Most children from poor families escape the poverty trap

Nine in 10 children who grow up in a very low income family are not at risk of ending up living in poverty themselves, but almost 10% are, according to a new analysis by national statistics agency CBS.

The CBS studied the income level across two generations and found that most children from the Netherlands’ poorest families are able to earn more than their parents.

However, 14% of children whose parents were born abroad and had a low income have ‘inherited’ the risk of being poor themselves, the CBS said. Children from families with Moroccan roots are most likely to be poor as adults.

The agency defines a low income family with two children in 2021 as one with a maximum of €2,170 to spend. The figure for 1995 was €1,320.