Childhood poverty
Published:
18 December 2025
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Data on the percentage of children in the UK and its nations living in relative poverty after housing costs.
Summary main findings
In the 8 financial years between April 2016 and March 2024, the percentage of children living in relative poverty was stable at around 30%.
The percentage of children living in relative poverty has gone up since the 2012 to 2013 financial year, when it was 27.1%. It is still below the levels in the late 1990s, having reached 33.4% in the 1998 to 1999 financial year.
By year
Visualisation
Percentage of children living in relative poverty after housing costs, by country over time (UK, April 1996 to March 2024)
Click or tap on legend items to toggle visibility
Data
| Year | England (%) | Scotland (%) | Wales (%) | Northern Ireland (%) | United Kingdom (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023/24 | 30.5 | 23.5 | 31.2 | 23.9 | 29.9 |
| 2022/23 | 30.2 | 24.2 | 29.0 | 23.3 | 29.5 |
| 2021/22 | 30.8 | 24.5 | 27.9 | 22.2 | 29.9 |
| 2020/21 | 30.6 | 24.6 | 31.3 | 24.8 | 30.0 |
| 2019/20 | 30.4 | 24.3 | 30.6 | 24.0 | 29.8 |
| 2018/19 | 30.4 | 23.2 | 28.5 | 25.1 | 29.6 |
| 2017/18 | 30.3 | 24.2 | 29.1 | 24.0 | 29.6 |
| 2016/17 | 30.1 | 23.4 | 27.7 | 25.6 | 29.3 |
| 2015/16 | 29.0 | 22.8 | 29.2 | 25.7 | 28.5 |
| 2014/15 | 28.3 | 21.6 | 29.1 | 25.3 | 27.7 |
| 2013/14 | 27.6 | 21.0 | 31.0 | 25.0 | 27.2 |
| 2012/13 | 27.5 | 20.7 | 31.6 | 24.3 | 27.1 |
| 2011/12 | 28.2 | 21.4 | 32.3 | 26.4 | 27.8 |
| 2010/11 | 29.5 | 23.5 | 30.7 | 26.0 | 29.0 |
| 2009/10 | 30.9 | 24.4 | 32.7 | 26.6 | 30.3 |
| 2008/09 | 31.5 | 24.5 | 31.8 | 24.8 | 30.8 |
| 2007/08 | 31.1 | 24.1 | 32.6 | 25.5 | 30.4 |
| 2006/07 | 29.9 | 24.6 | 30.0 | 25.4 | 29.4 |
| 2005/06 | 29.0 | 25.0 | 28.7 | 26.7 | 28.6 |
| 2004/05 | 28.8 | 25.8 | 30.4 | 26.2 | 28.5 |
| 2003/04 | 29.5 | 27.9 | 31.3 | No data | 29.4 |
| 2002/03 | 30.1 | 29.6 | 33.6 | No data | 30.2 |
| 2001/02 | 31.1 | 31.2 | 34.0 | No data | 31.3 |
| 2000/01 | 32.2 | 31.2 | 35.1 | No data | 32.3 |
| 1999/00 | 33.1 | 31.0 | 35.5 | No data | 33.0 |
| 1998/99 | 33.5 | 31.6 | 35.7 | No data | 33.4 |
| 1997/98 | 33.0 | 31.9 | 36.8 | No data | 33.1 |
| 1996/97 | 32.9 | 31.7 | 35.8 | No data | 33.0 |
Download
For the full download file, see Download the data.
About the data
Data source
Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), Households Below Average Income statistics
Time period
April 1996 to March 2024 (28 financial years)
Geographic area
UK
What the data measures
The data shows the percentage of children living in households in relative poverty after housing costs in the UK and its 4 nations
A household is in relative poverty if their equivalised income is below 60% of the median income for all households in the UK. ‘Equivalised’ means adjusted for the number and ages of the people living in the household.
Things you need to know
The data covers financial years running from April through to March (for example, 2023/24 relates to the financial year April 2023 to March 2024).
Data is calculated using 3-year averages. For example, the figure for 2023/24 represents the average of the 3 financial years between April 2021 and March 2024.
Type of data
Survey data
Full report
Read more in State of the Nation 2025 on GOV.UK.
Download the data
Download full dataset (CSV, 22KB)
This file contains the following variables:
- Measure code
- Measure title
- Chart type
- Area code
- Area type
- Area name
- Primary split type
- Primary split value
- Secondary split type
- Secondary split value
- Time period
- Value
- Unit
Page history
Publication release date:
18 December 2025