UNICEF report: 13 million children in EU living in poverty

A report released here Tuesday by The United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF, revealed the extent of child poverty and child deprivation in Europe and in the world's advanced economies. Some 13 million children in the European Union lack basic items necessary for their development and about 30 million children across 35 countries with developed economies live in poverty, says the report. "The data reinforces that far too many children continue to go without the basics in countries that have the means to provide," said Gordon Alexander, Director of UNICEF's Office of Research, presenting the report in a press conference. The Nordic countries and the Netherlands have the lowest rates of relative child poverty, at around seven per cent. Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom have rates of between 10 and 15 per cent, while more than 20 per cent of children in Romania and the United States live in relative poverty, noted the report.