Extreme Poverty Rises Sharply in UK, Charity Warns

Jan 29, 2026 at 04:18 PM

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Lanka Leader

Extreme poverty in the UK has reached its highest level in decades, with record numbers of people struggling to afford basic necessities, according to a new analysis by a leading charity.

More than one in five people in the UK — around 14.2 million — were living in poverty in 2023/24, the final year of the previous Conservative government and the most recent period for which official data is available, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) said in a report released Tuesday(27). Of those, approximately 6.8 million were experiencing “very deep” hardship, the highest figure recorded in 30 years.

The report found that children, renters, disabled people, and those in insecure employment were disproportionately affected. Nearly 4.5 million children lived in poverty in 2023/24, an increase of 600,000 compared with the pandemic period and the third consecutive annual rise. Poverty rates were particularly high among larger families, where 44 percent of children were affected.

People renting in the private sector were found to face significantly higher risks of poverty than homeowners. Disabled people and informal carers were also more likely to experience severe financial hardship, according to the report.

At the most extreme end of the scale, about 3.8 million people — including roughly one million children — were living in destitution, meaning they were unable to afford essentials such as adequate heating, clothing, and food.