UNICEF: In wealthier countries, 1 in 5 children living in poverty

Over 20% of children, or 69 million, grapple with poverty across the 40 wealthiest nations, UNICEF said in a report released Wednesday, criticizing Britain and France for their poor standings.

That’s despite a drop in child poverty rates in the periods from 2012 to 2014 and 2019 to 2021, by around 8% in the 40 European Union and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) wealthy countries assessed.

“This is equivalent to around 6 million children out of a total child population of 291 million,” said UNICEF Innocenti, the United Nations agency’s research arm.

But at the end of 2021, there were still more than 69 million kids in poverty in those countries.

“For most children, this means that they may grow up without enough nutritious food, clothes, school supplies or a warm place to call home,” said Bo Viktor Nylund of UNICEF Innocenti, highlighting the impact of such struggles on young people’s physical and mental health.

The UNICEF figure is based on relative poverty, which is around 60% of the national median income, often used in developed countries to establish their own poverty levels.

The report called for action to ensure children’s well-being and for political will among the countries surveyed, stressing that a country’s wealth did not automatically lift its children out of poverty.