Sunday, November 6, 2022

IN CYPRUS, 19.2% OF CHILDREN AT RISK OF POVERTY

 Filenews 6 November 2022 - by Theano Thiopoulou



Children growing up in poverty or social exclusion face difficulties in doing well in school, enjoying good health and reaching their full potential later in life.

They also face a greater risk of becoming unemployed, poor and socially excluded as adults. Data published by Eurostat show that in 2021, 24.4% of children (under the age of 18) in the EU were at risk of poverty or social exclusion compared to 21.1% of adults (aged 18 and over). In Cyprus, the at-risk-of-poverty rate under 18 was 19.2% and among adults (18 years and over) 16.8%. In Greece, 32% of people under the age of 18 and 27.5% of adults (18 years and over) were at higher risk of poverty or social exclusion.

Among the EU Member States in 2021, the highest rates of children at risk of poverty or social exclusion were recorded in Romania (41.5%), Spain (33.4%) and Bulgaria (33.0%). On the other hand, the lowest shares were reported in Slovenia (11%), Finland (13.2%), Czechia (13.3%), France (22.8%), Portugal (22.9%). Children were at higher risk of poverty or social exclusion than adults in 18 of the 27 EU Member States. The largest differences between the two age groups were recorded in Luxembourg (10.5 percentage points.), Romania (8.7 pp), Spain and Austria (both 6.8 percentage points).

By contrast, adults were at a higher risk of poverty or social exclusion than children in 9 Member States (Latvia, Estonia, Denmark, Croatia, Slovenia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Finland and Poland).