Publications

A new look at children from the world’s richest countries offers a mixed picture of their health, skills and happiness. For far too many, issues such as poverty, exclusion and pollution threaten their mental well-being, physical health and opportunities to develop skills. Even countries with good social, economic and environmental conditions are a long way from meeting the targets set in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Focused and accelerated action is needed if these goals are to be met.

The evidence from 41 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and European Union (EU) countries tells its own story: from children’s chances of survival, growth and protection, to whether they are learning and feel listened to, to whether their parents have the support and resources to give their children the best chance for a healthy, happy childhood. This report reveals children’s experiences against the backdrop of their country’s policies and social, educational, economic and environmental contexts.

Los informes anteriores de esta serie han demostrado que no proteger a los niños de la pobreza es uno de los errores más costosos que puede cometer una sociedad. Son los propios niños quienes asumen el mayor de todos los costos, pero también sus países deben pagar un muy alto precio por su error: menor nivel de competencias y productividad, menor nivel de logros en materia de salud y educación, mayor probabilidad de desempleo y dependencia de la seguridad social, mayor costo de los sistemas de protección judicial y social, y pérdida de cohesión social. En el presente informe se incluyen los datos más recientes comparables a nivel internacional sobre privación infantil y pobreza infantil relativa. Tomadas en su conjunto, estas dos medidas diferentes ofrecen el mejor panorama disponible actualmente sobre la pobreza infantil en las naciones más ricas del mundo.

Report Card 10 considers two views of child poverty in the world’s advanced economies: a measure of absolute deprivation, and a measure of relative poverty. The first measure is a 14-item Child Deprivation Index that represents a significant new development in international monitoring, drawing on data from the European Union’s Statistics on Incomes and Living Conditions survey of 125,000 households in 31 European countries, which has included a section on children for the first time. Children were considered 'deprived' if they lacked two or more of the items, which ranged from three meals a day, to an Internet connection. The second measure covers the EU and an additional six OECD countries (Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland and the United States) and examines the percentage of children living below their national 'poverty line' - defined as 50 per cent of median disposable household income.