2.1 million children at risk of poverty in Germany
Approximately 14 percent of children under 18 in Germany are at risk of poverty. The educational background of the parents plays a significant role in this. Germany ranks in the middle in the EU. However, the risk that poverty-threatened children are excluded is higher than the average.
In Germany, approximately 2.1 million children and adolescents under 18 were at risk of poverty in the previous year. This corresponds to a poverty risk rate of 14 percent, as reported by the Federal Statistical Office. The poverty risk rate of minors was slightly lower than that of the overall population (14.4 percent). Like the latter, the poverty risk rate of children and adolescents had also decreased slightly: it was 15 percent in 2022. In the overall population, it was 14.8 percent.
Children and adolescents are considered at risk of poverty if they have less than 60 percent of the median income of the overall population. In 2023, this threshold for single adults in Germany was €1,314 net per month, and for households with two adults and two children under 14 years old, it was €2,759 net per month. Income is assessed on an annual basis to fully capture it. Consequently, income-related questions refer to the previous year of data collection, in this case, 2022.
The likelihood that children and adolescents are threatened by poverty also depends on their parents' education. The poverty risk rate of children and adolescents under 18, whose parents have a lower educational attainment, such as a lower secondary school diploma without a vocational qualification, was 36.8 percent in Germany in 2023. Among children and adolescents of parents with a medium educational attainment, such as a completed vocational training or an Abitur, 14.3 percent were at risk of poverty. Medium educational attainments include a completed vocational training or the Abitur. If the parents had a higher educational attainment, such as a master's title or a completed degree, 5.8 percent of the children and adolescents were at risk of poverty.
Poverty-threatened children also at risk of exclusion
According to the Federal Statisticians, approximately 23.9 percent of minors in Germany were at risk of both poverty and social exclusion in 2023. This was below the EU average of 24.8 percent. Nevertheless, the percentage of poverty- or exclusion-threatened children and adolescents in more than half of all EU countries was lower than in Germany.
The least affected by poverty and exclusion were children and adolescents in Slovenia, with 10.7 percent. Following were Finland with 13.8 percent and the Netherlands with 14.3 percent. The highest percentage was in Romania, Spain, and Bulgaria - with 39, 34.5, and 33.9 percent, respectively. In total, there were approximately 19.9 million children and adolescents at risk of poverty or exclusion in the EU in 2023.
The data comes from the so-called EU-SILC common statistics on income and living conditions, which serve as the official main data source for measuring poverty risk in both Germany and the EU.
- Despite Germany's middle ranking in the EU regarding poverty, the likelihood of poverty-threatened children being socially excluded is higher than the average.
- The Federal Statistical Office reported that in 2023, around 23.9% of children and adolescents in Germany were at risk of both poverty and social exclusion.
- In the EU, the poverty risk rate among children and adolescents is a significant factor in understanding poverty and social exclusion, as indicated by the EU-SILC common statistics on income and living conditions.
