About one in seven children under the age of 18 are considered to be at risk of poverty in Germany. This applies to 15.2 percent of the population under 18 years old in 2024, as announced by the Federal Statistical Office on Monday. This number is equivalent to 2.2 million children and adolescents. The level of poverty risk among minors is slightly below the overall population, namely 15.5 percent. Immigrant children and parents with low educational qualifications are the most affected.
The level of poverty risk among children and adolescents has recently increased: by 2023 by 14.0 percent, and for the population as a whole by 14.4 percent. Currently, at 15.2 percent, the proportion of children and teenagers in Germany at risk of poverty is below the European Union average of 19.3 percent.
Anyone who has less than 60 percent of the average net equivalent income of the entire population is considered to be at risk of poverty. It is a weighted per capita income that makes people’s incomes comparable taking into account household size and composition. It is generated from the total income of a household and the number and age of people living on that income.
In 2024, the poverty risk threshold for someone living alone will be 1,381 euros per month. Single-parent households with children under 14 are considered at risk of poverty if they have a net income of less than 1,795 euros per month. For a household with two adults and two children under the age of 14, this amounts to less than 2,900 euros net.
Parental education is very important
“The extent to which children and young people are at risk of poverty also depends on their parents’ education,” the statistics office said. The poverty risk rate for minors whose parents have a lower level of education – such as a junior or secondary school diploma without a vocational qualification – is 41.8 percent in 2024. Among children of parents with a secondary level of education, 15.2 percent are at risk of experiencing poverty. This includes completing vocational training or a high school diploma. If parents have higher educational qualifications such as a master’s degree or bachelor’s degree, 7.2 percent of children and adolescents are at risk of poverty.
People aged under 18 who have immigrated to Germany or whose parents have both immigrated to Germany are four times more likely to experience poverty than their peers with no history of immigration. The poverty risk level for them is 31.9 percent, while for people who have no history of immigration it is only 7.7 percent.
