June 16 (CTK) – The Czech Republic has ended 20th among 41 states of the EU and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in a UNICEF survey comparing children’s quality of life and conditions for successful future, UNICEF Children’s Fund Czech branch head Miroslav Ledvinka told CTK today.
The survey monitored the fulfilment of the sustainable development goals the U.N. set in 2015.
The authors compared 25 indicators influencing the life of children. The results show children’s living standards in advanced countries.
The Czech Republic achieved the best result, 6th position, in the category of securing justice and strong institutions.
It fared the worst in removing inequality, ending 31st.
The Czech results are similar to those of Hungary and Japan.
Slovakia ended 24th in the list led by the Scandinavian states and closed by Bulgaria and Chile.
According to it, the income of 10 percent of the richest Czech households with children corresponds to the income of 40 percent of the poorest households.
Social conditions influence the Czech 15-year-olds’ success rate in reading, mathematic and science tests.
“This influence is higher in only one of the remaining surveyed countries,” Czech UNICEF officials said.
In terms of elimination of poverty, the Czechs finished 17th.
“A total of 14.7 percent of children live in relative poverty in the Czech Republic, which is the eighth best result of all countries surveyed,” the Czech UNICEF said.
However, 38 percent of Czech children fall into the multidimensional poverty group including the households that fail to meet at least three of ten criteria concerning housing, nutrition, health, child mortality, family property, access to electric power and drinking water, and school attendance.
In the category monitoring starvation, the Czech Republic ended 16th.
“A total of 8.9 percent of [Czech] children live in the households that have problem with providing enough food. A total of 14.7 percent of children suffer from obesity,” Czech UNICEF said.
The Czech Republic is 25th in the category assessing children’s health and quality of life. According to the UNICEF, infant mortality in the Czech Republic is the fifth lowest in the EU-OECD.
However, almost 9 percent of Czech children got drunk at least once in the past month, the survey showed.
In the quality of education, the Czech Republic is 22nd, with 70 percent of the 15-year-olds having the required knowledge of reading, maths and sciences. As many as 99.8 percent of children attend a kindergarten in the last year preceding their primary school attendance.
The Czech Republic ended 13th in the category of economic growth and the chance of dignified work.
“In the age category of 15-19, 3.2 percent of Czech children do not study, which is the fourth lowest portion out of the countries surveyed. A total of 10.3 percent underage children live in households where all adults are jobless,” the Czech UNICEF said.
In the category of towns’ sustainability, the Czechs finished 26th and in the category of responsible approach to production and consumption they ended 24th.
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