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Berlin (German news agency) – In Germany, the risk of poverty for children and single parents rose to an all-time high last year. This is shown by a new data query by the left-wing faction at the Federal Statistical Office, which the newspapers of the “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland” report in their Friday editions.
According to the figures that calculate the risk of poverty based on income distribution, the proportion of under-18s at risk of poverty rose to 21.6 percent in 2022 from 21.3 percent in the previous year. According to the statistics, of all household types, single parents were by far the most at risk of poverty with a share of 42.9 percent. In 2021 it was 42.3 percent, in 2020 it was 40.4 percent. The left faction therefore sees the federal government as having an obligation. “Children and young people are the losers of inflation. Child poverty has jumped to a new record,” left-wing faction leader Dietmar Bartsch told RND. The traffic light must now act: “The basic child security must not become the next chaos number. This year we need a basic child security that deserves the name.” Family Minister Lisa Paus (Greens) must quickly submit more than general key points, Bartsch demanded. The data from the microcensus do not yet take into account the current loss of purchasing power. The definition of risk of poverty used is based on a comparison of incomes: Anyone who has less than 60 percent of the median income is therefore at risk of poverty. Measured against this, the risk of poverty fell overall last year: while 16.9 percent of people were still at risk of poverty in 2021, it was 16.7 percent in 2022. For the left, it is therefore particularly reprehensible that, in contrast, children and single parents are more at risk of poverty than in the previous year. “The fight against child poverty must also be worth the necessary money to us,” Bartsch demanded. “If the chancellor and finance minister are able to raise 100 billion euros overnight for the Bundeswehr, they must not block the necessary funds for families,” said the left-wing politician.