Directions of thought for single parents in the EU

Figures & data

Table 1. Inadequate earnings and poverty among working single parents (%).

	Inadequate Earnings	Poverty
Denmark (2016)	14	7
Finland (2016)	26	11
Estonia (2013)	31	20
Luxembourg (2013)	40	28
United Kingdom (2016)	42	16
Ireland (2010)	51	9

Data for selected countries updated from Nieuwenhuis and Maldonado (2018a) to include most recent data available.

Source: LIS Data (2020).

Poverty was defined as having an equivalized disposable household income below 60% of the national median income. Inadequate earnings were defined as gross income from work below the poverty line.

Table 2. Poverty reduction associated with child support and family benefits (%-point).

	Child Support	Family Benefits
Denmark (2016)	−4	−6
Finland (2016)	−2	−9
Estonia (2013)	−1	−1
Luxembourg (2013)	−2	−6
United Kingdom (2016)	−2	−14
Ireland (2010)	0	−30

Data for selected countries updated from Nieuwenhuis and Maldonado (2018a) to include most recent data available. Year of the data in parentheses.

Source: LIS Data (2020).

Table 3. Poverty and unemployment benefits in Sweden (%).

	Poverty: Single Parent	Poverty: Couple with children	Net replacement Rate	Benefit receipt rate
1990	6	4	86	87
2000	13	6	69	83
2010	28	8	64	45

Data for selected years derived from (Alm et al., 2019). Poverty was defined as having an equivalized disposable household income below 60% of the national median income. Sources: HEK Data (Swedish register data), Swedish Public Employment Agency & CWED.

Nieuwenhuis, R., & Maldonado, L. C. (2018a). Single-parent families and in-work poverty. In H. Lohmann, & I. Marx (Eds.), Handbook on In-work poverty (pp. 171–192). Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781784715632

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Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) Database. (2020). http://www.lisdatacenter.org (multiple countries; Data accessed between September 2019 and January 2020). Luxembourg: LIS.

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Alm, S., Nelson, K., & Nieuwenhuis, R. (2019). The diminishing power of one? Welfare state retrenchment and rising poverty of single-adult households in Sweden 1988–2011. European Sociological Review, advance access. https://doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcz053

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