While France is the 5th world power, its education system is one of the most unequal in the world.
It is not enough to live in a rich country for the well-being of children to be assured. A Unicef report published on June 15 shows that one in five children in rich countries lives in poverty, and one in eight faces hunger.
This sad observation was made by Innocenti, the UNICEF research center, after studying the situation of children in 41 high-income countries. Fifth world power, France is one of them. A great power with a mediocre balance sheet: it climbs to the 19e rank out of 41. It is behind Norway, Germany or Japan, but ahead of Italy, Greece or the United States.
France, an unequal country
With less than one in five children facing poverty, France is in the middle, not far from Slovenia – a country which is however poorer – or the United Kingdom. A place obtained in particular thanks to the social benefits existing in our country and which make it possible to correct certain inequalities.
But if they correct them, these aids do not remove them. In terms of reducing inequalities between children, France comes in 34e. This poor score reflects above all the inequality of opportunities and the influence of the socio-economic environment on the educational success of the children. Despite quality education, the French education system continues to be one of the most unequal. A criticism already formulated at the end of 2016 by the Pisa survey.
Children have enough to eat
However, the French balance sheet is not only a source of concern. France succeeds in bringing quality food to our dear blond heads and in eradicating hunger. According to the Unicef report, 6% of children under 15 are food insecure, against an average of 12.7%.
It is also one of the top 5 countries with the lowest obesity rate (11.7% of 11-15 year olds). Nevertheless, Unicef stresses that the proportion of obese and overweight children is increasing in this forty countries. Only Denmark is experiencing a decrease.
Less drunkenness and suicides
More good news: drunkenness is less and less frequent among adolescents since 2010. Less than 5% of French teens were drunk during the 30 days preceding the survey.
On the other hand, Unicef is sounding the alarm bells with regard to the mental health of young people. Although the number of suicides has decreased in the 41 countries studied, the report shows an increase in mental disorders such as depression, insomnia and nervousness. With nearly a third of the young people concerned, France is at the bottom of the table.
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