Introduction
This report examines how growing up in a family with a persistently low income may affect the opportunities of children and young people in the Nordic region, and how this can be mitigated to promote inclusion. The Nordic Council of Ministers and the Nordic Council commissioned the Nordic Welfare Centre to develop a shared knowledge base for decision-making in policy and practice, combining comparable data, policy and service insights, and children’s own perspectives.
The starting point is simple. Although poverty risk is an income-based indicator, low income often translates into limited participation and reduced social inclusion. Poverty risk is not just about money; it is also about participation and inclusion. Economic strain can limit access to early childhood education and care (ECEC), learning support and leisure activities, thereby increasing the risk of social exclusion. Effective responses therefore need to combine income security with inclusive, high-quality services that remove barriers and strengthen children’s everyday participation. Support should be provided to all families in need, and particular attention should be given to groups that are more at risk of poverty, such as single-parent households, large families, households with low work intensity, and children with an immigrant or refugee background.
Designed for ministries, agencies, municipalities, and professional communities, the report has three aims:
1. Monitoring and understanding risk
Using harmonised Eurostat data from the last two decades, supplemented by indicators of material and social deprivation, work intensity, and parental education, the report traces trends and highlights the groups and places where risks are most concentrated. This provides a common Nordic basis for tracking developments, identifying high-risk situations (e.g., single-parent families, large families, low work intensity families and families with low parental education) and targeting efforts where they matter most.
2. Identifying solutions
The analysis reviews measures that promote well-being and inclusion, such as high-quality, inclusive ECEC; whole-school approaches that combine pedagogy, structure, and social and emotional support; sustained parenting and family coordination models that reduce the burden and improve system navigation; low-barrier leisure time schemes that eliminate economic barriers to friendship and participation; and area-based initiatives that provide safe meeting places and align services in local ‘hotspots’. Across the domains, three principles recur: quality, relational continuity, and proportionate universalism (universal policies scaled in intensity according to need).
3. Bring forward children’s voices
Statistics cannot fully capture how scarcity affects everyday life. By including children’s own accounts of stigma, withdrawal, and resilience, as well as their practical suggestions for improving participation, the report demonstrates why co-design and child participation enhance the effectiveness and relevance of measures.
The report is grounded in the commitment to social sustainability and the vision for 2030 adopted by the Nordic Council of Ministers. It advocates a policy mix that brings together social investment and income protection. The report identifies shock-responsive buffers when prices rise alongside long-term investments in social mobility and inclusion infrastructures, such as improving ECEC quality, ensuring smooth educational transitions, making leisure time activities accessible, and establishing relational support teams. The result is a pathway that prevents exclusion today and strengthens life chances over time.
The report outlines policies to ensure that every child in the Nordic region can grow up, participate, and belong. It is organised as follows:
Chapter 1: Context, concepts and measurement
Chapter 1 establishes the context for the discussion by situating low income among families with children within the broader Nordic debate on welfare, fairness, and social sustainability. It clarifies the poverty measure used in the report and provides a brief account of how child poverty has emerged as a political issue in the Nordic welfare states, as well as how it is discussed across the Nordic countries. The chapter also synthesises evidence on the consequences of growing up in persistent low income, demonstrating the interaction between economic strain and participation, belonging, and life course opportunities.
Chapter 1 establishes the context for the discussion by situating low income among families with children within the broader Nordic debate on welfare, fairness, and social sustainability. It clarifies the poverty measure used in the report and provides a brief account of how child poverty has emerged as a political issue in the Nordic welfare states, as well as how it is discussed across the Nordic countries. The chapter also synthesises evidence on the consequences of growing up in persistent low income, demonstrating the interaction between economic strain and participation, belonging, and life course opportunities.
Chapter 2: Trends, disparities and dynamics
Chapter 2 analyses two decades of harmonised Eurostat data to track trends in at‑risk‑of‑poverty rates, work‑intensity patterns, material and social deprivation, and parental education across the Nordic region. It highlights clear differences between countries and regions, and shows how income, work intensity, family structure, and education interact to shape risk. The chapter also discusses data gaps, sampling uncertainty, and breaks in time series, underscoring the need for transparent communication and improved disaggregation in Nordic monitoring.
Chapter 2 analyses two decades of harmonised Eurostat data to track trends in at‑risk‑of‑poverty rates, work‑intensity patterns, material and social deprivation, and parental education across the Nordic region. It highlights clear differences between countries and regions, and shows how income, work intensity, family structure, and education interact to shape risk. The chapter also discusses data gaps, sampling uncertainty, and breaks in time series, underscoring the need for transparent communication and improved disaggregation in Nordic monitoring.
Chapter 3: Strategies and interventions that promote inclusion
Chapter 3 provides an overview of the policy measures and practice approaches currently used in the Nordic countries to strengthen social mobility and reduce the disadvantages associated with growing up in a family with persistent low income. The chapter shows how effective responses span several interconnected arenas: early childhood education and care, schooling, parenting and family support, participation in leisure activities, and area‑based initiatives. Across these domains, the chapter synthesises evidence demonstrating that high‑quality provision, relational continuity, cross‑sector coordination and long‑term structures are decisive for achieving impact. It highlights how high‑quality ECEC can mitigate early inequalities; how whole‑school approaches integrate pedagogical, structural, and relational measures; how long‑term family coordination models support complex needs; how access to stable, inclusive leisure environments promotes belonging; and how area‑based initiatives strengthen local social infrastructure. Taken together, the chapter illustrates that interventions are most effective when they operate coherently across levels and services, and when relationships form a core mechanism for change.
Chapter 3 provides an overview of the policy measures and practice approaches currently used in the Nordic countries to strengthen social mobility and reduce the disadvantages associated with growing up in a family with persistent low income. The chapter shows how effective responses span several interconnected arenas: early childhood education and care, schooling, parenting and family support, participation in leisure activities, and area‑based initiatives. Across these domains, the chapter synthesises evidence demonstrating that high‑quality provision, relational continuity, cross‑sector coordination and long‑term structures are decisive for achieving impact. It highlights how high‑quality ECEC can mitigate early inequalities; how whole‑school approaches integrate pedagogical, structural, and relational measures; how long‑term family coordination models support complex needs; how access to stable, inclusive leisure environments promotes belonging; and how area‑based initiatives strengthen local social infrastructure. Taken together, the chapter illustrates that interventions are most effective when they operate coherently across levels and services, and when relationships form a core mechanism for change.
Chapter 4: Children’s experiences, strategies and participation
Chapter 4 presents research and qualitative material on children’s own experiences of living in families with low income. It documents the ways in which material scarcity, stigma, social comparison, and limited participation shape everyday life, relationships, and self-perception. The chapter also portrays children developing active and reactive strategies to cope with economic strain and examines the gap between formal participation rights and actual influence in welfare services. It concludes that strengthening genuine, accessible, and context‑sensitive participation is essential for designing measures that reflect children’s lived realities.
Chapter 4 presents research and qualitative material on children’s own experiences of living in families with low income. It documents the ways in which material scarcity, stigma, social comparison, and limited participation shape everyday life, relationships, and self-perception. The chapter also portrays children developing active and reactive strategies to cope with economic strain and examines the gap between formal participation rights and actual influence in welfare services. It concludes that strengthening genuine, accessible, and context‑sensitive participation is essential for designing measures that reflect children’s lived realities.