Overview
- UNICEF estimates about 9% of under‑18s in Germany lack basic conditions for normal participation, from adequate meals to study space.
- Forty‑four percent of affected children live in overcrowded housing, and at least 130,000 are homeless in municipal shelters.
- Educational outcomes have deteriorated, with 25% of children unable to read well compared with 20% in 2018, and many struggling with digital skills.
- Around 40% of adolescents report frequent physical or psychological complaints, with particular concern for the mental wellbeing and loneliness of girls from poor families.
- Germany fares worse than peers such as Finland, Norway, Slovenia and Portugal on key child‑poverty indicators, prompting proposals like social‑index school investment programs.