Scotland’s child poverty hotspots mapped – see how your neighbourhood fares

The UK areas with the highest rates of child poverty have been mapped, with one Scottish neighbourhood being the worst in the nation.

According to the latest government data, nearly nine in 10 children are living in poverty in certain areas of the country. The worst-affected neighbourhood in the UK is Govanhill West in Glasgow.

A new interactive map reveals the child poverty rate in neighbourhoods all over Scotland. By inputting your postcode, you can see the percentage of children living in poverty in your area.

The map uses a colour key to depict the severity of child poverty in all of Scotland’s neighbourhoods. A light pink colour represents a low rate of poverty, while a dark purple colour means severe poverty.

As reported by The Mirror, 88 per cent of children up to 15 years old living in Govanhill West in Scotland’s largest city are in poverty. Govanhill is consistently recorded as one of the most deprived areas in Scotland, with almost 1,150 of the 1,300 kids in Govanhill West living below the breadline.

Other than Govanhill West, other areas of Glasgow with notable child poverty rates include Govanhill East and Aikenhead with 69 per cent, Drumoyne and Shieldhall with 58.6 per cent, and Carnwadric West with 57.3 per cent. On the other hand, neighbourhoods such as Kessington West and Dowanhill have some of the lowest child poverty rates in Glasgow — with 1.5 per cent and 2.2 per cent respectively.

According to the map, Western Harbour and Leith Docks is the area in Edinburgh worst for child poverty at 58.7 per cent. Other neighbourhoods in the Scottish capital with high child poverty rates include Murrayburn and Wester Hailes North with 37.8 percent, Clovenstone and Wester Hailes with 35.5 per cent, and Niddrie with 33.9 per cent.

Elsewhere in Scotland, among the other areas with high levels of child poverty are Alloa South and East with 50.3 per cent, Irvine Fullarton with 48 per cent, and Ayr North Harbour, Wallacetown and Newton South with 45.4 per cent.

Chief Executive of Child Poverty Action Group and Vice-Chair of the End Child Poverty Coalition Alison Garnham commented: “In a general election year, nothing should be more important to our political leaders than making things better for the country’s poorest kids.

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