The Black Lives Matter movement is making the news. The headline is that black people are twice as likely to live in poverty than white people. Some white people, particularly those who grew up in poverty, are asking why the focus is on black people when more white people live in poverty.
Let’s look at the numbers.
This data comes from the Office of National Statistics, specifically the number of children eligible for a free school meal[1].
The square above represents all children.
The population has been broken down by ethnic group with the children in poverty in bold colour.
The total number of White children living in poverty is roughly seven times higher than Black children.
The proportion of Black children living in poverty is roughly two times higher than White children.
While these two statistics may seem to contradict each other, this chart explains why these facts are not mutually exclusive.
In a chart that shows all children, we can clearly see the size of each ethnic group and the level of poverty within each group.
There are thirteen times as many white people than black people in the UK. This is why far more white people live in poverty yet a black person is far more likely to be in poverty.
[1]
There are many ways to measure poverty - relative poverty, absolute poverty, by income or privilege.
Free school meals is a means-tested benefit that includes every child in school. This is a very reliable measure because only a small number of home-schooled children are not counted. Also, the ONS produces many reports that break down the same data into different groups - ethnic groups, age groups, regions, etc.