Black Children Remain Most Likely to Live in Poverty in America, Rates Down White, Hispanic, Asians

Poverty is among the most pressing problems in the word, and children are more likely to suffer from malnutrition, illnesses and diseases for the said reason. Unfortunately, a recent study seems to seal the fate of black children in the U.S. as it reveals that this group of children are likely to live in poverty in the said country.

A new study from Pew Research Center analyzed the data from the Census Bureau and found out that there is a decline in that rate of children living in poverty. In 2010, 22 percent or 16.3 million children are in poverty line, but this has dropped in 2013 to 20 percent or 14.7 million. 

Poverty in 2013 was defined as being in a household with annual earnings below $23, 624 for a family of four with two related children, as per the Census Bureau.

The decline in the rate of children belonging from a deprived family is a good news. However, the report says, that during this period, the poverty rate only declined for Hispanic, white and Asian children. The rate of poverty among black children remained at 38 percent.

The analysis is that black children are more likely to suffer from poverty compared to their Hispanic counterparts. Similarly, they are four times more likely to be living in poverty in 2013 than white or Asian children.          

The reports also shows that for the first time since the U.S. Census started collecting data in 1974, there are lesser  impoverished white children (4.1 million) than black children (4.2 million), even if there are three times as many white children as black children currently residing in the U.S.

However, Hispanic children tops the chart of children in poverty when one considers the total numbers. 5.48 million Hispanic children were defined as impoverished compared to any other group since 2008. This is because there are more Hispanics than other racial or ethnic minority in the population. Their child poverty rate is at 30 percent.

According to Time, in the last 25 years, child poverty rates have been fluctuating. During the mid-80s, almost half of black children were poor, but the rate declines to 30 percent in early 2000. However, since then, the poverty rate among black families seems to rise again.  

Time stressed that both Hispanic and black children are more likely to grow old in poverty.  The study also admitted that these group are overrepresented because 27 percent of the black population are children, but 38 percent of their population is poor. Similarly, 33 percent of the Hispanic population are children, but 42 percent of them are impoverished.