Use the interactive tool below to navigate indicators that show how poverty and inequality affects children in London.
Child dependency ratio by area over time (2000-2035)
This indicator was last updated in March 2024. It is now archived and will no longer be updated. Explore London’s Poverty Profile to view our up to date indicators. If you have any questions, get in touch.
This indicator shows how many children (aged 0-15) there are for every 100 working-age people (16-64). It is an indication of how many under 16s working-age people need to support.
The child dependency ratio in the rest of England is higher compared to Inner London, but lower compared to Outer London.
In 2022, there were 31.4 children for every 100 working-age adults within Outer London. This figure is both higher than the child dependency ratio in Inner London (22.7 children per 100 working-age adults) and the rest of England (29.8 children per 100 working-age adults).
Inner London’s child dependency ratio has fallen significantly since t…
Childhood obesity for children in Year 6 by London borough (2012/13 and 2022/23)
Childhood obesity is more prevalent in London than England overall. In 2022/23, 24.8% of children in Year 6 were considered obese in London, compared to 22.7% in England.
Over the last decade, the prevalence of childhood obesity has risen by 2.4 percentage points in London and 3.8 percentage points in England. The majority of London boroughs had a higher prevalence of childhood obesity than England overall in both 2012/13 and 2022/23.
Public Health England’s latest figures in 2022/23 show that Barking and Dagenham has the highest proportion of childhood obesity out of all London boroughs at 31.7%. The borough also had the largest rise in childhood obesity since 2012/13 (a 6.5 percentage point increase). At the other end of the scale, 12% of Year 6 children in Richmond upon Thames are obese in 2022/23 with just a 0.3 percentage point decrea…
Number of children in poverty by housing tenure in London (2004/05 - 2022/23)
Last updated: August 2024
Next estimated update: June 2025
What does this indicator show?
This indicator shows the number of children growing up in poverty in London, split by their housing tenure.
What does it tell us?
Since 2004/05, the number of children in poverty in London who live in private rented accommodation has increased almost threefold to its current level of 280,000 in 2022/23. The proportion of children in poverty in London who live in the private rented sector has increased from 17% in 2004/05 to 42% in 2022/23. (Note: data are excluded for 2020/21 due to survey quality concerns because of COVID-19.)
While the number of children in poverty in this group has increased, the poverty rate within this group has decreased over the years; in 2004/05 the poverty rate for children in private rented accommodation in London was 56% and in…
Proportion of children in poverty before and after housing costs by London borough (2022/23)
Children in poverty by London borough, before and after housing costs
Percentage of people living with food insecurity (2022/23)
Last updated: October 2024
Next estimated update: October 2025
What does this indicator show?
This indicator shows the proportion of people experiencing food insecurity, split by the type of household. We can use it to see how many people in London and the rest of the UK are struggling to access enough affordable and nutritious food, and which household types are most likely to be in food insecurity.
Someone is counted as experiencing food insecurity if they or their household members have at times had their food intakes disrupted or reduced, or that they reduced the quality, variety or desirability of their diets because of a lack of money or resources
What does it tell us?
In London 6.6% of people were classed as being food insecure in 2022/23, with a slightly higher rate found in the rest of England at 7.5%.
However, for households with no d…
Fuel poverty rates in London and the rest of England (2021)
Last updated: October 2024
Next estimated update: October 2025
What does this indicator show?
This indicator shows the proportions of households in fuel poverty by age. Households are split by the age of the oldest person in the household.
A household in England is defined as being in fuel poverty if it is in a property rated D or worse for energy efficiency, and its disposable income (that is, its remaining income after housing and energy costs are paid) is below the poverty line (60% of the national median income).
What does it tell us?
Just over one in ten London households (10.8%) are considered to be living in fuel poverty. This is slightly lower than 13.5% in the rest of England. This is likely to be due to a combination of factors. For example, houses in London tend to have smaller floor areas. This is likely to contribute to lower fue…
GCSE attainment - grades 9-4 in English and Maths by London borough (2022/23)
State-educated students in London have higher GCSE attainment rates than those in England as a whole. 71.2% of students in London achieved grades 9-4 (A*-C under the old grading system) in GCSE English and Maths in 2022/23 (down from 74.3% in 2020/21). This is compared to 65.4% in all of England (down from 69% in 2020/21).
Almost all London boroughs have a higher GCSE attainment rate than the average rate in England. The boroughs with the highest GCSE attainment rates are Sutton, Kingston upon Thames, Barnet and Richmond upon Thames, which all saw over 80% of their students achieving grades 9-4 in English and Maths in 2022/23.
Just four London boroughs have a lower GCSE attainment rate than the average rate in England. The boroughs with the lowest GCSE attainment rates are Lewisham and Lambeth, with 61% and 62.9% of their students achievin…
GCSE attainment by ethnicity (2022/23)
This indicator was last updated in March 2024. It is now archived and will no longer be updated. Explore London’s Poverty Profile to view our up to date indicators. If you have any questions, get in touch.
GCSE attainment is higher in London than in England overall. This is true for both boys and girls, students who do not speak English as a first language, students with Special Educational Needs and students from minority ethnic backgrounds.
Attainment decreased from 2021/22 to 2022/23 in London and England across almost all groups. The only exceptions were Chinese students in London, whose grades improved, and Chinese students in England, whose grades stayed stable. The largest relative fall in attainment was recorded for students with a Special Educational Needs statement.
The decrease in grades from 2021/22 to 2022/23 is likely due to a…
London households affected by the benefit cap (2014 - 2024 Q1)
What does this indicator show?
The benefit cap limits the amount of money that most working-age people can receive from benefits. In Greater London the limit is £25,323 per year or £16,697 for single adults with no children. This was reduced in November 2016, and recently increased in April 2023. The benefit cap is applied by either reducing Universal Credit or Housing Benefit (for those not claiming Universal Credit).
What does it tell us?
More than 27,000 households in London had their income reduced by the benefit cap in February 2024. This has increased by more than 55% since before the pandemic (February 2020). However, the number of households affected by the benefit cap has been steeply reducing since a peak of 61,000 households during the pandemic.
The data refers to the month of February for each year spanning 2014 to 2024, and inc…
Infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births (2001-03 to 2020-22)
This indicator was last updated in March 2024. It is now archived and will no longer be updated. Explore London’s Poverty Profile to view our up to date indicators. If you have any questions, get in touch.
In 2020-2022 the average number of deaths per 1,000 live births was higher in England (4.0) than in London (3.6).
To get to this point, infant mortality rates had fallen significantly in both London and England over the last two decades. In 2001-2003 the rate was slightly higher in London than in England overall, with an average of 5.7 deaths per 1,000 live births, while in England this figure was 5.4. In 2009-2011 the infant mortality rates were on average similar (4.4) in both London and England.
In the years since, the infant mortality rate has fallenfell further in London (a reduction of 1 death per 1,000 live births) than in England …
Infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births by London borough (2022)
Last updated: September 2024
Next estimated update: September 2025
What’s this indicator?
This indicator shows the infant mortality rate in London boroughs. This means the number of deaths of children under the age of one year, per 1,000 live births. The data is a three year average. You can view a map of this data at the bottom of the page.
What does it tell us?
Whilst infant mortality rates vary significantly across London boroughs, in all but ten boroughs, they are lower than in England overall.
The average number of deaths per 1,000 live births in 2022 was 3.3 in London, whereas in England it was 3.9. Lambeth and Hillingdon were the boroughs with the highest infant mortality rate in London (5.4 per 1,000 live births). Haringey was the London borough with the lowest infant mortality rate (1.6 per 1,000 live births).
Map of infant mortality …
Material deprivation of children in London (2022/23)
Last updated: May 2024
Next estimated update: May 2025
What does this indicator show?
This indicator shows the proportion of children in London experiencing some kind of material deprivation. This means the material things - such as a warm winter coat or a safe outdoors space to play - that children go without.
What does it tell us?
In 2022/23, almost a third (32%) of children living in households in poverty in London are classed as materially deprived (down from 45% in 2018/19). This, compares with 39% in the rest of England (up from 37% in 2018/19). For children who do not live in households in poverty, the proportion of materially deprived children is 13% in London and 12% in the rest of England.
Almost half (48%) of children in London in poverty went without a holiday away from home for at least one week a year with their family, the hig…
Proportion of households in poverty by family type (2022/23)
This indicator was last updated in May 2024. It is now archived and will no longer be updated. Explore London’s Poverty Profile to view our up to date indicators. You can explore all of our data on poverty rates by demographics here. If you have any questions, get in touch.
What does this indicator show?
This indicator shows the proportion of people in poverty in London (after housing costs) by family structure. A person is classed as being in poverty if they earn below 60% of the median income. You can find out more about how poverty is measured here.
What does it tell us?
Families made up of a single adult with children are the most likely to be in poverty. In London 47% of these family types are counted as being in poverty, with 44% in the rest of England. Other single person household types follow next, with couple households showing low…
Poverty for children, pensioners and working-age adults (2012/2013 and 2022/2023)
Last updated: May 2024
Next estimated update: May 2025
What does this indicator show?
This indicator shows the percentage of people in London living in poverty (after housing costs), split by life stages. For a more comprehensive breakdown of poverty in different age groups, visit this indicator.
What does it tell us?
Of the three age groups shown here, children have the highest poverty rates, with 32% of children in London in poverty in 2022/23, compared to 22% of working-age adults and 19% of pensioners.
How has this changed over time?
In the last 10 years, the proportion of children in poverty in London has decreased by 5 percentage points - from 37% to 32%. The poverty rate among working-age adults has also decreased (from 27% to 22%), while for pensioners it has stayed the same (19%).
How does London compare to the rest of England?
Children…
Proportion of Londoners in poverty after housing costs by age band (2022/23)
Last updated: May 2024
Next estimated update: May 2025
What does this indicator show?
This indicator shows the poverty rate in London by age group. A person is classed as being in poverty if they earn below 60% of the median income. You can find out more about how poverty is measured here.
What does it tell us?
Poverty rates after housing costs were highest among children and young people in 2022/23, in both London and the rest of England.
- In London 140,000 children aged four and under live in households in poverty
- A third (33%) of children aged 5-9 are in households in poverty
- Over a third of 10-19 year olds live in households that are in poverty (35% of those aged 10-14 and 37% of those aged 15-19).
In contrast, 15% of Londoners aged 30-34 live in households that are in poverty - the lowest rate for any age group.
Poverty rates in London are h…
Poverty rates by demographic characteristics in London (2022/23)
Last updated: May 2024
Next estimated update: May 2025
What does this indicator show?
This indicator shows the poverty rate in London (after housing costs) by demographics. A person is classed as being in poverty if they earn below 60% of the median income. You can find out more about how poverty is measured here.
For further breakdowns by demographics, explore poverty by ethnicity, poverty by age, poverty by family type and disability and poverty.
What does it tell us?
Poverty rates vary significantly across different demographic groups in London. The highest poverty rates are experienced by workless families (50%) and households comprised of single people with children (47%). Black and minority ethnic groups are far more likely to be in poverty (34%) than white people (17%), and single pensioners also see a higher than average poverty rate a…
Number of children, adults, and pensioners in London in poverty by working status (2012/2013, 2017/2018 and 2022/2023)
Last updated: May 2024
Next estimated update: May 2025
What does this indicator show?
This indicator shows the number of people living in poverty in London, split by life-stage (children, adults and pensioners) and the working-status of their household. A ‘working household’ is one where at least one adult is in work and a ‘workless household’ is one in which no adults are in work.
What does it tell us?
We can see that more Londoners living in poverty are in working households than in workless households. This has been consistently the case for the last decade. In 2022/23 we find some 930,000 people in poverty are living in working households. By contrast, 380,000 people in poverty are living in working-age workless households.
A similar pattern is true if we look at children in poverty. 480,000 children in poverty live in households where som…
Households are considered to be below the UK poverty line if their income is below 60% of the median household income after housing costs for that year.
Average income deprivation percentile of the neighbourhoods schools are located in by Ofsted rating (2023)
Ofsted ratings are given to schools by inspectors and range from “Inadequate” to “Outstanding”. Ratings are based on a range of observations about a school's performance.
This indicator shows that, on average, the better a school’s Ofsted rating is, the less deprived a neighbourhood it tends to be located in.
While this is true across the country, the relationship is less pronounced in London than in the rest of England. This means that children in London who live in deprived neighbourhoods are more likely to have a school with a good Ofsted rating in their neighbourhood than those living in deprived neighbourhoods in the rest of the country.
This is particularly true for London secondary schools, where there is not a clear relationship between schools’ Ofsted rating and the deprivation of the neighbourhood in which they are located, i…
Temporary accommodation types in London (2002-2023 Q3)
Local authorities, including London boroughs, have legal duties to provide accommodation to people who are homeless. Whilst they are waiting for a permanent solution - such as a home provided by a housing association - local authorities must house them in temporary accommodation. This can be many types of accommodation - such as nightly accommodation, the private rented sector or a bed and breakfast.
Temporary accommodation over time
Over the last 20 years, the number of households in temporary accommodation has fluctuated over time. After the peak of 63,000 in 2005, the number of households in temporary accommodation drastically decreased up to 2011, when 36,000 households were in temporary accommodation. However, between 2012 and 2020 this number has steadily increased to reach levels close to 2004. In 2020, 60,888 London households wer…
Population by age-groups (2021)
More than one in five people living in Inner London (23.1%) are aged between 25 and 34. This compares to just 12.7% of those in the rest of England. More broadly, in Inner London, almost half the population is made up out of those who are in their early twenties to early forties (47.2%), compared to the rest of England where three in 10 (31.1%) are in this age group, and Inner London is home to a higher proportion of young people than Outer London.
This is caused by people moving to Inner London for work early in their careers and then leaving as they start families. The largest five-year age band is 25 to 29 year olds in Inner London, 35 to 39 year olds in Outer London and 50 to 54 year olds in the rest of England. A relatively small proportion of London’s population is over 65; 9.4% in Inner London and 13.6% in Outer London compared to …