The data show that children in our country who live at risk of poverty or social exclusion are 380 thousand. This practically means that one out of every three children does not have the necessary standard of living. Although this is less than 10 years ago, our country occupies one of the leading positions in Europe.
A child is at risk of poverty or social exclusion when the household in which he lives suffers from severe material or social deprivation. These deprivations can be related both to the child himself and to the household of which he is a part. It is usually a lack of resources that leads to at least 7 of the 13 categories of deprivation. Such as the inability of the household to pay rent or bills, keep the home warm enough, face unexpected expenses, or afford vacations away from home. Inability to eat meat or fish once every two days, replace worn clothes with new ones, have pocket money, internet connection and regular recreational activities. Based on these and several other indicators, European statistics calculate that last year one out of every three Bulgarian children lived at risk of poverty or social exclusion. The share of these children has not changed significantly in the last 1-2 years, but this applies to the whole of Europe. However, if we go back even further, we will see that our country is experiencing a smooth, albeit rather slight, decline in terms of children at risk of poverty or social exclusion.
But are children living better or worse in the rest of the continent? Comparing EU countries, Eurostat estimates that nearly 20 million children under the age of 18 live at risk, which is practically one in four children. Their share is the largest in Romania – notice, almost 40%. Spain is next with over 2 million and 700 thousand children at risk. In this unenviable ranking, Bulgaria occupies the third position, although their number in our country is 380 thousand. The list of leading five member states is completed by Greece and Italy. Children live best, at least according to this indicator, in Slovenia, where only 11% of them risk poverty or social exclusion. Last year, the number of children at risk rose most sharply in Hungary, and despite their first position, they even decreased in Romania.
But what is their fate after they turn 18? Do at-risk children become at-risk adults? Yes, but only a fraction of them, as the average percentage of European adults at risk is lower than that of children. In number, this is nearly 75 million Europeans. Bulgaria is no exception to this trend. Adults at risk in our country are 4% less than children at risk. As a total number – just over a million and a half people. In this ranking, unfortunately, we move up one more position and take second place. The first is again for Romania. After us are Latvia, Estonia and again Greece, with which we complete the list of the top five. The share of adults at risk is the lowest in the Czech Republic – 11%. Although not in the top five, the most serious is the increase in people at risk of poverty in Spain.
While in Europe 62% of children at risk have parents who have only a primary or lower level of education, the Bulgarian children at risk appear to be raised mostly by parents with a low level of education or none at all. With a share of nearly 83%, Bulgaria ranks first among the countries of the community. We are followed by Romania, and the smallest share is in Portugal and Poland.
In Europe – 11% of parents have a university degree, however, in our country, the percentage is one of the lowest – below 8. This ranks us in 19th position and means that in Bulgaria it is rare for parents with higher education to put their children at risk of poverty. Just look at the difference between us and the first – Spain, where a much larger proportion of university-educated parents cannot provide their children with the necessary standard of living. Slovenia and the Czech Republic have the least number of children at risk whose parents have a higher education.