International review of approaches to tackling child poverty: Comparative summary report and key learnings for Scotland
A summary of the evidence on historical approaches to tackling child poverty in Finland, Denmark, Slovenia and Croatia, with the key learnings for policy makers in Scotland.
Sources
1 Eurostat data is BHC for 2024, Scotland National Statistics is AHC for 2021-2024.
2 Eurostat data is BHC for 2024, Scotland National Statistics is AHC for 2021-2024.
3 Eurostat data is BHC for 2024, Scotland National Statistics is AHC for 2021-2024.
4 Eurostat data is BHC for 2024, Scotland National Statistics is AHC for 2021-2024. Scotland’s age compositions differ slightly from the case study countries: 0-4 years old, 5-12 years old, 13-19 years old.
5 Eurostat data is BHC for 2024, Scotland National Statistics is AHC for 2021-2024.
6 Eurostat data shows unemployment rates amongst those aged 20 to 64 years old. ONS data for Scotland shows unemployment rates for 16-64 years old.
7 Eurostat data is BHC for 2024, Scotland National Statistics is AHC for 2021-2024.
8 Denmark and Slovenia are reported 2022. Croatia, Finland and UK are reported 2023.
9 Eurostat data is BHC for 2024, Scotland National Statistics is AHC for 2021-2024.
10 Eurostat data is BHC for calendar years, Scotland National Statistics is AHC for three-year estimates.
11 Denmark and Finland do not have a national minimum wage and data is not available in the OECD’s database.
12 This spending includes cash benefits (family/child allowances, income maintenance in the event of childbirth, birth grants, parental leave benefits) and in-kind benefits (child day care, accommodation, home help, and other benefits in-kind such as discounts for children).
13 Eurostat data is BHC for 2024, Scotland National Statistics is AHC for 2021-2024.
1 Scottish Government, Poverty and social justice policy
2 Scottish Government (2025) Poverty levels broadly stable over last decade
3 Pieeter Vanhuyssee et al. (2023) Taxing reproduction: the full transfer cost of rearing children in Europe, Royal Society Open Science
4 ONS Census 2021, Scotland population mid-year estimate, 2023
5 International Monetary Fund, Croatia Country Data Profile, Population, 2024
6 International Monetary Fund, Denmark Country Data Profile, Population, 2024
7 International Monetary Fund, Finland Country Data Profile, Population, 2024
8 International Monetary Fund, Slovenia Country Data Profile, Population, 2024
9 ONS Census 2021, Scotland population mid-year estimate, Median age mid-2022
10 Croatian Bureau of Statistics, Population Estimate of Republic of Croatia, 2021
11 Statistics Denmark, The average Dane
12 Statistics Finland, The average Finn infographic
13 Republic of Slovenia Statistical Office, Population Number and Structure – July 2024
14 ONS Census 2021, Scotland population mid-year estimate
15 Croatian Bureau of Statistics, Population Estimate of Republic of Croatia – 2021
16 World Bank World Development Indicators
17 World Bank World Development Indicators
18 Republic of Slovenia Statistical Office, Population Number and Structure – July 2024
19 Scottish Government, Attitudes to family formation in Scotland
20 Croatian Bureau of Statistics, Families with children by type of family and number of children by their age – 2011 Census
21 Statistics Denmark, LABY04: Families with/without children
22 Statistics Finland, 12c1, Number of children aged under 18 per family – 2023
23 Republic of Slovenia Statistical Office (2021), Households and families
24 Scottish Government (2024), Tackling child poverty priority families overview
25 Eurostat (2021) How many single-parent households are there in the EU?, Share of single-parent households with children in the EU, 2020
26 Statistics Denmark, LABY04: Families with/without children
27 Statistics Finland, Families by type 2023 including ‘mother and children’ and ‘father and children’ households as a percentage of all households with children
28 Republic of Slovenia Statistical Office (2021), Households and families
29 Institute for Public Policy Research (2023) Fairer taxes, smarter spending: a recipe for sustainable growth
30 Office for Budget Responsibility (2025) Economic and Fiscal Outlook
31 Scottish Government, Quarterly National Accounts, current GBP, 2023, offshore included, GDP converted to current USD using Average Sterling exchange rate: US Dollar XUMAUSS, December 2024
32 International Monetary Fund, Country Data Profile, Croatia, GDP per capita in current USD, 2025
33 World Bank World Development Indicators
34 World Bank World Development Indicators
35 International Monetary Fund, Country Data Profile, Slovenia, GDP per capita in current USD, 2024
36 Scottish Government, Quarterly National Accounts, current GBP, 2023, offshore included, GDP converted to current USD using Average Sterling exchange rate: US Dollar XUMAUSS, December 2024
37 International Monetary Fund, Country Data Profile, Croatia, GDP per capita in current USD, 2025
38 World Bank World Development Indicators
39 World Bank World Development Indicators
40 International Monetary Fund, Country Data Profile, Slovenia, GDP per capita in current USD, 2024
41 World Bank World Development Indicators, GDP growth – annual % (2005-2023)
42 World Bank World Development Indicators, GDP growth – annual % (2005-2023)
43 OECD (2024) Revenue Statistics 2024 – United Kingdom
44 Eurostat, Main national accounts tax aggregates (gov_10a_taxag)
45 OECD (2024) Revenue Statistics 2024 – Denmark
46 OECD (2024) Revenue Statistics 2024 – Finland
47 OECD (2024) Revenue Statistics 2024 – Slovenia
48 OECD (2024) Taxing Wages 2024 – United Kingdom
49 No OECD data or comparable data for married workers with two children.
50 OECD (2024) Taxing Wages 2024 – Denmark
51 OECD (2024) Taxing Wages 2024 – Finland
52 OECD (2024) Taxing Wage 2024 – Slovenia
53 Scottish Government (2025) Poverty and child poverty summary
54 Statistics Denmark, LIGEAI2: Employment rate of single people with children living at home, men (per cent) and women (per cent), 2008-2023
55 Work and Pensions Select Committee (2023) Children in poverty: Child Maintenance Service
56 Scottish Government (2024) Scrapping the two-child limit
57 Mygov.scot, Scottish Child Payment
58 Mathias Fjællegaard Jensen and Jack Blundell (2024) Income effects and labour supply: Evidence from a child benefits reform (Appendix A) in Journal of Public Economics
59 Danish Ministry of Employment (2019) Agreement on a new temporary child allowance
60 IPPR (2025) Hidden hardsips: The immigration system and child poverty
61 Scottish Government (2025) Poverty and child poverty data – three-year averages, table 29a
62 Scottish Government (2025) Poverty and child poverty data – three-year averages, table 10a
63 Eurostat at-risk-of-poverty rate for children aged less than 18 years, using 60% of median equivalised income before (ilc_li09) and after social transfers threshold (ilc_li02), 2018 figures for the UK
64 Scottish Government (2025) Poverty and Income Inequality in Scotland 2021-24
65 OECD, Income distribution database – Palma ratio
66 OECD, Income distribution database – Palma ratio
67 OECD, Income distribution database – Palma ratio
68 OECD, Income distribution database – Palma ratio
69 Scottish Government (2025) Poverty and Income Inequality in Scotland 2021-24
70 Eurostat, Gini coefficient of equivalised disposable income (ilc_di12), Croatia 2024
71 Eurostat, Gini coefficient of equivalised disposable income (ilc_di12), Denmark 2024
72 Eurostat, Gini coefficient of equivalised disposable income (ilc_di12), Finland 2024
73 Eurostat, Gini coefficient of equivalised disposable income (ilc_di12) Slovenia 2024
74 Scotland’s Gender Equality Index 2023
75 European Institute for Gender Equality, Gender Equality Index, Croatia, 2024
76 European Institute for Gender Equality, Gender Equality Index, Denmark, 2024
77 European Institute for Gender Equality, Gender Equality Index, Finland, 2024
78 European Institute for Gender Equality, Gender Equality Index, Slovenia, 2024
80 ONS (2025) Scotland male and female employment rate
81 Eurostat, Employment and activity by sex and age - annual data (lfsi_emp_a), male and female employment, Finland, 2009-2024
82 ONS (2025) Employment rates for men and women living with and without dependent children in the UK: Table Q
83 Éva Lukács Gellérné, Árpád Mészáros and Tünde Fűrész (2024) Promoting labour market participation of parents with young children across the EU
84 Eurostat, Unemployment by sex and age - annual data (une_rt_a), Male and Female unemployment, Croatia, Denmark, Finland and Slovenia, 2009-2024 and ONS (2025) Scotland male and female unemployment rate
86 Scottish Government (2024) Scotland’s Labour Market Insights: October 2024
87 Scottish Government (2025) Poverty and child poverty data – three-year averages, table 22a
88 Scottish Government (2019) What do we know about in-work poverty in Scotland?
89 Eurostat (2024) Living conditions in Europe - work intensity
90 Scottish Government What do we know about in-work poverty in Scotland?
91 Health Foundation (2024) In-work poverty trends
92 Scottish Government (2019) What do we know about in-work poverty in Scotland?
93 Eurostat, Median hourly earnings, all employees (excluding apprentices) by sex (earn_ses_pub2s)
94 Scottish Parliament Information Centre (2023) Earnings in Scotland 2022
95 OECD, incidence of low and high pay
96 Scottish Government (2025) Scotland's Labour Market Insights: February 2025
97 Leave Network (2024) United Kingdom country note in International Review of Leave Policies and Research 2024
98 Leave Network (2024) Croatia country note in International Review of Leave Policies and Research 2024
99 Leave Network (2024) Denmark country note in International Review of Leave Policies and Research 2024
100 Leave Network (2024) Croatia country note in International Review of Leave Policies and Research 2024
101 Leave Network (2024) Croatia country note in International Review of Leave Policies and Research 2024
102 Statistics Denmark, Mother – total days on parental leave (benefits) on average and Father – total days on parental leave (benefits), Aug-Dec 2022 and Aug-Dec 2021
103 UK Government Department for Business & Trade (2023) Parental Leave and Pay: Good Work Plan: Proposals to Support Families – Government response
104 UK Government Department for Business & Trade (2023) Shared Parental Leave: Evaluation report
105 Eurofound (2025),Croatia: Minimum wage country profile
106 Country Economy (2025), Croatia National Minimum Wage – NMW
107 Danish Ministry of Employment (2021) The labour market in Denmark
108 OECD, Indicators of Employment Protection
109 Claus Thustrup Kreiner and Michael Svarer (2022) Danish Flexicurity: Rights and Duties in Journal of Economic Perspectives
110 Eurofound webpage, Finland: Minimum wage country profile, accessed 10/03/25
111 Worker-participation.eu, country by country comparison, Slovenia (Topics: Trade Unions, Collective Bargaining Coverage)
112 Laporšek et al. (2024), Long-term responses to large minimum wage shocks: Subminimum and super-minimum workers in Slovenia, Economic Systems 48, p.16
113 Eurostat, Monthly minimum wages – bi-annual data (earn_mw_cur), 2025
114 Søren Kaj Andersen et al. (2023) Changes in wage policy and collective bargaining in the Nordic countries – comparison of Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden in Trade unions in the European Union: Picking up the pieces of the neoliberal challenge
115 European Commission (2013), ECFIN Country Focus: Minimum wages in Slovenia: Reducing employment but not poverty?
116 European Commission & OECD (2021) Institutional and regulatory set-up of active labour market policy provision in Denmark
117 National Children’s Bureau (2012) Denmark case study
118 Scottish Government, Scottish Budget: 2025-26
119 Scottish Government (2024) No One Left Behind: Employability Strategic Plan 2024-2027
120 Scottish Government (2022) Best Start, Bright Futures: tackling child poverty delivery plan 2022 to 2026
121 Scottish Government (2024) Scotland's Devolved Employment Services: Statistical Summary July 2024
122 Scottish Government (2024) Employability support funding in Scotland: FOI Release,
123 JRF (2021) Laying the foundations for a Scotland without poverty
124 Eurobarometer (2022) Fairness, Inequality and Inter-Generational Mobility
125 Scottish Government (2024) Scottish Social Attitudes Survey 2023 - Attitudes to Government, the Economy, and the Health Service
126 International Labour Organization (2016), Child Benefits in Central and Eastern Europe: A comparative review
127 OECD (2024) Financing social protection in OECD countries: Role and uses of revenue earmarking
128 Social Security Advisory Committee (2022) The future of working age contributory benefits for those not in paid work
129 UK Government Department for Work & Pensions (2025) Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working
130 Refers to a specific form of benefit equivalent to a government-sponsored life insurance. “Family members of a deceased insured person are entitled to a survivors' pension (family pension)”. Moja Socijalna Sigurnost, Pensions.
131 Croatia.eu – land and people, Social security
132 e-citizens, Unemployment rights
133 Resolution Foundation (2023) Flexicurity and the future of work: Lessons from Denmark
134 OECD (2025) Tax and benefit policy descriptions for Denmark 2024
135 Solsten, E. and Meditz, S. (1988) Finland: a country study, Federal Research Division, Library of Congress
136 PWC, Slovenia: individual – other taxes
137 Social Protection Committee and the European Commission (2022) The 2022 minimum income. Volume I
138 Gov.uk, Universal Credit
139 Gov.uk, Universal Credit
140 Scottish Government, Universal Credit (Scottish choices)
141 Scottish Government (2024) Scrapping the two-child limit
142 European Commission (202) The 2022 Minimum Income Report: Volume II, Country Profiles
143 Danish Ministry of Employment (2015) Agreement on a social assistance system where it pays to work – Job Reform Phase I (In Danish)
144 Danish Ministry of Employment (2019) Agreement on a new temporary child allowance (In Danish)
145 Danish Ministry of Employment (2023) Agreement on a new social assistance system - more people in work, simpler rules and fewer children on low incomes (In Danish)
146 Scottish Government (2024) Poverty and Income Inequality in Scotland 2021-24
147 Fraser of Allender Institute (2022) Health Inequalities in Scotland: Trends in the socio-economic determinants of health in Scotland – Housing
148 JRF (2024) Poverty in Scotland 2024
149 IPPR (2024) Social housing need of the hour amid homelessness crisis
150 Department for Work and Pension (2025) Family Resources Survey: financial year 2023 to 2024
151 Gov.uk, Local authorities and advisers: removal of the spare room subsidy
152 Kela webpage ‘How do income and assets affect general housing allowance?’, accessed 11/03/25
153 Aalborg University (2023) Housing in Denmark
154 Habitat for Humanity (2025), Social housing and empty spaces landscape in Croatia
155 Habitat for Humanity (2025), Social housing and empty spaces landscape in Croatia
156 Danijela Horvat, Expat in Croatia (2025), Croatian government adopts the National Housing Policy Plan until 2030
157 European Social Network (2023), Social Services Index: Slovenia, Factsheet for 2023
158 Eurostat (2021) Owning or renting? What is the EU’s housing situation?
159 European Commission, Eurydice (2023), Croatia: Early childhood education and care
160 Trine P. Larsen and Caroline de la Porte (2022) ‘Early Childhood Education and Care in Denmark: A Social Investment Success’ in Successful Public Policy in the Nordic Countries: Cases, Lessons, Challenges
161 The Social Policy Archive for SHARE (SPLASH) webpage ‘Family Policies Finland’
162 UNESCO International Bureau of Education (2006), Slovenia: early childhood care and education (ECCE) programmes
163 OECD Family database, PF3.1 Public spending on childcare and early education, Chart PF3.1.A, figure for UK from 2020
164 Scottish Government (2024) Scottish Budget 2025 to 2026
165 World Bank Group (2020), Investing in opportunities for all
166 Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland (2024) The cost of a child in Scotland in 2023
167 Scottish Government (2024) Summary statistics for schools in Scotland 2024, figure 25, Funded registrations and proportion registered for funded early learning and childcare from 2017 to 2024
168 Scottish Government (2024) Scottish Study of Early Learning and Childcare: phase 4 report
169 IFS (2019) How do other countries raise more in tax than the UK?. Also see forthcoming WPI Economics research for the Scottish Government’s Minimum Income Expert Group on ‘How to pay for a Minimum Income Guarantee’ which discusses these tax issues within the Scottish context.
Contact
Email: TCPU@gov.scot