There are more than half a million poor or socially marginalised children in Greece, while 322,000 of these are in dire straits materially, the Athens-Macedonia News Agency said on May 22. The shocking statistics were found in a “The state of the children of Greece 2013” report by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), in collaboration with the University of Athens.
The report found the number of children facing poverty or social marginalisation is 597,000 or 30.4% of the children in the general population ― a 9.1% rise since 2010.
It found that in 2011, just over 9% of children live in households with no adult working, a 2.9% rise since 2010.
It found 16.4% of all under-age children, live in households that are seriously materially deprived ― a 38.2% rise from 2010 to 2011.