Nov 10, 2022 | Society
The proportion of children in Poland classified as being severely deprived decreased from 30.3% in 2009 (which was then the sixth highest level in the European Union) to 6.2% in 2020 (the second lowest figure), a new EU report shows.
“The overall trend shows a catching-up process, especially driven by the improvement in performance in countries like Poland, Croatia, and Bulgaria,” wrote Eurofound, an EU agency focused on improving living and working conditions.
The authors note that Poland recorded a particularly large improvement from 2016 onwards, which was the first full year that the current government was in power and when it began increasing social spending.
Eurofound’s data, taken from Eurostat, the EU’s statistics agency, show the proportion of children classified as having “severe material or social deprivation”. Only the Netherlands, with 5.8%, had a better figure than Poland.
Poland’s improvement of 24.1 percentage points between 2009 and 2020 was the third largest in the bloc over that period, behind only Latvia (27.3) and Bulgaria (27.4).
While most countries saw a decline in deprivation among children, seven recorded an increase, including Greece (by 12.4 percentage points), Luxembourg (2.2) and Denmark (1.8)
Eurofound noted that, when it comes to child deprivation, Poland “improved its performance steadily from 2016 onwards”. The previous year, the national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party came to power and began introducing a series of redistributive social policies.
These focused in particular on supporting families, including PiS’s flagship child benefit scheme, known as 500+, that began to be paid out in 2016. In 2019, the popular programme was expanded to include more children.
Other data have also shown a sharp decline in child poverty in Poland over recent years. In 2015, around 900,000 children were living in extreme poverty, a figure that more than halved to 410,000 by 2020, notes the Polish branch of the European Anti-Poverty Network (EAPN).
Number of Poles living in extreme poverty falls 20%
Main image credit: P. Tracz / KPRM (under public domain)
Alicja Ptak is senior editor at Notes from Poland and a multimedia journalist. She previously worked for Reuters.
News, Politics
The event, which is organised by three far-right groups, often draws over 100,000 participants.
Law, News, Politics
“If they do not bring back this money in the coming days, they will answer for it in the manner provided for by the law,” says the opposition leader.
News, Politics
“We are open to dialogue…[and] compromise,” says Poland’s minister for European affairs.
Nov 2, 2022 | Hot news, News, Politics
The Polish defence minister has ordered the army to “immediately” begin building a barrier on the border with Russia’s exclave of Kaliningrad.
Oct 28, 2022 | Business, Energy & Climate, Hot news, News
“A strong Polish-US alliance guarantees the success of our joint initiatives,” says the prime minister.
Oct 26, 2022 | Hot news, News, Politics
The resolution was passed unanimously.
We are an independent, nonprofit media outlet, funded through the support of our readers.
If you appreciate the work we do, please consider helping us to continue and expand it.
Chocimska 7 / 8
30-057 Kraków, Poland
NIP: 677 243 97 04
KRS: 0000758506
[email protected]
Copyright © 2022 Notes From Poland | Design jurko studio | Code by 2sides.pl
advisory board member
Senior Research Fellow at the Global Europe Centre, University of Kent.
ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR
contributing editorial assistant
Weronika Strzyżyńska is currently studying journalism at Goldsmiths as a Scott Trust Bursary recipient. She has written on issues immigration and Brexit for New Statesman and Prospect
ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR
managing editor
Agnieszka Wądołowska is managing editor of Notes from Poland. She has previously worked for Gazeta.pl and Tokfm.pl and contributed to Gazeta Wyborcza, Wysokie Obcasy, Duży Format, Midrasz and Kultura Liberalna”
ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR
contributing writer
ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR
editor-in-chief
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland and assistant professor of history at the Pedagogical University of Krakow. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, The Independent and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR
founder, editor-at-large
Stanley Bill is the founder and editor-at-large of Notes from Poland.
He is also Senior Lecturer in Polish Studies and Director of the Polish Studies Programme at the University of Cambridge, where he works on Polish culture, politics and history.
Stanley has spent more than ten years living in Poland, mostly based in Kraków and Bielsko-Biała. He founded Notes from Poland in 2014 as a blog dedicated to personal impressions, cultural analysis and political commentary. He is committed to the promotion of deeper knowledge and understanding of Poland.
He is the Chair of the Board of the Notes from Poland Foundation.
ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR
deputy editor
assistant editor
ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR
advisory board member
ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR
advisory board member
Professor of European Studies at Oxford University
ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR
advisory board member
Professor at the Institute of History of the Jagiellonian University
ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR
advisory board member
Executive Director of Taube Family Foundation
ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR
advisory board member
Associate Professor at the Institute of Political Studies of the Polish Academy of Science, member of the Polish parliaments
ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR
advisory board member
ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR
author
ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR