Abstract

Equality and non-discrimination are core values of the European Union. Mainstreaming equality and addressing persistent inequalities are essential to removing structural barriers that undermine the Union’s cohesion, resilience, innovation and competitiveness. These priorities are reflected in the renewed commitment to a Social Europe through the European Pillar of Social Rights , the first EU Anti-Poverty Strategy and the EU equality strategies. While these initiatives address different aspects of inequality, they share a need for reliable data, broken down by relevant characteristics, to identify persistent and emerging disadvantages, monitor progress and reach the groups most exposed to discrimination, poverty and social exclusion.

Migrant background is one of these characteristics, and EU policies increasingly address it from an intersectional perspective. The Anti-Racism Strategy 2026–2030 recognises that anti-migrant hatred often intersects with and reinforces racism, and the Action Plan on Integration and Inclusion 2021–2027 covers not only migrants but also EU citizens with a migrant background, including those whose parents were born abroad. Looking at the second generation, many of whom are EU nationals, is particularly important for understanding whether inequalities and discrimination persist beyond the first generation and affect people born and raised in their country of residence.

This presentation draws on the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) and on ongoing work to improve equality and non-discrimination statistics. It examines poverty and social exclusion, as well as material and social deprivation, among the first and second generations, compared with people without a migrant background. It also explores the transmission of disadvantage across generations, with particular attention to children in need covered by the European Child Guarantee, and takes an intersectional approach to examining how migrant background interacts with other characteristics and how living conditions relate to reported experiences of discrimination.

Producing reliable statistics on these groups remains challenging. Small sample sizes limit reliable breakdowns, particularly for the second generation and for combinations of characteristics. People with a migrant background may also be under-represented because of sampling-frame coverage, language barriers, non-response and panel attrition. The presentation concludes by discussing possible ways to address these challenges, including improved survey methods, targeted oversampling and pooling data across survey years or using model-based estimation, to improve precision and better capture intersecting disadvantages.