27% of Italian Children Under 16 Face Risk of Poverty and Social Exclusion

Rome: Some 27% of children in Italy under the age of 16 are at risk of poverty or social exclusion, Istat said Monday. In 2024, 26.7% of children under 16, or approximately 2 million people, were at risk of poverty or social exclusion. This figure increases significantly for children living in the South and the Islands, where the rate stands at 43.6%.

According to Ansa News Agency, the risk of poverty or social exclusion also rises with the number of children under 16 in a family. Foreign minors face a higher risk, with 43.6% at risk, which is more than 20 percentage points higher compared to their peers with Italian citizenship, who have a risk rate of 23.5%.