London has England’s highest levels of child poverty, data shows

A housing estate in the borough of Camden in north London. The capital’s child poverty rates are exacerbated by high rents, experts say. Photograph: Sophia Evans/The Observer

London has England’s highest levels of child poverty and most extreme concentrations of hardship, data has revealed. In two boroughs more than half of children live below the breadline.

In Britain, child poverty rates flatlined in 2024-25 compared with the previous year. About 4 million youngsters (27%) live in households earning less than 60% of the national median income after housing costs are taken into account.