Children’s rights

The cornerstone of Eurochild’s work on children’s rights is the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). However, many countries still lack institutional measures to promote and enhance knowledge and understanding of the UNCRC among policymakers and professionals working with children. This persistent gap extends both to the systematic training of staff and to children’s own learning about their rights. According to our members, in most European countries, there are either no measures or insufficient efforts to promote understanding of the UNCRC.

Moreover, in countries where such measures are stronger, members noted that training is often provided by civil society or international organisations rather than by public institutions. Furthermore, decision makers and those who shape legislation, budgets and systems affecting children are often not aware of the UNCRC to which their country is legally bound. In addition to exposing gaps in UNCRC-related training and awareness, the country profiles in this report draw on the expertise of our members to shed light on the overall status of children’s rights in each country. They also offer concrete recommendations for how countries can strengthen their efforts to protect and promote children’s rights.

Poverty and social exclusion – Experiences of children, families, and communities

Every child is entitled to grow up free from poverty and social exclusion. This report aims to gather examples of promising initiatives and good practices identified by our members working at the national and local level. The objective is to share this evidence with EU, international and national policymakers, shaping effective strategies, initiatives, and funding to address child poverty.

According to the latest Eurostat data for 2024, 24.2% of children in the EU were at risk of poverty or social exclusion. While across the EU there was a slight improvement, from a rate of 24.8% in 2023, child poverty increased in 10 countries, decreased in 16 countries and remained unchanged in one country. Bulgaria has the highest rate of children at risk of poverty or social exclusion, at 35.1%, followed by Spain with 34.6%, and Romania with 33.8%.

The highest increases in child poverty since 2023 have been in Finland and Croatia, recording increases of 3.5 and 2 percentage points respectively. The most significant decreases were observed in Romania (-5.2 percentage points), Ireland (-3.4 percentage points ) and Hungary (-3.3 percentage points). As for Enlargement Countries (candidates and potential candidates), Eurostat data for Kosovo and Moldova is not available, so national data has been used, and data for Albania is only available up to 2021. The percentage of children at risk of poverty or social exclusion remains significantly higher in these countries compared to EU Member States. Albania has the highest rate, with 50.1% of children at risk, while Kosovo has a lower rate of 22.7%. No data is available for Bosnia and Herzegovina and Ukraine at this time.

For the United Kingdom, as Eurostat does not provide data for England, Scotland, and Wales, this report uses national data. In 2023-2024, England and Wales reported that 31% of children were at risk of poverty or social exclusion.