28.2% of children under 17 at risk of poverty

A Eurostat survey has found that 28.2% of Maltese children - roughly 21,000 children - were at risk of poverty in 2015, up from 26.7% in 2010. The survey considered children aged 17 or younger living in private households and excluding those living in remote parts of national territory which amount to less than 2% of the national population.

The European average for 2015 stood at 26.9%, up from 27.5% in 2010.

The survey also found that the proportion at risk of poverty or social exclusion is closely related to the level of education attained by their parents. It considered three levels of education – those having up to a lower secondary level of education (low), an upper secondary level of education (medium) and a tertiary education (high).

In Malta, 51.9% of children whose parents had a low level of education were at risk of poverty, compared to 17% for those whose parents had a medium level and 5.7% whose parents had a high level of education.

This trend is the same to that observed across the EU where on average, 65.5% of children residing with parents of a low education level were at risk of poverty compared to 30.3% whose parents had a medium level of education and 10.6% whose parents are highly educated.  

The survey defined children at risk of poverty as those living in a household with an equivalised disposable income below 60% of the national median. Equivalised income is a household’s income, that is available for spending or saving, divided by the size of the family.