On the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) published a report according to which two and a half million children live in poverty in Europe.

The numbers are alarming. According to the latest report of FRA, “Combating child poverty: an issue of fundamental rights”, one in four children under 18 are at risk of poverty or social exclusion across the EU.

“Child poverty has no place in Europe, one of the world’s richest regions,” says FRA Director Michael O’Flaherty. However, despite the European Union’s good intentions to eradicate it, the figures have only slightly decreased, from 28% in 2012 to 24.5% in 2017 (source: Eurostat).

In some Member States, like Romania, the issue affects as high as 1 in 2 children. While it can affect all children, some groups, like Roma and migrants are hit even worse; a FRA survey revealed that over 90% of Roma children in nine Member States experience poverty.

Download the FRA report here.