In 2011, 27 per cent of children aged under 18 were at risk of poverty or social exclusion in the EU27, compared with 24% of adults (aged 18-64) and 21% of the elderly (aged 65 and over).
The highest shares of those aged under 18 who were at risk of poverty were registered in Bulgaria (52%), Romania (49%), Latvia (44%), Hungary (40%) and Ireland (38% in 2010), and the lowest in Sweden, Denmark and Finland (all 16%), followed by Slovenia (17%), the Netherlands (18%) and Austria (19%).
Poverty among children is directly related to the education level of their parents.
Almost half of all children whose parents had a low education level (at the most lower secondary education) were at risk of poverty, compared with 22% of children residing with parents who had a medium education level (at the most upper secondary education) and 7% of children with parents with a higher education level (tertiary education).
Also, children of migrants are at a greater risk of poverty.
In Croatia, 32.2% of children under 18 are at the risk of poverty and social exclusion - 59.8% whose parents have a low education level, 21.3% whose parents have a medium education level and 5.6% whose parents have a higher education level.
Also, 32.7% of Croatia's population are poor, of whom 32.5% are aged 18-64 and 34% are 65 and older.
Persons at risk of poverty or social exclusion fall into at least one of the following three conditions: persons who live in a household with a disposable income below the risk-of-poverty threshold, which is set at 60% of the national median disposable income; severely materially deprived persons; and people under 59 living in households with very low work intensity, where the adults work less than 20% of their total work potential.
Severely materially deprived persons meet at least four out of following nine criteria: they cannot afford to pay rent, mortgage or utility bills on time, keep home adequately warm, face unexpected expenses, eat meat, fish or a protein equivalent every second day, a one-week holiday away from home, a car, a washing machine, a colour TV, or a telephone (including mobile phone).