Spain has the highest child poverty risk rate in the entire European Union, according to data released by Eurostat on Wednesday. This worrying record is the result of inadequate consideration of family needs in public policies.
Currently, 29% of the population under 18 lives in poverty or is at risk of poverty, measured by an income below 60% of the country’s median income. In 2023, Spain ranked second behind Romania. However, in 2024, Romania improved its figures, lowering the rate from 29.6% to 26.2%, while Spain’s rate rose from 28.98% to 29.2%.
The rate of children at risk of child poverty is at its highest level since 2016. Economic growth in recent years has not contributed to reducing this indicator; in fact, it has actually increased it. In 2020, the risk of child poverty was 27.4 percent and has increased by almost two percentage points since then.
This statistic highlights that income inequality has increased during a period of intense economic growth and job creation. The type of jobs being created in Spain appears to be contributing to this increase. The country needs a large workforce to finance the job transition of the baby boomer generation, which is often achieved through an immigrant population. The poverty rate among foreigners is significantly higher than that of natives. On average, the at-risk-of-poverty rate for immigrants is 44%, for non-EU immigrants 46%, and for natives 19%.
As the share of immigrants in the total population increases, the composition effect increases the risk of poverty. Between 2021 and 2024, the resident foreign-born population increased by almost 1.6 million. This change is so significant that it impacts poverty statistics due to the composition effect. While there is no disaggregated data on the risk of child poverty among foreigners, the figures for the adult population mentioned above provide a good starting point.
The poverty rate among foreigners has decreased slightly over the past two years. In 2021, it was 52%, while in 2024 it fell to 44%. Although this is still a high figure, there is evidence of improvement. The problem for Spain in international comparison is that other countries are reducing their poverty rates more quickly. Spain has some peculiarities due to its economic growth model (with strong activity in low-value-added sectors), inflation, limited social assistance, and social dynamism, which put the country in a precarious position—or at the top of the list of countries with the highest risk of child poverty.
Another conclusion from this indicator is that the minimum subsistence allowance (MSI) still has significant gaps. This is a government-designed measure to combat poverty, particularly child poverty. However, data clearly shows that a significant portion of the population is not covered, despite the assumption that this was the case. Other measures, such as increasing the minimum wage across all sectors and improving unemployment insurance, also aim to reduce poverty. In some cases, they have achieved success. The country’s overall poverty risk fell to 19.7% in 2024, reaching its lowest level since comparable Eurostat records began.
However, these improvements do not benefit the child population. Difficulties in reconciling work and family life (which force many workers into part-time work), low wages, and the lack of public assistance create an explosive cocktail. In the words of the CES in its latest annual report, Spain’s high level of child poverty is a “rending scourge” and an “immorality as a country.” One of the measures demanded by the institution is the introduction of free daycare for all children aged 0 to 3, one of the government’s major unfulfilled promises.
The Middle Classes
Another relevant finding from the child poverty statistics published by Eurostat is that Spain is among the European countries with the highest rates of child poverty among the middle class, and this cannot be attributed solely to immigration.
Households in the third income quintile (between 40% and 60% of the income distribution) consisting of two or more adults and minors have an 8.8% risk of poverty or social exclusion rate. This is the worst rate in the entire European Union, exceeding Romania by more than half a percentage point. Furthermore, this rate is more than twice as high as the The EU average (4.2%).
In addition to the risk of poverty, this indicator also includes social exclusion, an important metric because it takes into account people who cannot afford a certain number of the goods or services analyzed. This data is relevant because it also considers the impact of the cost of living.
The tragedy of child poverty also affects middle-class families. Many of them struggle to make ends meet as inflation drives up the cost of living. Rent, in particular, is a source of poverty: a family with children that doesn’t own a home finds it extremely difficult to maintain a decent standard of living. Although there are no statistics combining both variables, it is easy to see that the figure will be very high. 42% of the population living in rented accommodation is at risk of poverty or social exclusion, which is the second worst figure in the entire EU.
Large families are also particularly affected by poverty. Almost half of households with three or more children (49.1%) are at risk of poverty or social exclusion. These child poverty figures explain why many young people choose to postpone starting a family. The arrival of a child not only poses significant challenges in balancing work and family life, but also leads to significant economic tensions within the family.
This situation is not as evident in other age groups. Among those over 65, the poverty or social exclusion rate in Spain is 19.5%, in line with the EU average. However, among the working-age population (18-64 years old), the gap begins to widen, by up to 5 percentage points, while among minors it rises to the aforementioned 10.4 percentage points.
This means that child poverty is not an inevitable consequence of the 19th-century economy, but rather a peculiarity of Spain and some other countries. In other words, reducing child poverty is possible, but requires the political will of the country.
