In 2024, approximately 26,000 children in Cyprus—equivalent to 14.8% of the country’s child population—were at risk of poverty or social exclusion, according to newly published data by Eurostat, the European Union’s statistical service. This represents a notable decrease of 3,000 children compared to 2023 and positions Cyprus as the second-best performer among EU member states on this indicator.

At the EU level, the percentage of children under 18 at risk stood at 24.2%, amounting to 19.5 million children in 2024. This reflects a slight decline of 0.6 percentage points compared to 2023, when the rate was 24.8%.

In Cyprus, the risk rate decreased by 1.9 percentage points, dropping from 16.7% in 2023 to 14.8% in 2024. In absolute terms, this equates to a reduction from 29,000 children to 26,000—a significant improvement year-over-year.

In the EU ranking, Slovenia had the lowest rate at 11.8%, followed by Cyprus (14.8%) and the Czech Republic (15.4%).

At the other end of the spectrum, the highest rates of children at risk were recorded in:

• Bulgaria: 35.1%

• Spain: 34.6%

• Romania: 33.8%

Some member states also saw notable year-on-year declines, with:

• Romania showing the largest reduction (-5.2 pp)

• Ireland following closely (-3.7 pp)

• Hungary recording a drop of (-3.3 pp)

In contrast, increases were reported in:

• Finland (+3.5 pp)

• Croatia (+2.0 pp)

• Bulgaria and Belgium (both +1.2 pp)