27% of children in the UK are living in poverty
There were 3.9 million children living in poverty in the UK in 2020-21.
Child Poverty Across the UK
“I remember how poverty made me feel. Always being acutely aware of your social position forces you to mature a lot earlier… At 11-years of age and knowing about your parents finances and what they can afford– no child should be in a position to know that.”
Liv, an End Child Poverty Youth Ambassador
Together with Loughborough University we publish yearly figures of child poverty across the UK, at a local authority and constituency level.
Use the map to find out how many children are living in low income families in your area.
You can also find out more here.
Notes on how the data should be interpreted
The figures are based on the Department for Work and Pensions Children in low income families: local area statistics which estimates the poverty rate before housing costs. A statistical model is used to estimate child poverty after housing costs which draws on household survey data alongside local area statistics on private rent levels. The statistics are calibrated to regional 3-year averages from Households Below Average Income (HBAI) for the financial years 2018/19 to 2020/21. The HBAI figures for 2020/21 are less reliable than earlier years due to sampling issues related to the pandemic. This should be kept in mind when interpreting the statistics released today, but the impact is lessened by the use of three-year averages for regional figures. More information on HBAI is available here.
Users are advised that the data for individual local authorities and parliamentary constituencies are subject to small statistical fluctuations year-on-year and should be considered within the context of the regional or the longer-term local trend.