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UK last, US next to last

“The true measure of a nation’s standing is
how well it attends to its children – their
health and safety, their material security,
their education and socialization, and
their sense of being loved, valued, and
included in the families and societies into
which they are born.”

Child Poverty in Perspective: An Overview of Child Well-being in Rich Countries
United Nations Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Innocenti Report, February 14, 2007

A report published today by UNICEF is the first study of childhood across the world’s industrialized nations that assesses child welfare on criteria other than general poverty levels. Most previous studies have assumed that low personal/national income and overall societal problems would be good indicators of child welfare. This study of 21 affluent, industrialized nations suggests otherwise, and the findings should be of concern to caring people in both the United Kingdom and the United States.

The UK and US are in the bottom third of the rankings for five of the six categories covered. The six classifications are material well-being, family and peer relationships, health and safety, behavior and risks, and children’s own sense of well-being (educational and subjective). The US was not rated on the last category. The US was last in Health and Safety of children; Britain was rock bottom on Family and Peer Relationships, and Behavior and Risks, with the US second to last in those categories. Both countries did “best” in the Educational Wellbeing category, with the US at number 12 (almost out of the bottom half of the table!) and the UK a dismal 17th, even in its highest ranking. The US is third worst in the number of children age 15 and under reporting having fewer than 10 books in their home – over 12%.

Other findings:

Child poverty remains above the 15% mark in three southern European countries (Portugal, Spain, Italy) and in three countries (the US, the UK, and Ireland) termed “Anglophone” in the report. The US is by far the worst in percentage of children in households with equivalent income less than 50% of the median, at close to 22%. Nine countries – all in northern Europe – have brought child poverty rates below 10%.

There is no obvious relationship between levels of child well-being and Gross Domestic Product (the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country during a given time period) per capita. The Czech Republic, for example, achieves a higher overall rank for child well-being than several much wealthier countries.

One bright spot for us in the United States: while only about a third of young people exercise for an hour or more on five or more days a week, youths take most exercise in Ireland, Canada and the US, and the least in Belgium and France.

The best place to be a kid in a rich country? The Netherlands, ranking in the top ten for all six criteria assessed in the study.