New Unicef Innocenti Report Card highlights ‘persistent poverty in world of plenty’ and the detriments of economic inequalities on children.
UNICEF’s Inncoenti Report Card 20 examines the relationship between child wellbeing and economic inequality. Taking data from 44 different countries, the report examines: why some children fare better than others, even amidst wealth; how inequality shapes wellbeing; how children perceive inequality; and what can be done to create opportunities for all children.
Within the report card is a league table ranking 37 countries (where data is available) in three areas: mental wellbeing, physical health, and skills (social and academic). The Netherlands, Denmark and France sit at the top of the table with rankings in the top third of all countries in all three areas. At the opposite end of the scale, Chile, Türkiye, Uruguay and Colombia are ranked in the bottom third across all dimensions and sit as four of the five bottom ranked countries. Overall the top 10 countries, taking into account all three dimensions (from 1st to 10th) are: the Netherlands, Denmark, France, Portugal, Switzerland, Ireland, Lithuania, Spain, Romania and Hungary.
But it’s not just about a league table, more importantly, the report explores how economic inequality shapes children’s lives and found a clear relationship between that and children’s health, happiness and skills.
Key findings
Here are some of the many key findings in the report:
- Children between 5 and 14 are more likely to die in unequal societies – the five countries with the highest levels of economic inequality have child mortality rates that are on average 2.4 times that of the five most equal countries.
- Children in unequal societies are at higher risk of obesity and being overweight – the proportion in the most unequal countries is 1.7 times higher than in the most equal countries.
- Around 77% of children living in the most advantaged families report high life satisfaction compared to 67% in the most disadvantaged families. Figures ranged from 43% of children in Türkiye rating their life satisfaction above 5 out of 10, to 87% in the Netherlands.
- In all countries, at least two-thirds of children felt confident in their social skills, with a small confidence gap between the most and least advantaged (77% compared to 72%). However, in countries with higher economic inequalities, children tended to report having lower confidence in their social skills.
- Countries with greater levels of economic inequalities had substantially lower levels of academic proficiency, with the range between the lowest and highest 20 percent of socio-economic groups ranging from 21 to 61%.
Children themselves also identified inequalities, recognising that multiple groups face barriers based on group identity, socio-economic status and individual characteristics. They also talked about aesthetic standards causing inequalities as well. Children recognised there are impacts on individuals because of these inequalities, such as access to health care; participation in sports, leisure and social activities; bullying; low self-esteem and future life chances.
What can countries do about it?
While the report notes that a number of countries have achieved ‘substantial reductions in child income poverty rates in recent years,’ it also iterates that countries need universal and targeted policies to reduce monetary inequalities experienced by children. UNICEF also wants to see countries improving and promoting equity of resources in households, schools and amongst neighbours.
A wider range of equity polices are needed, such as labour market and public health polices. Children, their families and communities need to be engaged in the process by policymakers, to help ensure polices are ‘adapted to the specific context’. There is also a need for better data and monitoring.
Learn more
References
- UNICEF (2026) ‘Unequal Chances: Children and economic inequality Innocenti Report Card 20’ (summary). Available at: https://www.unicef.org/innocenti/reports/report-card-20#download-the-report (Accessed: 12 May 2026)
- UNICEF (2026) ‘Unequal Chances: Children and economic inequality Innocenti Report Card 20’ (full report). Available at: https://www.unicef.org/innocenti/media/8521/file/UNICEF-Innocenti-Report-Card-20-2026.pdf (Accessed: 12 May 2026)
