1. 1. Children in the world: A statistical overview “Children in Developing Countries” Lecture course by Dr. Renata Serra

2. A note of caution re: data All statistics contain errors Data from developing countries are fewer, contain many missing observations, and are of poorer quality than average Statistical capacity ~ degree of development At the same time, we have to work with the data we have

3. Quick comparison by world regions S AsiaSSAEAsia&PMENALA&CIndustr. countries Tot Pop (mill.) 1,4837131,952379556961 <18 (mill.) 587361572154199204 IMR U5841693354316 Primary enrolme nt % 81m 75f63m 59f- 83m 77f89m&f- GNI p.c. US $ 6917642,0922,6274,07835,410

4. Some facts Children represent over 1/3 of the world population… Out of 6.5 billion people in the world in 2005 children under 18 were 2,183 millions … but up to 50% of the population in the poorest countries Indicators of child well-being do not correlate too well with per-capita income For instance, compare SA with SSA or EA&P with LA&C

5. 1. Infant mortality rates IMRu1/u5 measures the number of children who die before reaching age of 1 (or of 5) per 1000 live births IMRs are a fundamental indicator, which captures many components of well-being IMR U5 is particularly bad in SSA Out of the 30 countries with the worst ranking only 2 are not from SSA (Afghanistan and Cambodia) 11 African countries have IMRU5 > 200 46 countries in the world have IMR > 100 (5 are from Asia and 1, Haiti, from LA&C) See Ranking from SOWC 2006 (UNICEF 2006)

6. Infant mortality rates (cont’d) Countries which have halved IMRu5 during 1990-2005 from over to under 100, include: India, Bangladesh, Mongolia and Nepal in Asia Bolivia in LA&C and Ghana in SSA Brazil has also halved IMRs to 30 in the same period

7. 2. Nutrition Undernourishment: insufficient calories (energy) to meet minimum physiological needs. On average, >2,100 kilocalories per day per person are needed Malnutrition/Undernutrition: inability to maintain natural bodily capacities such as growth, pregnancy, lactation, learning abilities, physical work and resisting and recovering from disease Measured not by how much food is eaten but by physical measurements of the body Stunted: 2 SD below average height-for-age Wasted: 2 SD below average weight-for-height Weight for age is also measured

8. Nutrition (cont’d) Malnutrition is most often linked to lack of appropriate nutrients: Iron deficiency is the most prevalent form of malnutrition worldwide, affecting an estimated 1.7 billion people, half of whom suffer from anemia Vitamin A deficiency weakens the immune systems of a large proportion of under-5 increasing their vulnerability to disease Protein deficiency is also very common among poor children (‘big-bellied children’) Child malnutrition is of high incidence in central and eastern Africa but the majority of undernourished children are found in South Asia 30% of newborns have low weight in SA; 15% in SSA (Table 2 UNICEF 2007)

9. Under-weight prevalence among under-5 children in LDCs Source: UNICEF, State of the World Children 2007, figure 2.4

10. 3. School enrolment Source: Figure 2.2 Unicef, SoWC 2006

11. 4. Other measures of deprivation Source: Figure 2.3 Unicef, SoWC 2006

12. 5. Child poverty Poverty is multi-dimensional concept: Insufficient access to goods and services Lack of freedoms (from hunger, diseases, anxiety, violence) Being victim of violence and exploitation Poverty concepts may have different meanings through space and time Income poverty is often used to make international comparisons: Absolute poverty lines are used for developing countries ($1 a day or $2 a day) Relative poverty lines are used for developed countries (children living in households with < 50% of median HH income)

13. Child poverty in OECD countries Source: Unicef SoWC 2006, fig. 2.4