The report titled “Unequal Chances: Children and Economic Inequality” examines the link between economic inequality and child well-being in 44 countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and other high-income countries. According to UNICEF Slovenia, the findings clearly demonstrate how harmful economic inequality is to children’s well-being and challenge all countries to do more for all children.

The report examines whether economically stronger and wealthier countries have higher levels of child well-being, and how and in what ways economic inequality affects it.

Among the countries covered in the report, Slovenia ranks fourth in terms of income inequality. “Even though Slovenia tops the list of countries with the lowest levels of inequality, people with higher incomes still earn, on average, 3.5 times more than those at the bottom,” the NGO emphasised. By comparison, incomes are eight times higher in the countries with the highest levels of inequality, namely the United States, Turkey, Costa Rica and Chile.

Slovenia is among the countries with the lowest risk of poverty, with only Denmark ranking better. However, UNICEF reports that, according to the latest data from the Statistical Office, the at-risk-of-poverty rate for children in Slovenia has exceeded 11 percent for the first time since 2018 and now stands at 11.6 percent. According to this data, Slovenia would rank third.

At the same time, it ranks 13th on the overall index of countries that measures child well-being.