Vice Premier: More than half of Russian children live in poverty

More than half of Russian children live in poverty, said Vice Premier Galina Karelova while speaking in the Federation Council on January 28. She said that 17 million children or 56% of Russian children are growing up in families that have incomes below the minimum standard of living. In addition, more than 30% of children live in single parent families which is up from 13% at the beginning of 1995.

Karelova also said that 700 thousand Russian children are orphans. That number is increasing by 125-130 thousand per year, she added. Meanwhile, Karelova said that the number of children living in 'dangerous conditions' dropped by about 8%.