Poverty rates now higher than at any other time in the 21st Century

The Social Metrics Commission (SMC) has published its fifth annual report assessing the level and nature of poverty across the UK. The report finds that the rate of poverty in the UK is now higher than at any point in the 21st Century.

• 16 million people in the UK are living in families in poverty.
• 5.2 million are children, 9.2 million are working-age adults and 1.5 million are pension-age adults.
• Nearly one in four (24%) people in the UK now judged to be in poverty.

The report also echoes last year’s findings which demonstrated that children have been particularly hard hit. More than a third of all children (36%) were in poverty in 2022/23 (the time period covered by the report), which is an almost five percentage-point increase since 2019/20 and the highest of any group. Overall, poverty rates have risen by two percentage points since 2019/20, which means that 2.1 million more people are now living in poverty than would have been the case if this rise had not happened.

The SMC data is published ahead of the Poverty Strategy Commission’s forthcoming final report, which is expected early in 2025. This will show how, by using the analysis laid out by the SMC’s approach, a strategic approach to tackling poverty can bring about a significant and sustainable reduction in poverty in the UK – for people of all ages.