The proportion of children growing up in families with persistent low incomes has more than tripled since 2001, according to new figures from Bufdir.
In total, 105,538 children lived in poverty nationwide back in 2017, which represents 10.7 percent of all children in Norway.
The figures presented by the Directorate for Children, Youth and Family (Bufdir) on Thursday were derived from data from 2017 and show that there was a slight increase of 0.4 percentage points in the number of children in families with sustained low income from 2016 to 2017, all counties and in 60 percent of the country’s municipalities there was an increase in child poverty rates.
Child poverty is particularly prevalent in the larger cities, and about one-third of all children in families with persistent low-income lives in one of the country’s six largest cities.
For the third year in a row, Drammen is the city municipality with the most child poverty – with a share of 18.6 percent. Then follow Oslo (17.8 percent), Skien (17.2 percent) and Fredrikstad (16.9 per cent), reports NRK.
Child families with an immigrant background are over-represented in the low-income statistics, and children with an immigrant background make up 55.6 percent of all children in the low-income group.
The Minister of Children and Family Kjell Ingolf Ropstad tells the channel that good integration policy is an important measure, but that each municipality has the main responsibility.
“My wish is that all municipal politicians intensify the struggle in their municipality, both to get the kids included and to get parents who can work, out into the work force,” says Ropstad.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
