According to the EU statistical service, poverty and social exclusion still affect 22.5% of people over 18, with the EU average registering a value below that of Portugal (21.1%).

Among the Member States, in 2021, the highest percentages of children at risk of poverty and social exclusion were registered in Romania (41.5%), Spain (33.4%) and Bulgaria (33.0%) and the lowest, on the other hand, in Slovenia (11.0%), Finland (13.2%) and the Czech Republic (13.3%).

Eurostat underlines that children who grow up in poverty and social exclusion have greater difficulty achieving good school results, in being healthy and realising their potential in the future.