Impact of the Crisis on Children in

EuropeYekaterina Chzhen ychzhen@unicef.org;

ChildONEurope Seminar

Paris - November 26, 2015

UNICEF Report Card 12:Children of the Recession41 countries in the EU and/or OECD32 European countries

League Table 1: Change in (anchored) child poverty between 2008 and 2012

Rank CountryChange

(2008-2012)

1 Chile -8.72 Poland -7.93 Australia -6.34 Slovakia -5.65 Switzerland -4.86 Norway -4.37 Republic of Korea -3.48 Finland -3.29 Turkey -2.810 Japan -2.711 Canada -2.412 Romania -2.313 Belgium -0.813 Sweden -0.815 Austria -0.716 New Zealand -0.417 Czech Republic -0.418 Germany -0.219 Israel 0.620 Bulgaria 0.620 Malta 0.622 Netherlands 1.022 Portugal 1.024 Denmark 1.125 United Kingdom 1.626 Slovenia 1.827 United States 2.128 Cyprus 2.729 Hungary 2.930 France 3.031 Mexico 5.032 Estonia 5.133 Italy 5.734 Luxembourg 6.535 Spain 8.136 Lithuania 8.337 Ireland 10.638 Croatia 11.839 Latvia 14.640 Greece 17.541 Iceland 20.4

31.4

22.4

19.2

16.7

19.5

9.6

16.8

12.0

33.0

21.7

23.2

32.9

17.2

12.9

14.9

18.8

13.2

15.2

35.1

25.5

20.412.9

22.8

9.1

24.0

11.6

30.1

14.0

19.7

15.6

29.3

17.1

24.7

19.828.2

22.8

18.0

15.8

23.6

23.0

11.2

22.8

14.5

13.011.1

14.7

5.3

13.48.8

30.2

19.0

20.830.6

16.4

12.114.2

18.4

12.8

15.0

35.626.1

21.0

13.9

23.8

10.2

25.6

13.4

32.2

16.7

22.6

18.6

34.322.2

30.4

26.3

36.3

31.1

28.6

27.6

38.2

40.5

31.6

2012 2008

• Largest relative increase in child poverty:

• Iceland (+182%)• Greece (+76%)• Croatia (+75%)

• Highest level of child poverty in 2012:

• Greece (40.5%)• Latvia (38.2%)• Spain (36.3%)

• Largest net increase in the number of poor children:

• Mexico (+2 million)• United States (+1.7

million)• Spain (+0.8 million)

League Table 1: Change in (anchored) child poverty between 2008 and 2013

Rank CountryChange (2008-2013)

1 Switzerland -8.5

2 Poland -6.4

3 Norway -4.3

4 Finland -3.7

5 Slovakia -3.4

6 Romania -3.3

7 Turkey* -2.8

8 Belgium -2.1

8 Czech Republic -2.1

10 Austria -1.0

10 Sweden -1.0

12 Denmark -0.1

13 Germany 0.0

14 Bulgaria 1.4

15 Spain 1.6

16 Netherlands 1.8

17 France 2.0

18 Estonia 2.2

19 Malta 2.2

20 United Kingdom 2.3

21 Slovenia 4.8

22 Portugal 5.6

23 Italy 7.5

24 Hungary 7.7

25 Lithuania 8.6

26 Luxembourg 9.5

27 Cyprus 9.7

28 Ireland 11.1

29 Croatia* 11.8

30 Latvia 12.8

31 Iceland 18.6

32 Greece 28.8

19.5

22.4

9.6

12.0

16.7

32.9

33.0

17.2

13.2

18.1

12.9

9.1

15.2

25.5

28.2

12.9

15.6

17.1

20.4

24.0

11.6

22.8

24.7

19.7

22.8

19.8

14.0

18.0

15.8

23.6

11.2

23.0

11.0

16.0

5.3

8.3

13.3

29.6

30.2

15.1

11.1

17.1

11.9

9.0

15.2

26.9

29.8

14.7

17.6

19.3

22.6

26.3

16.4

28.4

32.2

27.4

31.4

29.3

23.7

29.1

27.6

36.4

29.8

51.8

2013 2008

• Child poverty increased in 19 out of 32 European countries

• Worst affected country groups:

• The Mediterranean• The Baltics• Ireland/Iceland

• Highest child poverty rates in 2013:

• Greece (52%)• Latvia (36%)• Italy (32%)

Source: EU-SILC (Eurostat).*National data sources; 2008-2012.

Child poverty vs elderly poverty (2008-2013)

Norway

Finland

Denmark

Switzerla

nd

Czech Republic

Sweden

Slovakia

Netherlands

Belgium

Germany

Poland

Slovenia

Austria

France

Estonia

MaltaCyprus

United Kingdom

Bulgaria

Hungary

Portugal

Ireland

Luxembourg

Romania

Iceland

Spain

Lithuania

Italy

Latvia

Greece0.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

under 18 (2008) 65+ (2008) under 18 (2013) 65+ (2013)

Source: EU-SILC (Eurostat).

Child poverty increased in 18 countries; elderly poverty increased in 7 countries.

Child poverty vs elderly poverty (2008-2013): change in child poverty – change in elderly poverty

Switzerla

ndPoland

Germany

Czech Republic

Slovenia

Austria

Finland

Netherlands

Sweden

SlovakiaFrance

Hungary

BelgiumIce

land

Denmark

Luxembourg

Norway

United Kingdom

Italy

Ireland

Portugal

Lithuania

Estonia

Romania

Greece

BulgariaSpain

MaltaCyprus

Latvia-10.0

-5.0

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

Source: EU-SILC (Eurostat).

In nearly all countries (26/32), child poverty increased faster or fell more slowly than elderly poverty between 2008 and 2013.

Child poverty in lone parent families (2008-2012)

• In more than one-third of EU countries, child poverty increased faster (or decreased more slowly) in lone parent families.

Source: EU-SILC (Eurostat).

Source: Innocenti Report Card 12

League Table 2: Change in the NEET rate among 15-24-year-oldsRank Country

change (2008-2013)

1 Turkey -11.52 Germany -2.13 Japan -1.54 Luxembourg -1.25 Mexico -0.46 Sweden -0.37 Austria 0.07 Canada 0.09 New Zealand 0.810 Switzerland 0.811 Israel 0.912 France 1.012 Iceland 1.014 Ireland 1.214 Latvia 1.214 Republic of Korea 1.214 United Kingdom 1.218 Chile 1.518 Finland 1.518 Norway 1.521 Denmark 1.721 Malta 1.721 Netherlands 1.724 Australia 2.325 Lithuania 2.326 Czech Republic 2.427 Belgium 2.627 Estonia 2.627 Slovakia 2.630 Slovenia 2.731 United States 3.032 Poland 3.233 Hungary 3.933 Portugal 3.935 Bulgaria 4.236 Spain 4.337 Italy 5.637 Romania 5.639 Croatia 8.540 Greece 8.941 Cyprus 9.0

37.0

8.4

8.5

6.2

21.5

7.8

7.1

9.6

12.9

6.3

29.8

10.2

4.5

14.9

11.8

14.6

12.1

19.0

7.8

4.1

4.3

8.3

3.4

9.9

8.8

6.7

10.1

8.7

11.1

6.5

12.0

9.0

11.5

10.3

17.4

14.3

16.6

11.6

10.1

11.7

9.7

25.5

6.3

6.9

5.0

21.1

7.5

7.1

9.6

13.7

7.1

30.7

11.2

5.5

16.1

13.0

15.8

13.3

20.5

9.3

5.6

6.0

10.0

5.1

12.2

11.1

9.1

12.7

11.3

13.7

9.2

15.0

12.2

15.4

14.2

21.6

18.6

22.2

17.2

18.6

20.6

18.7

2013 2008

• Largest relative increase in NEET:• Cyprus (+93%)• Croatia (+84%)• Greece (+76%)

• Highest level of NEET in 2013:• Turkey (25.5%)• Italy (22.2%)• Bulgaria (21.6%)

• Largest net increase in the number of NEETs:• United States (+1.4 million)• Italy (+0.3 million)• Mexico (+0.2 million)

Employment of young people deteriorated, especially in affected countries• Most affected

– Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain

• Moderately affected– Austria, Belgium, Canada, Finland, France,

Germany, Israel, Japan, Malta, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, the UK, the US

• Least affected– Australia, Bulgaria, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark,

Luxembourg, Mexico, Norway, Poland, Republic of Korea, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey

Source: Innocenti Report Card 12

…even during periods of economic growth in the past social spending has been in decline

Social spending stagnant despite high GDP growth Social protection spending (as share of total spending) increased in 2008, but family- and child-related spending as share of social protection declined (blue bars)

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

80

90

100

110

120

130

140

150

160

Total expenditure index GDP index

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

0.33

0.34

0.35

0.36

0.37

0.38

0.39

0.036

0.038

0.04

0.042

0.044

0.046

0.048

share of family and child spending share of social protection spending

Summary

• Child poverty increased in 23/41 rich countries during the Great Recession• Net increase of 2.6m children living in poverty across 41 EU/OECD countries

between 2008 and 2012• 76.5m children in total live in poverty in these affluent countries

• Young people have been most affected by crisis• 7.5m youth are NEET in the EU, an increase of 1m• NEET rates increased in 28/32 Coe countries

• Before the crisis social spending stagnant in most countries despite high growth

• During crisis initial expansionary policy followed by austerity• Ability of state to reduce child poverty changed significantly from 2010 • Some countries, despite circumstances, did protect children

• Make an explicit commitment to end child poverty in developed countries.• Prioritize the well-being of children in responses to the recession.

• Rescue, prevent, and give hope.• Eliminate extreme levels of poverty.• Increase investment in social protection policies. • Smooth the transition from school to work.

• Produce better data for informed public debate.• Improve the availability, timelines and usefulness of information on child well-being.

Innocenti Report Card 12Children in the Developed World

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