Data extracted in May 2025
Planned article update: June 2027
Highlights
This article presents statistical data on the situation of children (aged less than 16 years) in the European Union (EU) who were materially deprived in 2024. Material deprivation is defined as an enforced lack of at least three items from a set of 17 items (12 child-specific and 5 household-specific). The analysis compares children of different age groups and examines the impact of their parents' educational level. All figures are based on EU statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC) available from Eurostat’s online database. EU-SILC data are available for all EU Member States.
Key findings
In 2024, 13.6% of children (aged less than 16 years) in the EU were materially deprived. The highest rate was recorded for children aged 12-15 years old (14.7%) compared with 12.8% for children aged 5 years old or less.
The highest rates of child material deprivation for children aged 16 or less were observed in Greece (33.6%), Romania (31.8%) and Bulgaria (30.4%). On the other hand, the lowest values were observed in Croatia (2.7%), Slovenia (3.8%) and Sweden (5.6%).
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Child material deprivation by age groups
In 2024, at EU level, the child material deprivation rate was highest in the age group 12-15 years and lowest among children aged 5 years or less (14.7% as compared with 12.8%). This pattern was repeated in 20 out of the 27 EU countries, with the highest differences recorded in Austria (7.4 percentage points (pp)), Cyprus (6.1 pp) and Ireland (6.0 pp) (see Figure 2). Italy and Germany showed very similar values across all the four age groups. Slovakia, the Netherlands, Portugal, Finland, and Hungary recorded their lowest child material deprivation rate value in the age group 12-15 years.
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Level of education of the parents
One of the factors that affects material deprivation of children (further to the reducing effect that targeted social transfers can have) is the level of education of their parents, which is largely linked to their labour market situation.
Children whose parents attained a lower educational level are more likely to experience material deprivation compared with children whose parents attained a higher education level. An adult’s education level affects the type of job an individual can access. Generally, the lower the level, the higher the risk is for the individual and for the household, including children, to experience material deprivation compared with those with a higher educational level.
In 2024, 39.1% of children in the EU living in a household whose parents had a low level of education of at most lower secondary (ISCED levels 0-2), were experiencing material deprivation. On the other hand, the respective rate for children living in households whose parents had a high level of education (tertiary education, ISCED levels 5-8), was 5.6% (see Figure 3). The child material deprivation gap for children based on the parents’ level of education was therefore 33.5 pp. The gap among the EU countries ranged from 5.0 pp in Luxembourg to 87.0 pp in Slovakia. In 7 out of the 27 EU countries, the gap was above 50.0 pp.
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Source: Eurostat (ilc_chmd03)
Source data for tables and graphs
Data sources
The data used in this article are derived from EU statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC). EU-SILC data are compiled annually and are the main source of statistics that measure income and living conditions in Europe; it is also the main source of information used to link different aspects relating to the quality of life of households and individuals.
Information on material deprivation specific to children was collected in 2024 as a part of the three-yearly variables on Children based on Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2242. The reference population for the information presented in this article is all private households and their current members residing in the territory of an EU Member State (or non-member country) at the time of data collection; persons living in collective households and in institutions are excluded from the target population. The data for the EU are population-weighted averages of national data.
Context
The child specific deprivation rate is the percentage of children below 16 who suffer from the enforced lack of at least three items out of the following 17 (unweighted) items:
- Child: Some new clothes
- Child: Two pairs of shoes
- Child: Fresh fruits and vegetables daily
- Child: Meat, chicken, fish daily
- Child: Suitable books
- Child: Outdoor leisure equipment
- Child: Indoor games
- Child: Leisure activities
- Child: Celebrations
- Child: Invite friends
- Child: School trips
- Child: Holiday
- Household: Replace worn-out furniture
- Household: Arrears
- Adults in the household: Internet[1]
- Household: Home adequately warm
- Household: Car
Only children lacking an item for affordability reasons (and not by choice or due to any other reasons) are considered deprived of this item. Those lacking the item “for other reasons” are treated, together with those who have the item, as not deprived.
Educational attainment level is classified according to ISCED — the international standard classification of education. The (latest) 2011 version has the following levels:
Low level of education: • ISCED level 0 — early childhood • ISCED level 1 — primary education • ISCED level 2 — lower secondary education
Medium level of education: • ISCED level 3 — (upper) secondary education • ISCED level 4 — post-secondary non-tertiary education - medium level of education;
High level of education: • ISCED level 5 — short-cycle tertiary education; • ISCED level 6 — bachelor’s or equivalent level; • ISCED level 7 — master’s or equivalent level; • ISCED level 8 — doctoral or equivalent level.
The educational level of children’s parents is defined for this article as the highest level of education attained by one of the parents. For example, if father has a low level of education of at most lower secondary (ISCED "levels 0-2"), and mother has a medium level of education (upper-secondary education) (ISCED "levels 3-4") it is considered that the child’s parents have a medium level of education.
Footnotes
- If at least half of the adults in the household are deprived of this item, the child is considered deprived of the item. ↑
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