Children were the age group at the highest risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2011.
Date: 2013-02-20
Institutions: Eurostat
Subjects: EU Member State, EU statistics, child, marginalisation, poverty, social statistics

Population and social conditions 

Author:  Cristina LÓPEZ VILAPLANA 

S t a t i s t i c s   i n   f o c u s  
4/2013 

Children were the age group at the highest risk of 
poverty or social exclusion in 2011 

Children growing up in poverty and social 
exclusion are less likely to do well in school, 
enjoy good health and realise their full potential 
later in life, when they are at a higher risk of 
becoming unemployed and poor and socially 
excluded*. 

In 2011, 27.0 % of children (aged 0-17) in the 
EU-27 were at risk of poverty or social exclusion 
(AROPE), compared to 24.3 % of adults (18-64) 
and 20.5 % of the elderly (65 and over). 
Likewise, children were at a greater risk of 
poverty or social exclusion in most Member 
States.  

As far as types of households with dependent 
children are concerned, single parents and large 
households (two adults with three or more 
dependent children and three adults or more 
with dependent children) were at the highest 
risk of poverty or social exclusion with rates of 
49.8 %, 30.8 % and 28.4 % respectively. 

With respect to monetary poverty, more than 
45.0 % of low to very low work intensity 
households with dependent children were at risk 
of poverty. Moreover, 49.2 % of children whose 
parents’ highest level of education was low were 
at risk of poverty, compared to 7.5 % of children 
whose parents’ highest level of education was 
high. 

With regard to children living in vulnerable 
situations, children with at least one migrant 
parent were at a greater risk of poverty than 
children whose parents were native born. 

As regards living conditions, 18.4 % of single 
parent households were severely materially 
deprived compared to, on average, 9.6 % of 
households with dependent children. 

All figures are based on EU-SILC (Statistics on 
Income and Living Conditions). 

* (2012) SPC Advisory Report to the EC: Tackling and preventing 
child poverty, promoting child well-being. 

Figure 1: Children at risk of poverty or social exclusion, (%), 2008 and 2011 

50

40

30

20

10

7
2
-
U
E

E
S

I

K F
D

I

S

L
N

T
A

E
D

Z
C

U
L

Y
C

R
F

E
B

E
E

T
M

K
S

K
U

T
P

L
P

L
E

S
E

T

I

T
L

E

I

U
H

V
L

O
R

G
B

O
N

S

I

H
C

R
H

2008

2011

Note: For 2008: HR data is not available. For 2011: EU-27 Eurostat estimation, IE data is for 2010.  
Source: Eurostat (online data code : ilc_peps01) 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The AROPE indicator is defined as the share of 
the population in at least one of the following 
three conditions: 1) at risk of poverty, meaning 
below the poverty threshold, 2) in a situation of 
severe material deprivation, 3) living in a 
household with a very low work intensity*. From 
2008 to 2011, the AROPE for children rose in 21 
Member States (see Figure 1). 

The largest increases in the AROPE since 2008 
were in Ireland (+11.0 percentage points (pp) up 
to 2010) and Latvia (+10.4pp). They were 
closely followed by Bulgaria (+7.6pp), Hungary 
(+6.2pp) and Estonia (+5.4pp). 

* See Methodological notes 

Table 1: Population at risk of poverty or 
social exclusion by age group (%), 2011 

EU-27
BE
BG
CZ
DK
DE
EE
IE
EL
ES
FR
IT
CY
LV
LT
LU
HU
MT
NL
AT
PL
PT
RO
SI
SK
FI
SE
UK
IS
NO
CH
HR

<18
27.0
23.3
51.8
20.0
16.0
19.9
24.8
37.6
30.4
30.6
23.0
32.3
21.8
43.6
33.4
21.7
39.6
25.8
18.0
19.2
29.8
28.6
49.1
17.3
26.0
16.1
15.9
26.9
16.6
13.0
18.9
32.2

18-64
24.3
20.0
45.2
15.1
20.5
21.3
24.2
29.7
31.6
27.2
20.1
28.4
20.8
40.9
33.6
17.6
31.7
20.1
17.0
16.2
27.0
23.2
39.0
18.7
20.6
18.0
15.4
21.4
14.3
15.9
13.9
32.5

>64
20.5
21.6
61.1
10.7
16.6
15.3
17.0
12.9
29.3
22.3
11.5
24.2
40.4
33.2
32.5
4.7
18.0
21.5
6.9
17.1
24.7
24.5
35.3
24.2
14.5
19.8
18.6
22.7
4.5
11.4
28.3
34.0

Total
24.2
21.0
49.1
15.3
18.9
19.9
23.1
29.9
31.0
27.0
19.3
28.2
23.5
40.1
33.4
16.8
31.0
21.4
15.7
16.9
27.2
24.4
40.3
19.3
20.6
17.9
16.1
22.7
13.7
14.6
17.2
32.7

Note: EU-27 Eurostat estimation, IE data is for 2010 
Source: Eurostat (online data code : ilc_peps01) 

Thirteen of the remaining Member States had 
increases of more than 1.0 pp (from 1.3pp in 
Sweden to 4.3pp for Spain). However, some 
countries recorded decreases. Major falls were 
recorded in Poland (- 3.1pp), the United 
Kingdom (-2.7pp), and Romania (-2.1pp). 

Regarding the overall situation in 2011 (see 
Table 1), the share of children living in a 
household at risk of poverty or social exclusion 
ranged from 16-18 % in the Nordic countries, 
Slovenia and the Netherlands to 40-52 % in 
Hungary, Latvia, Romania and Bulgaria. 

The AROPE rates differ for different age groups. 
Table 1 shows the rates for some population age 
groups. In 2011, 27.0 % of children (aged 0-17) 
in the EU-27 were at risk of poverty or social 
exclusion compared to 24.3 % of adults (18-64) 
and 20.5 % of the elderly (65 or over). Thus, 
children were the population age group at the 
highest risk of poverty or social exclusion. This 
was the situation in most Member States. There 
were some exceptions such as Bulgaria, Cyprus, 
Slovenia, Finland and Sweden where the elderly 
were most at risk. In Denmark, Germany, Greece 
and Lithuania, adults were the population age 
group with the highest risk. However, despite the 
fact that the elderly and adults respectively had 
the highest AROPE rates of these two groups of 
countries, child poverty ranked second highest in 
nearly all of them. 

The largest differences between the AROPE 
rates of children and the total population were 
found in Romania and Hungary at more than 8.0 
pp. Ireland, Slovakia, Luxembourg, the Czech 
Republic, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Malta 
and Italy also had rates that were more than 4.0 
pp higher for children than for the total 
population. The AROPE rates for children and 
the total population were similar in Germany, 
Lithuania, Greece and Sweden, but this does not 
necessarily mean that their rates were among the 
lowest across the EU-27. Indeed, the AROPE 
rate for children in Lithuania and Greece 
exceeded 30 %. 

The main factors affecting child poverty, after 
taking account of the effect of social transfers in 
reducing child poverty, are the composition of 
the household in which the children live and the 
labour market situation of their parents, linked 
also to their level of education. There are also 
more vulnerable groups of children, such as 
those with migrant parents, that deserve 
particular attention.   

2 

4/2013 — Statistics in focus  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Single parents and large households with dependent children were at the 
highest risk of poverty or social exclusion 

Family structure has a significant effect on the 
total household disposable income. In fact, 
different types of households have different at-
risk-of-poverty profiles. When defining 
household types, the concept of dependent 
children (individuals aged 0-17 years and 18-
24 years if inactive and living with at least one 
parent) is used instead of the concept of 
children (0-17 years) as a population age 
group. 

Dependent children in single parent families 
have a much higher risk of living in poverty 
than dependent children in two adult families. 
Indeed, around half (49.8 %) of single parent 
households with dependent children were at 
risk of poverty or social exclusion, compared 
to only about two  in every ten (19.3 %) of 
households with two adults and two dependent 
children. 

More generally,  the AROPE rate for single 
parent families with dependent children was 
approximately 25.0 pp higher than for the  

average household with dependent children 
(49.8 % vs 25.2 %).  

However, as a household increases in size the 
AROPE rate also tends to rise. This is 
particularly significant for large households 
with dependent children (two adults with three 
or more dependent children and three or more 
adults with dependent children). Around 30 % 
of households with two adults with three or 
more dependent children (30.8 %) and of 
households with three or more adults with 
dependent children (28.4 %) were at risk of 
poverty or social exclusion.  

The AROPE rate for households without 
dependent children was nevertheless higher for 
single person households (34.5 %) than for 
most households with dependent children. The 
only exception was single parent with 
dependent children households which were 
more at risk of poverty or social exclusion than 
single person households. 

Figure 2: Population at risk of poverty or social exclusion by household type (%), EU-27, 2011 

Households with dependent children
Single person with dependent children
Two adults with three or more dependent children
Three or more adults with dependent children
Two adults with two dependent children
Two adults with one dependent child

Households without dependent children
Single
Three or more adults
Two adults

0

10

20

30

40

50

Note: EU-27 Eurostat estimation, data not available for IE  
Source: Eurostat (online data code : ilc_peps03) 

  Statistics in focus — 4/2013 

3 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Over 45% of the low to very low work intensity households with dependent 
children were at risk of poverty 

Labour is the most important source of income 
for most households and thus has an impact on 
the at-risk-of-poverty rate, i.e. the share of 
people below the poverty threshold. However, 
not only jobless households are at risk of 
poverty. Therefore, to assess the relationship 
between employment and risk of poverty at 
household level, the concept of work intensity is 
used. Work intensity reflects how much working 
age adults in a household worked in relation to 
their total work potential in a year. For example, 
dependent children who live in households with 
very low work intensity (equal or inferior to 0.2) 
are those living in households where, on average, 
the adults worked less than 20 % of their time in 
a year. 

* See Methodological notes 

In the EU-27, the highest at-risk-of-poverty rate 
recorded was for very low work intensity 
households with dependent children (67.9 %) 
(see Figure 3). 

Compared to households without dependent 
children, households with dependent children 
were at a greater risk of poverty across all levels 
of work intensity. In addition, the gap between 
households with and without dependent children 
increased when work intensity decreased. This 
difference in the at-risk-of-poverty rate ranged 
from around 2pp for high and very high work 
intensity households (work intensity higher than 
0.55) to nearly 20pp for low and very low work 
intensity households (lower than 0.45) with 
dependent children. 

Figure 3: Population at risk of poverty by work intensity of the household (%), EU-27, 2011 

80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0

Very low work
intensity [0 - 0.2]

Low work intensity
]0.2 -0.45[

Medium work
intensity [0.45 - 0.55]

High work intensity
]0.55 - 0.85]

Very high work
intensity ]0.85 - 1]

Households with dependent children

Households without dependent children

Note: EU-27 Eurostat estimation, data not available for IE   
Source: Eurostat (online data code : ilc_li06) 

Nearly half of children whose parents did not attain upper secondary education 
were at risk of poverty 

Education affects the type of job an individual 
can access. Indeed, the risk of poverty rises as 
the level of education diminishes. In the EU-27 
in 2011 (Figure 4), nearly 50 % of children (aged 
0-17) living in households in which the highest 
level of education attained by the parents living 
in the same household was lower secondary level 
(0-2 ISCED) were at risk of poverty. This effect 
remains even after controlling for family 
structure and the work intensity of the 
household. 

The risk of poverty increased by over 41.0 pp for 
households with low levels of education 
compared to households with a high level of 
education (5-6 ISCED). 

At country level, the difference between the at-
risk-of-poverty rates for children with parents 
with low and high levels of education ranged 
from 12.0-18.0 pp in Denmark and Finland to 
65.0-75.0 pp in Hungary, Bulgaria, the Czech 
Republic, Slovakia and Romania. 

4 

4/2013— Statistics in focus  

 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
Figure 4: Children at risk of poverty by the highest level of education attained by parents living 
in the same household  (% of population), EU-27, 2011 

80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0

7
2
-
U
E

O
R

K
S

Z
C

G
B

U
H

T
L

L
P

V
L

E
D

E
S

E
E

R
F

E
B

L
E

S
E

T

I

L
N

T
A

K
U

I

U S
L

Y
C

T
M

I

T F
P

K
D

R
H

H
C

O
N

S

I

Low (0-2 ISCED)

High (5-6 ISCED)

Note: EU-27 Eurostat estimation, data not available for IE   
Source: Eurostat (online data code : ilc_li60) 

Children with a migrant background were at a greater risk of poverty 

Migrant background also matters. In fact, 
children with a migrant background tend to be  
more exposed to poverty than the total child 
population. Overall, in 2011 (Figure 5), 
children (aged 0-17) with at least one foreign-
born parent were at a greater risk of poverty 
(+13.0 pp higher) than children with native- 
born parents*. The greatest differences 
between children with foreign- and native-
born parents were in France (+25.9 pp) and 
Greece (+23.9 pp). For seven other Member 
States for which data is available, the 
difference was  more than 15.0 pp. 

The highest risks for children with at least one 
foreign-born parent were recorded in Spain 
(45.5 %), Greece (43.1 %) and France  
(39.3 %).  On the other hand, the lowest at-

risk-of-poverty rates for children with at least 
one foreign-born parent were observed in 
Malta (17.9 %), Estonia (16.9 %)  and the 
Czech Republic (14.9 %).  

However, for some European countries 
migration was not an issue. These last three 
countries were the only Member States (for 
which data is available), besides Latvia 
(+0.7pp)  and Hungary (-0.9 pp), where 
children with at least one foreign- born parent 
had a similar or lower at-risk-of poverty rate 
than children with  native-born parents   
(-3.4 pp, -2.0 pp and -0.2 pp, respectively). 

* See Methodological notes 

Figure 5: Children at risk of poverty by parents' country of birth (% population), 2011   

50

40

30

20

10

0

7
2
-
U
E

S
E

L
E

R
F

T
L

E
B

T

I

L
N

E
S

T
A

I

T F
P

V
L

E
D

K
D

I

U S
L

K
U

Y
C

U
H

T
M

E
E

Z
C

R
H

O
N

H
C

S

I

Note: EU-27 Eurostat estimation. Foreign born data is unreliable for BG, PL, RO and SK 
Source: Eurostat (EU-SILC 2011 ) 

Foreign born

Native born

  Statistics in focus — 4/2013 

5 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
18% of children living with single parents were severely materially deprived 

Indicators of material deprivation provide a 
complementary view of children's well-being 
and living conditions.  

The severe material deprivation rate represents 
the share of children who live in households 
with an enforced lack of certain items at 
household level*. In 2011, children (aged 0-
17) in the EU-27 also had the highest rate 
(10.0 %) of severe material deprivation, higher 
than adults (8.9 %) and the elderly (7.2 %). 
Compared to 2008, there was a slight increase 
in the overall rate for children (+0.3 pp).  

However, there were significant changes at 
country level, particularly in Latvia (+12.6 
pp), Hungary (+8.3 pp) and Greece (+6 pp).  

With respect to types of households, 18.4 % of 
single parents and 11.2 % of two adults with 
three or more dependent children were at the 
highest risk compared to, on average, 9.6 % of 
households with dependent children. 

The ad-hoc module in the EU-SILC 2009 
provides information focused on specific 
children material deprivation items. Here, 
children are referred as those aged 1-15 years. 

In table 2, the most significant items are 
shown. Regarding food items, 34.5 % of 
children in Bulgaria did not eat fresh fruit and 
vegetables once a day as these items could not 
be afforded. The situation was similar in 
Romania (23.8 %), Hungary (17.2 %) and 
Latvia (15.4 %). Similarly, in Bulgaria and 
Romania, around 30 % of children did not eat 
one meal with meat, chicken or fish or 
vegetarian equivalent (proteins) per day 
because the household could not afford it. For 
both items, in the EU-27, the average share 
was about 4.0-5.0 % 

Regarding clothes and shoes items, Bulgaria, 
had the highest share of deprivation: 35 % of 
children in Bulgaria did not have new clothes 
because the household could not afford them. 
Overall, in the EU-27, 5.9 % of children were 
deprived in this dimension. This is the item  
that was lacking the most across countries out 
of the four items presented.  More than 20 % 
of children in Romania (25.2 %), Latvia    
(24.5 %) and Hungary (21.8 %), but also 13 % 
or more of children in Portugal, Slovakia and 

Lithuania did not have new clothes because 
the household could not afford them.   

Finally, 44.3 % of children in Bulgaria 
suffered from an enforced lack of two pair of 
properly fitting shoes (including a pair of all-
weather shoes). However, in 18 of the Member 
States, the share was below 4.0 %.    

*See Methodological notes 

Table 2: Share of children (1-15 years) 
deprived (lacking selected items), (%), 2009 

Food

Clothes and Shoes

EU-27
BE
BG
CZ
DK
DE
EE
IE
EL
ES
FR
IT
CY
LV
LT
LU
HU
MT
NL
AT
PL
PT
RO
SI
SK
FI
SE
UK
IS
NO
CH

Fruit & Veg
4.4
1.8
34.5
2.2
0.6
2.5
10.4
0.8
1.2
0.6
4.7
2.4
0.7
15.4
8.7
0.5
17.2
2.4
0.6
1.0
6.8
4.3
23.8
1.6
10.3
0.5
0.1u
0.9
0.6
0.7
0.2

Proteins
4.8
3.1
31.2
3.9
0.7
5.3
6.4
2.1
4.7
0.5
2.1
4.5
0.7
10.6
9.0
0.8
12.6
4.5
0.7
2.2
5.4
4.8
29.1
2.1
13.9
0.0
0.1u
0.6
0.5
1.1
1.6

Clothes
5.9
6.3
35.0
5.0
2.1
3.3
5.2
2.6
0.6
3.1
5.2
6.2
0.6
24.5
13.4
2.6
21.8
6.1
1.3
3.0
3.6
14.0
25.2
9.8
13.0
3.2
0.4u
2.0
1.2
0.4
1.4

Shoes
4.5
3.8
44.3
2.1
1.4
3.8
4.4
4.0
0.8
1.3
5.6
2.7
0.4
11.0
1.0
0.7
5.2
2.7
2.5
1.1
3.1
4.7
18.7
2.1
7.2
1.0
1.1u
2.7
0.6
0.6
1.3

Note: EU-27 Eurostat estimation 
u: unreliable  
Source: Eurostat (EU-SILC 2009 module) 

6 

4/2013— Statistics in focus  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Methodological notes 
Background 
EU-SILC (EU Statistics on income and living conditions) is 
the reference source for statistics and indicators on income 
and living conditions. It is regulated under the Framework. 
Regulation 1177/2003. 
EU-SILC is the main source of information used in the 
European Union to develop indicators monitoring poverty 
and social exclusion. 

Definitions 

At-risk-of-poverty rate 

This indicator reflects the percentage of people with an 
equivalised disposable income below the ‘at-risk-of-poverty 
threshold’. The at-risk-of poverty threshold is set for each 
country at 60 % of the national median equivalised 
disposable income. 

Severe material deprivation rate 

This is defined as the percentage of the population with an 
enforced lack of at least four out of nine material 
deprivation items in the ‘economic strain and durables’ 
dimension. 

The nine items considered are: 1) arrears on mortgage or 
rent payments, utility bills, hire purchase instalments or 
other loan payments; 2) capacity to afford paying for one 
week’s annual holiday away from home; 3) capacity to 
afford a meal with meat, chicken, fish (or vegetarian 
equivalent) every second day; 4) capacity to face 
unexpected financial expenses [set amount corresponding to 
the monthly national at-risk-of-poverty threshold of the 
previous year]; 5) household cannot afford a telephone 
(including mobile phone); 6) household cannot afford a 
colour TV; 7) household cannot afford a washing machine; 
8) household cannot afford a car and 9) ability of the 
household to pay for keeping its home adequately warm. 

Households with very low work intensity 

The work intensity for each household is calculated by 
dividing the sum of all the months actually worked by the 
working age members of the household by the sum of the 
workable months in the household — i.e., the number of 
months spent in any activity status by the working age 
members of the household. A working age person is defined 
as a person aged 18-59 years, who is not a dependent child. 
A work intensity equal or inferior to 0.20 is considered as 
very low. 

Dependent children  

Individuals aged 0-17 years and 18-24 years if inactive and 
living with at least one parent. 

People at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion 
rate (AROPE) 

This indicator is the headline indicator to monitor the 
EU2020 Strategy poverty target. It reflects the share of the 
population which is either at risk of poverty, or severely 
materially deprived or lives in a household a very low work 
intensity. 

Children with migrant background 

A child is considered to have a migrant background if at 
least one of the parents living with him/her was foreign 
born. On the other hand, a child is considered to be native 
born if both parents living in the household are native born 
or, if there is only one parent in the household, that parent is 
native born. 

Material Deprivation for Children (2009 
module) 

A child is deprived in one item if the household cannot 
afford that item for at least one child (enforced lack). This 
module only includes 1-15 year-old children. 

1. Some new (not second-hand) clothes; 2. Two pairs of 
properly fitting shoes, including a pair of all-weather shoes; 
3. Fresh fruits & vegetables daily; 4. Three meals a day; 5. 
One meal with meat, chicken, fish or vegetarian equivalent 
daily; 6. Books at home suitable for the children’s age; 7. 
Outdoor leisure equipment; 8. Indoor games; 9. A suitable 
place to do homework; 10. To consult a dentist when 
needed; 11. To consult a general practitioner (GP) when 
needed; 12. Regular leisure activities (sports, youth 
organisations, etc.); 13. Celebrations on special occasions; 
14. To invite friends round to play and eat from time to 
time; 15. To participate in school trips and school events 
that costs money; 16. Outdoor space in the neighbourhood 
to play safely; 17. One week annual holiday away from 
home 

Highest level of education attained by parents 
living in the child's household 

The classification of educational activities is based on 
ISCED — the International Standard Classification of 
Education — UNESCO 1997. It has the following 
categories: 

ISCED 0 — pre-primary education 
ISCED 1 — primary education 
ISCED 2 — lower secondary education 
ISCED 3 — (upper) secondary education 
ISCED 4 — post-secondary non-tertiary education 
ISCED 5 — first stage of tertiary education 
ISCED 6 — second stage of tertiary education 

EU average 

EU aggregates are computed as the population-weighted 
averages of national indicators. 

Abbreviations 

EU-27 Member States: Belgium (BE), Bulgaria (BG), the 
Czech Republic (CZ), Denmark (DK), Germany (DE), 
Estonia (EE), Ireland (IE), Greece (EL), Spain (ES), France 
(FR), Italy (IT), Cyprus (CY), Latvia (LV), Lithuania (LT), 
Luxembourg (LU), Hungary (HU), Malta (MT), the 
Netherlands (NL), Austria (AT), Poland (PL), Portugal 
(PT), Romania (RO), Slovenia (SI), Slovakia (SK), Finland 
(FI), Sweden (SE) and the United Kingdom (UK). Croatia 
(HR), Iceland (IS), Norway (NO) and Switzerland (CH) are 
also referred to in this publication. 

7 

4/2013 — Statistics in focus  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Further information 

Eurostat website: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat 

Data on 'Income, social inclusion and living conditions': 
http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/income_social_inclusion_living_cond
itions/data/database  

2009 Material deprivation for children (Ad-hoc module) 
http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/income_social_inclusion_living_cond
itions/data/ad_hoc_modules  

Further information about 'Income, social inclusion and living conditions': 
http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/income_social_inclusion_living_conditions/introduction 

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Their role is to provide help and guidance to Internet users of European statistics. 

Contact details for this support network can be found on the Eurostat website at: 
http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/. 

All Eurostat publications can be ordered via the ‘EU Bookshop’: 
http://bookshop.europa.eu/. 

Manuscript completed on: 20.02.2013 
Data extracted on: 17.01.2013 
ISSN 1977-0316 
Catalogue number: KS-SF-13-004-EN-N 
© European Union, 2013