Lowest child poverty rates in 20 years

The child poverty rate declined from 19.9 percent in 1997 to 18.9 percent in 1998 -- that's the lowest child poverty rate since 1980 and the largest one-year drop in child poverty since 1976. Under President Clinton, the child poverty rate has declined from 22.7 percent to 18.9 percent -- that's the biggest five-year drop in nearly 30 years (1965-1970).

Chart: Child Poverty Rate 1979-98
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Poverty in the United States: 1998 www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty.html

Back