Figure 5 – Severe material deprivation rates in 2008 (EU-27) and 2014 (EU-28)

Among the measures for material deprivation, an inability to face unexpected expenses showed the greatest variation in the 2014 (EU-28) level, compared with 2008 (EU-27) (+4.4 percentage points, from 34.3% in 2008 to 38.5% in 2014). Compared with 2008, the percentage of people reporting difficulties in facing unexpected expenses increased in Greece from 26.6% in 2008 to 51.8% in 2014 (+25.2 percentage points), from 40.1% to 59.8% in Cyprus (+19.7 percentage points), and from 19.7% to 39.1% in Estonia (+19.4 percentage points). At the same time, it decreased by more than 8 percentage points in Malta (from 32.8% to 24.7%) and -7 percentage points in Bulgaria (from 57.4% to 49.6%)