Child Poverty: The Cost Europe Cannot Afford (2025)

This report dismantles the myth that child poverty is an inevitable part of Europe’s social landscape. Drawing on data from 16 European countries, it presents a rights-based, evidence-driven analysis of the scale and cost of child poverty — both human and economic — and outlines proven policy solutions to end it. With nearly one in four children in Europe still at risk of poverty or social exclusion, the report shows that the challenge lies not in a lack of resources, but in a lack of prioritisation. It argues that failure to act constitutes a form of neglect, imposing long-term social and economic losses estimated at 3.4% of GDP across OECD countries. To break the intergenerational cycle of deprivation, the EU must strengthen its social agenda, invest in children, and treat the eradication of child poverty as both a moral imperative and a smart economic choice.