Historical trend
By nation
England 31 %
Scotland 25 %
Wales 33 %
Northern Ireland 27 %
Source: DWP / ONS
Trend summary
30.0% of children in the UK were in relative poverty after housing costs in 2022–23, equivalent to approximately 4.2 million children.
Trend
- The rate has risen from around 27% in 2011–12, following a period of decline from the late 1990s to the late 2000s.
- The after-housing-costs measure is consistently around 6–7 percentage points higher than the before-housing-costs measure.
- The two-child benefit limit, introduced in 2017, is estimated by the IFS to affect around 1.5 million families.
Context
- DWP Households Below Average Income (HBAI) defines relative poverty as below 60% of median household income.
- Figures are based on the Family Resources Survey, which has a sample of around 20,000 households.
Commentary contains no editorial judgement — describes direction, magnitude, and official projections only.
OECD comparison
🇩🇪 Germany
14 %
🇨🇦 Canada
18 %
🇫🇷 France
20 %
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
27 %