UNICEF: Lowest inequality in Denmark, highest in Israel
The gap between rich and poor and social inequality among children in industrialized countries is widening, according to a new UNICEF report that shows which countries are doing better for their children.
UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund, released a report on Thursday, April 14, showing that social inequality has increased among children in many industrialized countries.
The organization compared child well-being in 41 European Union and Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member countries.
According to the report, inequality among Danish children is minimal, with the Scandinavian country leading the way in all areas, including income, healthcare and life satisfaction.
In contrast, Israel and Turkey are at the bottom of the table with the greatest inequality. Germany is ranked 14th, and is in the top half of the table alongside Greece, England, and Hungary.
The report says that the gap between household incomes (after tax) widened in more than half of industrialized countries between 2008 and 2013. In terms of health, life satisfaction and literacy, children from lower socioeconomic groups fare below average in most comparable countries.
In all countries compared, life satisfaction among girls aged 13 to 15 is lower than that of boys of the same age.
Sarah Cook, director of the Innocenti Research Center, says the findings make it clear that child well-being is not necessarily directly related to the economic development of the country in which the child lives. Cook believes that many policy measures affect child well-being. Cook calls on governments to pay more attention to child well-being in their policies.
Denmark is a country where children enjoy the greatest social equality in various categories such as healthcare, household income, and life satisfaction.
Improving the income of poor and low-income households, improving the educational and learning conditions of discriminated children, and providing conditions for a healthy lifestyle are among UNICEF's requests to change the situation of children in comparable countries.
Child welfare in Germany
In terms of health, Germany has the lowest inequality of any industrialized country. The income gap is also smaller in Germany than in two-thirds of other countries, and this gap has remained stable in recent years.
In contrast, Germany does not fare well in terms of education and life satisfaction compared to other industrialized countries. In terms of children's reading comprehension, although the situation has improved slightly compared to previous years, Germany ranks 28th out of 37 countries in an international comparison. In terms of life satisfaction, it ranks 29th out of 35. However, in terms of healthcare, Germany ranks second out of 35.
According to statistics published on child poverty in Germany, 19 percent, or 2.47 million, of girls and boys in Germany live in low-income families that fall into the categories of "poor" or "at risk of poverty."
The situation is not the same in different states of Germany. The highest percentage of child poverty in the country is in Bremen with more than 33 percent, followed by the state of Saxony-Anhalt with 28.7 percent.
The Innocenti Research Center used data on income, educational outcomes, health status, and child well-being as the basis for its research. In some categories, insufficient information was available from the comparator countries.
