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A steep increase in child poverty was recorded in a number of the world’s richest countries between 2014 and 2021, according to data from UNICEF Innocenti – Global Office of Research and Foresight, published today.
The Report Card, Child Poverty in the Midst of Wealth, which investigated children’s well-being in OECD and EU countries, shared findings that Poland and Slovenia, followed by Latvia and the Republic of Korea, are among the most successful countries in solving child poverty.
Among OECD and EU countries, 69 million children are still facing financial hardship and poverty, in households earning less than 60% of the average national income.
Poland, whose child poverty rates have fallen by 38%, leads Slovenia, Latvia and Korea, at 31% reductions. In contrast, the world’s richest countries, which include the United Kingdom (20% child poverty), France, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland (10% child poverty) lagged significantly behind, experiencing the sharpest rises in the number of children living in financial hardship since 2014.
The countries included in the report have seen economic recovery between 2012-2019 following the 2008-10 recession, though the findings iterate that economic strength in a country does not directly correlate to low rates of child poverty. It compares Spain and Slovenia, who share similar economic power, though their child poverty rates differ, at 28 and 10 per cent respectively.
Poverty risks are highlighted by the report. It emphasizes that across the 38 countries with available data, children face higher risk of child poverty if they are raised in lone-parent households, have a disability, or are from an ethnic-minority background.
“The impacts of poverty on children are both persistent and damaging,” said Innocenti’s Director, Bo Viktor Nylund. “For most children this means that they may grow up without enough nutritious food, clothes, school supplies, or a warm place to call home. It prevents the fulfillment of rights and can lead to poor physical and mental health.”
The report reveals that the detrimental effects of child poverty are life-long. Children who face poverty are less likely to complete school, which puts them at risk of earning lower wages in later life. In some countries, a person born in deprived areas may live eight to nine years less than those born in a wealthy area.
