Every seventh child in Germany (15.2%) is at risk of poverty, according to data from the Federal Statistical Office for 2024. This corresponds to around 2.2 million children and young people under the age of 18. Their share has increased slightly - in 2023, 14 percent were at risk of poverty.
According to the statistical definition, people who have less than 60 percent of the average “net equivalised income“ are considered to be at risk of poverty. This means that households with two adults and two children and a net income of less than 2,900 euros per month are at risk of poverty. For single parents with one child, the threshold is below 1,795 euros net. For people living alone, the threshold is 1,381 euros of net income per month, explains the public broadcaster ARD.
When there is no money for a new bed, a cinema or a birthday
Statisticians have also studied what poverty specifically means for children and young people. Nineteen percent of them live in households that do not have the means to replace worn or broken furniture with new ones; 12% - in families that cannot afford a week's vacation, five percent do not have money even for a sports club membership or a visit to the cinema, and about three percent - for a second pair of shoes in good condition.
Between one and two percent of children under the age of 16 were unable to invite friends to their home, celebrate occasions such as a birthday or receive fresh fruit and vegetables daily - again due to lack of funds.
Families are assessed according to 17 criteria, and to classify them as materially or socially disadvantaged, it is sufficient that they do not meet at least three of these criteria – for financial reasons, explains the ARD.
Two specific risk factors
Children and young people whose parents have a low level of education or a migrant background are more at risk of poverty. According to statisticians, people under the age of 18 whose parents or they themselves have immigrated to Germany are about four times more at risk of poverty than their peers without a migrant background.
When parents are poorly educated, the risk of poverty is 41.8 percent, while with more highly educated parents, for example with a university degree, the risk of children being exposed to poverty is only 7.2 percent.