Poverty demographics revealed

Children from Muslim families are much more likely than the
general population to be living in poverty, according to new census
information.

More than two million children out of a total of 11.7 million
live in households where there are no adults in work, but more than
one in three children from Muslim families are living in workless
households.

Muslim children are also far more likely than others to live in
overcrowded homes (42 per cent compared with 12 per cent in the
whole population).

Problems affecting all children include high-rise accommodation.
This causes many difficulties for families with babies, and the
census reveals that more than 58,000 children under age two live in
homes on the second floor or above, and more than 11,000 live on
the fifth floor or above.

There are 11.7 million dependent children in England and Wales.
Just under one in three households include dependent children, and
one in nine has a child under age five. Most children in England
and Wales still live with both natural parents, though one in four
lives in a lone parent family and one in 10 now lives in a
step-family.

Some 149,000 children under 18 are providing unpaid care for
someone else within their family.

• For more go to
www.ons.gov.uk