“In 2024, 19.5 million children in the EU were at risk of poverty or social exclusion. This figure represented 24.2% of children under the age of 18, down by 0.6 percentage points from 2023 (24.8%)”, according to a Eurostat survey published today. “At the country level, in 2024, the highest values were reported in Bulgaria (35.1%), Spain (34.6%) and Romania (33.8%). In contrast, Slovenia (11.8%), Cyprus (14.8%) and Czechia (15.4%) registered the lowest shares”. Compared with 2023, Romania registered the largest decrease in the share of children at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2024, -5.2, followed by Ireland (-3.7) and Hungary (-3.3). On the other hand, Finland (+3.5), Croatia (+2.0), Bulgaria and Belgium (both +1.2) observed the largest increases.