Spain faces high child poverty and social exclusion rates, exacerbated by regional disparities and family structures.
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Marco Rossi Doria, president of the social enterprise Con i bambini, notes that despite challenges, there are positive aspects and hope, highlighting successful educational communities involving various stakeholders to support children and families, reaching 650,000 disadvantaged youngsters through 900 partnerships. In Spain, data from the National Statistics Institute (INE) in 2024 shows nearly one in three children (about 27%) are at risk of poverty or social exclusion, a high rate in Western Europe, with 2.7 million minors affected; 13.7% live in severe poverty, which includes lacking basic necessities like adequate food and heating. The Plataforma de Infancia report indicates an increase of 1.7 percentage points, with over 116,000 new cases, and more than half of children (54.9%) struggle to make ends meet. Rural areas show even higher relative poverty rates at 34.7%, and significant regional disparities exist, with Andalusia having the highest rate at 44.4% and Galicia having a much lower one at 16%. Risk factors include children with foreign parents (67.9% risk), single-parent families, especially those headed by mothers over 50%, and larger family sizes (over 65% risk for families with more than three children), indicating a deep structural issue requiring comprehensive policy responses.
