Economic inequality harming children’s wellbeing in world’s wealthiest countries - UNICEF

Children living in countries with highest levels of inequality 1.7 times more likely to be overweight than those living in most equal countries

FLORENCE/LONDON, Tuesday 12 May 2026 – Economic inequality in wealthy countries is linked to worse health and poorer academic outcomes for children, according to analysis published today by UNICEF Innocenti – Global Office of Strategy and Evidence.

Report Card 20: Unequal Chances – Children and economic inequality examines the relationship between economic inequalities and children’s wellbeing in 44 OECD and high-income countries. In most of these countries, rates of income inequality and child poverty remain stubbornly high. On average across the countries, households among the top 20 per cent of earners take home over five times more than the bottom 20 per cent while almost one in five children live in income poverty, meaning their basic needs may not be met.

Among the countries with comparable data featured in the report, the United Kingdom ranks 35th out of 43 for income inequality, with the top fifth of earners bringing in 6.40 times the income of the bottom fifth.

“Inequality profoundly affects how children learn, what they eat, and how they feel about life,” said UNICEF Innocenti Director, Bo Viktor Nylund. “To limit the worst impacts of inequality, we need urgently to invest more in the health, nutrition and education of children in the most deprived communities.”

The report warns of a clear relationship between higher levels of economic inequality and children’s health. Children growing up in the most unequal countries are 1.7 times more likely to be overweight than those in the most equal countries, which may reflect poorer quality diets and missed meals.

Highlighting data from European Union countries, the report also notes that only 58 per cent of children in families among the bottom fifth of the income distribution are in very good health, compared with 73 per cent among the top fifth.

The report raises further concerns that countries with wider gaps between rich and poor tend to have lower academic test scores overall. Children in the most unequal countries have a 65 per cent chance of leaving school without basic proficiency in reading and mathematics compared with 40 per cent for children in the most equal countries.

Across life satisfaction at age 15, the UK fares worse than the Report Card average – with a gap of 18.4 percentage points between the least and most disadvantaged, compared to the 9.7 percentage point average across 36 of the Report Card countries with available data.

The UK Committee for UNICEF’s (UNICEF UK) own analysis has found strong evidence of wellbeing gaps between those living in the most and least deprived areas of England emerging in children’s earliest years. This includes across a range of early childhood health and development indicators, with children living in deprived areas being more likely to be overweight or obese; experience late stage, untreated tooth decay; and have lower learning outcomes.

To tackle the impact of inequalities at source, UNICEF UK recommends taking action from children’s earliest years. We are calling on the UK Government to:

1. Lift more babies and young children out of poverty by ending the benefit cap, expanding access to and increasing the value of the Sure Start Maternity Grant, to support low-income families from the birth of their children.
2. Ensure all babies and young children can access essential health and education services in their community by restoring the capacity of the health-visiting workforce, ensuring long-term, sustainable funding for Family Hubs and expanding provision of the essential services they provide, and equalising access to government funded childcare hours regardless of parental employment status.

Dr Philip Goodwin, Chief Executive of the United Kingdom Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK) said: “The latest Report Card provides more evidence that inequality is profoundly influencing children’s life chances. In the UK, our research shows that growing health and educational inequalities in the early years are shaping children’s futures before they even start school. For a country as wealthy as the UK, this is unacceptable and demands urgent action from the UK Government to make sure children get a fair start in life, to grow up healthy, happy and safe.”

-ENDS-

Note to editors:
Download Report Card 20 (2026) www.unicef.org/innocenti/reports/report-card-20

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Report Card 20: Unequal Chances – Children and economic inequality provides data on the potential impact of economic inequalities on children’s lives in 44 countries classified as high-income and/or members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). (Note: Some indicators in the report do not present data on all 44 countries.) Data on income inequality reflect the ratio between a person at 20 per cent and 80 per cent of the equivalized income distribution and are sourced from the OECD Inequality Database, Eurostat Database, and calculations by UNICEF. Data on child poverty are based on the proportion of children (aged 0–17) living in households with equivalized disposable income below 60 per cent of the national median and are sourced from Eurostat EU-SILC, the OECD Income Distribution Database, and national statistical offices. The report also provides data on three major dimensions of child wellbeing: Mental wellbeing, which is represented by two sets of data – life satisfaction from OECD PISA 2022 and adolescent suicide from the WHO Mortality Database; Physical health, which is represented by two sets of data – child mortality from UN IGME (2024) and overweight and obesity from NCD-RisC; and Skills, which is represented by two sets of data – academic proficiency and social skills, both from OEDC PISA 2022. The report updates a league table of how 37 OECD/high-income countries are doing for children, based on measures of physical health, mental well-being, and skills. The Netherlands, Denmark and France remain the top-ranked countries.

For further information, please contact:
Clare Quarrell, UNICEF UK, London: 020 7375 6030, [email protected] / [email protected]
Brian Keeley, UNICEF Innocenti, [email protected]
Nadia Samie-Jacobs, UNICEF, New York, +1 845 760 2615, [email protected]

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About UNICEF Office of Strategy and Evidence – Innocenti
UNICEF Innocenti leads UNICEF’s evidence ecosystem, including official statistics, research, and foresight, and drives UNICEF’s corporate strategy, planning, and monitoring. It is guided by the belief that stronger evidence means better decisions, and better decisions mean better lives for children.
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The UK Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK) raises funds for UNICEF’s emergency and development work for children. We also promote and protect children’s rights in the UK and internationally. We are a UK charity, entirely funded by supporters.

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