The number of children living in poverty in the UK has reached an unprecedented level, for the first time in at least 20 years, due to the cost of living crisis affecting the country.

According to official data released today by the Ministry of Labour, 4.3 million children live in low-income households. The previous record was set in 2020, when 4.28 million children lived in households with an income below 60% of the median. In 2023 this income rose to £545 (€635) per week.

More generally, 21% of the population was in poverty, i.e. 14.3 million people. This percentage is reduced by one unit compared to the previous year.

Between 2022-23 the country experienced for months unprecedented levels of inflation, exceeding 10%, due to the increase in the price of energy and food, mainly as a result of the war in Ukraine. Despite the benefits granted by the state to support households (£3,800 or €4,430 per household on average), this crisis hit the British hard.

The numbers “show that the government has failed to protect the most vulnerable,” said Peter Matejic, an analyst at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, an organization that fights poverty in the United Kingdom.

The government believes that with inflation easing, which fell to 3.4% in February, the pressure on families has now eased.