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/en/inntekt-og-forbruk/statistikker/inntind/aar
53557
More children at risk of poverty
statistikk
2011-04-28T10:00:00.000Z
Income and consumption;Social conditions, welfare and crime;Immigration and immigrants
en
inntind, Households' income, particular groups, income distribution, household income, low-income groups (for example single parents, long-term sick, supplementary benefit recipients), poor, median income, low-income limits, EU scale, OECD scaleIncome and wealth, Living conditions , Income and consumption, Income and consumption, Social conditions, welfare and crime, Immigration and immigrants
false

Households' income, particular groups, 2009

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More children at risk of poverty

The number of children living in households with a persistent low income increased from 67 000 in the period 2004-2006 to 74 000 in the period 2007-2009. At the same time, fewer elderly people were at risk of having a persistent low income.

Based on the EU's definition of persistent low income, 8.1 per cent of the population had a persistent low income (see text box below) in the period 2007 to 2009; a total of 361 000 persons. About 74 000 of these are children (age below 18). Compared with the years 2004-2006, the number of children in the persistent low income group has risen by nearly 7 000. Children with an immigrant background are overrepresented among children at risk of having a persistent low income. The main explanation is often a combination of large families with many children and a weak labour attachment among the parents. About 43 per cent of the children in households with a persistent low income have been born abroad with two foreign-born parents and have moved to Norway, or have been born in Norway with two immigrant parents.

Fewer elderly people (age 67 or older) are at risk of having a persistent low income - down from 96 000 persons in the period 2004-2006 to 85 000 in 2007-2009. Thus, the elderly constitute a falling proportion of the low income group. This development can be explained by an increased minimum state pension, more elderly participating in the labour force and new old-age pensioners receiving earnings-related pensions to a larger extent than older pensioners.

Persistent low income

Persons are considered to have a persistent low income when their average income (per consumption unit) over a three-year period falls below the low-income threshold for the same period, i.e. the sum of equivalent income across the three years is less than the sum of the low-income threshold for the same three years.

The difference between the EU and the OECD definition is that the EU definition has a higher low-income threshold than the OECD (60 per cent of the median vs. 50 per cent of the median). In addition, the EU definition takes economies of scale within the households into account more than the OECD definition.

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