of a task, or the return of another employee who has been temporarily replaced.

In work poverty rate, %

At-risk-of-poverty rate of employed persons aged 18 and older. Employed persons – persons aged 15 and older doing any kind of work, for which they are remunerated in cash or in kind or have income or profit. They are the persons having the professional status of employees, self-employed persons, contributing family workers.

Unemployment rate, %

Unemployment rate – an indicator expressed as a ratio of the unemployed to the labour force. The unemployed – non-working persons of an established age (15–74) who have been actively seeking for a job and are ready to start working if work was available in an established period (two weeks), i.e. in the last four weeks applied to public or private employment agencies, employers, friends, relatives, mass media, passed tests or had recruitment inter-views, looked for premises, equipment for own business, tried to obtain a business certificate, a licence or financial re-sources. The unemployed include persons who are not in their workplace temporarily due to technical or economic reasons, have no official ties with their workplace and are seeking for another job; employees on forced leave (forced leave means unpaid leave initiated by the employer) if they are not paid sufficient wages or salaries (≥ 50%) and if they are available for work and seek for a job during the survey; pupils, students, homemakers and other persons who during the survey period were looking for a job and were ready to start working in the nearest future (within two weeks). Labour force – the total employed population and the unemployed.

Life expectancy at birth, years

Life expectancy is a probability index indicating the average length of life of every person, or a person having attained a certain age, provided the mortality rate of every age group of the population of the target generation remains unchanged

Healthy life years

Potential number of years expected to live in good health.

Infant mortality rate

Infant deaths per 1000 live births. Infant is a child under one year of age.

Crude death rate

Number of deaths per 1000 population.

Share of early leavers from education and training, %

Share of people aged 18–24 with only a lower secondary school qualification and not involved in further education.

Educational attainment rate, %

Share of people that have low/medium/high education.

Lifelong learning rate, %

Share of people aged 25 to 64 that received education or training in the four weeks preceding the survey.

Responsible person:
Regina Deveikytė
Specialist, Living Standards and Employment Statistics Division
Tel. + 370 650 28 189
El. p. regina.devekyte@stat.gov.lt