Child Poverty in Portugal

Abstract

This article analyses the extent and persistence of child poverty in Portugal between 1995 and 2001. Data from the Portuguese component of the European Community Household Panel Survey (ECHP) are used to estimate child poverty rates and children's flows in and out of poverty. The article focuses upon an analysis based on family income and on a set of non-monetary indicators. This approach allows a comparison of changes in child income poverty and deprivation and, therefore, tests the consistency of child poverty from a dynamic perspective. Overall, relative child poverty rates in Portugal are among the highest in the EU. Children are a group particularly vulnerable to poverty and show a significant risk of poverty, compared to the population as a whole. Children living in households with three or more siblings, children in lone-parent families and in households headed by an unemployed person present a higher risk of income poverty. In terms of deprivation, the results obtained are, on average, consistent with the outcomes of the family income based analysis. This study of child poverty presents a portrait of child poverty in Portugal, and offers important indicators for social policy design.