Romania's children, most exposed to risk of poverty, social exclusion in EU

Almost half (49.2 percent) of Romania's children were exposed, last year, to the risk of poverty and social exclusion, the highest percentage among the EU member states, and almost double from the average of 26.4 percent recorded at the EU level, according to the data released by Eurostat on Monday. 

The EU countries where children are the least exposed to the risk of poverty and social exclusion are Denmark (13.8 percent), Finland (14.7 percent), Slovenia (14.9 percent) and the Czech Republic (17.4 percent). 

According to Eurostat data, in 2016, approximately 24.816 million children aged 0-17 in the EU were exposed to the risk of poverty and social exclusion. In Romania, last year, some 1.880 million children were exposed to this risk, more than the 1.648 million children in Poland in a similar situation. 

Between 2010-2016, at the EU level, the proportion of the children at risk of poverty and social exclusion decreased from 27.5 percent in 2010 to 26.4 percent in 2016. There were contrasting developments among the EU member states. In the vast majority of the member states, the proportion of the children exposed to this risk went down between 2010 and 2016. The largest decreases were recorded in Latvia, from 42.2 percent in 2010 to 24.7 percent in 2016, that is a decrease of 17.5 percentage points. 

In contrast, in several member states, including Romania, the proportion of the children exposed to the risk of poverty and social exclusion increased between 2010 and 2016. The highest increases were recorded in Greece, from 28.7 percent in 2010 to 37.5 percent in 2016, a rise of 8.8 percentage points, respectively, and in Cyprus, an increase of 7.8 percentage points, followed by Sweden, up 5.4 percentage points, and Italy, a rise of 1.1 percentage points. 

In Romania, the proportion of children at risk of poverty and social exclusion increased from 48.1 percent in 2010 to 49.2 percent in 2016, up 1.1 percentage points. AGERPRES .