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Child poverty priority groups

Child Poverty Priority Groups

As part of plans to reduce child poverty, the Scottish Government has set out six priority groups. These households are at greater risk of child poverty for a variety of reasons and plans to reduce child poverty must consider how they will impact each group. This section of the website includes data on each of the groups, although comprehensive and comparable data is not available for all groups.

It is also important to note that these are not distinct categories and many families will be in two or more of these high-risk groups. The groups are: families with a child under one year old (families with young children); families with a mother under the age of 25 (young mothers); families which include a disabled person (disabled households); families which include a person from an ethnic minority (ethnic minority households); lone parents; and families with more than three children (large families).

Relative child poverty for different priority groups - Scotland - 2011-2014 - 2020-2023

The chart above shows the rates of relative poverty in the priority groups for which figures are available between 2011-2014 and 2020-2023. All priority groups for whom a figure was available had higher rates of child poverty than the Scottish average for all children. These estimates are calculated only at the Scotland level and not every group has an estimate for every point in time.

The group with the highest levels of child poverty between 2011-2014 and 2015-2018 was mothers under 25 years of age (young mothers). More recent estimates are not available for this group. In the most recent estimate, relative poverty was highest for minority ethnic households, with 43% of children in these households experiencing poverty.

Material deprivation by priority groups - Scotland - 2020-2023

In 2020-2023, the rate of material deprivation was highest among lone-parent families with 23% of these families experiencing material deprivation compared to 10% of all Scottish children. 

Notes

These data come from Scottish Government statistics.

These pages were last updated in December 2024. They will be updated again when figures are next released.

Close up on the legs and feet of a person walking with a white stick usually used by people with blindness. Close up on the legs and feet of a person walking with a white stick usually used by people with blindness.

Disabled households

A woman wearing a head scarf sitting on a bench with her two children. She is drinking coffee in a take away cup and her children are eating cookies. A woman wearing a head scarf sitting on a bench with her two children. She is drinking coffee in a take away cup and her children are eating cookies.

Ethnic minority households

Young siblings eating snacks together, sitting at a kid table. Young siblings eating snacks together, sitting at a kid table.

Families with young children

A large family including several children, parents and grandparents, posing in their backyard. A large family including several children, parents and grandparents, posing in their backyard.

Large families

Mother sitting at a table with her two children. She is hugging her daughter, both children and reading or doing their homework. Mother sitting at a table with her two children. She is hugging her daughter, both children and reading or doing their homework.

Lone parents

Teen mum hugging and kissing her baby. Teen mum hugging and kissing her baby.

Mothers under 25