Background

• Author: Giannetto, Andrea; Pagnini, Costanza
• Pages: 16-24

ESF support to investing in children – Final Report

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1Background

1.1Key challenges facing children in the EU

Children in the EU can experience different formsof disadvantages, such as poverty and

material deprivation but also difficult access to services that are essential to children’s

outcomes: quality education, healthcare, housing and social services. In the following

sections we present some key figures on the three main dimensions in relation to actual

and potential disadvantages that children might experience, in line with those identified in

the EC Recommendation Investing in Children of 2013 (see Section 1.2): child poverty,

difficulties accessing quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) and early school

leaving.

1.1.1Child poverty

Child poverty is a complex and multidimensional phenomenon that is not limited to

financial and material deprivation3. Still, monetary poverty of parents is the main driver

of multidimensional child poverty. Children are more at risk of poverty or social exclusion

than the overall population in a large majority of EU countries and children growing up

in poverty or social exclusion are less likely than their better-off peers to do well

in school, enjoy good health and realise their full potential later in life.

To monitor the scope of poverty or social exclusion at EU level, a composite indicator

measuring “At Risk Of Poverty and social Exclusion”, referred to as AROPE4is used.

Eurostat data5 shows that in 2018 an estimated 24.3 % of children (less than 18 years

old) in the EU-28 were AROPE compared with 22.1 % of adults (18–64) and 18.3 % of the

elderly (65 or over). Looking at different Member States, the highest percentage of

children at risk of poverty or social exclusion was found in Romania (38.1%) and Bulgaria

(33.7%), followed by Greece (33.3%), Italy (30.6%) and Spain (29.5%). The lowest rates

of children at risk of poverty or social exclusion was seen in Denmark (15.2%), Finland

(16.0%) and Slovenia (13.1%).

Overall, there has been a decrease in the children AROPE rate at the EU28 level

since 2010. At that time, 27.6% of children less than 18 were at risk of poverty

and social exclusion, compared to 24.3% in 2018. In particular, decreases were

recorded in 21 EU Member States, with major falls in Bulgaria (-8.2 pp), Poland (-12.9 pp)

and Latvia (-18.3 pp). However, in the same period AROPE rates for children have

increased for the remaining Member States, with increases of 2 percentage points (pp) or

more observed in Italy (2.6 pp), Cyprus (3.7 pp) and Greece (7.5 pp).

1.1.2Access to Early Childhood Education and Care

Children in the EU also experience different levels of access to Early Childhood

Education and Care (ECEC). Arrangements for younger children vary in different

countries and it is difficult to provide meaningful international comparisons of participation

3 European Parliament, 2018. Fighting Child Poverty: the role of EU Funding

4AROPE combines three complementary measures: relative income poverty, severe material deprivation and

severely low work intensity.

5EU-SILC (Statistics on income and living conditions), People at risk of poverty or social exclusion by age and

sex, 2018