4 of every 10 poor people are adolescents and children

This is the first in a series of three articles focused on children and adolescents in Brazil.

In 2019, children and adolescents accounted for 40.3% of all poor Brazilians. Altogether, there were 20.8 million people who faced, in the beginning of their lives, restrictions that compromised opportunities for the future. An exclusive study by the Institute for Mobility and Social Development (IMDS) estimates that R$49.8 billion are needed per year to eradicate child poverty in the country, considering a single national line for defining the poverty criterion.

When considering poverty along regionalized lines (which reflect differences in the local cost of living), the number of children and adolescents is smaller (15.8 million) as well as smaller than the share of the total poor (31.2%). By this calculation, the estimated amount of income transfers to eliminate child poverty is R$28.2 billion per year.