Key facts

London's Poverty Profile is an independent assessment of poverty and inequality in the capital. It brings together different indicators to reveal how London compares to the rest of the country, how populations within London differ, and how London has changed over time. In its third review of progress, in October 2011, the key findings were:

1. Since the original report, over the period which covers the recession, child poverty has fallen in London, while working-age poverty has risen. But the number of children and working-age adults in in-work poverty grew. Over one million people now live in low-income families where at least one adult is working, an increase of 60% over the last decade.

1. Housing costs are a critical factor in explaining why London has the highest poverty rates of all England's regions. Taking account of housing costs, the poverty rate in London is 28%, compared to 22% in the rest of England, and the gap has grown in the last decade.

1. 220,000 households live in overcrowded accommodation, 60,000 more than a decade ago with most of this increase in the private rented sector.

1. The proportion of households in temporary accommodation has nearly halved since 2005 and has fallen since the last report but is still 10 times higher than the English average. London now accounts for 75% of all households in temporary accommodation in England, and most are housed in the private rented sector.

1. Housing benefit changes mean that many parts of Inner London, particularly the Inner West, may become unaffordable for low-income families renting privately. Outer London boroughs, where housing is cheaper, often have lower levels of public services per head: 8 of the 10 primary care trusts with the fewest GPs per population are in Outer London and 35% of Outer London primary schools are full or overcrowded, compared to 19% in Inner London.

1. The poorest 50% have less than 5% of financial or property wealth. The richest 10% have 40% of income wealth, 45% of property wealth and 65% of financial wealth.

1. The number of unemployed Londoners is now above 400,000, the highest number since 1996, and the rate is rising more quickly than the national average. In total 900,000 working-age adults were either unemployed, economically inactive but wanting a job, or in a part-time job because they could not find a full-time one.

1. The unemployment rate among young people is at its highest level for nearly 20 years (23%) and is still rising. Despite, on average, being better qualified than other young people in the rest of England, young Londoners are more likely to be unemployed.

1. The number of low-paid jobs has increased by 60,000 since 2005 and now numbers 470,000, although the proportion of jobs which are low-paid remains the same at 1 in 7. Nearly 50% of young adults are paid less than the London Living Wage.

1. Educational attainment continues to improve and children eligible for free school meals in London are more likely to attain minimum developmental and educational standards at age 5, 11 and 16 than similarly poor children in the rest of England.

1. Poor children in London are more likely to lack everyday items than their counterparts outside London, with 60% of children in low-income families unable to afford a week's holiday away from home.

1. Babies born in Southwark, Croydon, Haringey and Harrow are twice as likely to die before their 1st birthday than those born in Bromley, Kingston and Richmond. Adults in Hackney are twice as likely to die before the age of 65 as those in Kensington & Chelsea.

See how these issues have changed over time.

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