4 million
children are growing up in poverty in the UK
8
children in an average classroom of 30 (27%) are living in poverty
7 out of 10
children living in poverty have at least one parent in paid work
47%
of children from Black and Asian communities are in poverty, compared to 22 per cent of white children
41%
of children living in lone-parent families are in poverty
40%
of children in poverty live in a family where someone is disabled
350,000
children will be lifted out of poverty when the government scraps the two-child limit
300,000
children would be living in less deep poverty if the government scrapped the benefit cap

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There are very high poverty rates for some groups in the UK: 63 per cent of Bangladeshi and 52 per cent of Pakistani children live below the poverty line, as do 47 per cent of Black children.

Poverty risk also varies across UK nations and regions, with the highest rates in London, the North West, the West Midlands and Wales, and considerably lower rates in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the South West.

Child poverty is higher in households where someone is disabled, and in households with younger children. 

And child poverty is higher in larger families: 45 per cent of children living in families with 3 or more children live in poverty.

All of the statistics above are relative child poverty, after housing costs, and are taken from the most recent government data set: Households Below Average Income 2024/25, with the exception of the modelling on the two-child limit and benefit cap, which is CPAG analysis.

Child poverty in Scotland

In Scotland child poverty remains high, but is starting to fall as a result of recent policy interventions, in particular the Scottish child payment. 

One in five (210,000) of Scotland's children are living in poverty.

The figures below come from the Scottish government's child poverty statistics 

21%
of children in Scotland are in poverty
75%
of children in poverty in Scotland are in a household where someone works
30%
of children in lone parent families in Scotland are in poverty
23%
of children with a disabled family member in Scotland are in poverty
38%
of children in a household with 3 or more children in Scotland are in poverty
39%
of children in a household where the youngest child is under 1 are in poverty
40%
of children in a minority ethnic household in Scotland are in poverty