Chapter 1: Main Determinants of Child Poverty, Social Exclusion and Child
1.3 Non-material well-being of children in the European Union
Figure 1.19: Overcrowding rate among children (aged 0–17), EU-25,* 2007
Source: Own calculations based on EU-SILC 2007 (version 01.03.2009).
Note: *Excluding Malta.
1.3 Non-material well-being of children in the European
countries. However, in each country, children who have parents with a low level of education score significantly worse than do those who have at least one parent who is highly educated. The greatest differences can be observed in some of the Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries (Slovakia, Bulgaria, Poland and Hungary), while the smallest differences are in some Nordic and Southern states (Finland, Spain, Italy and Sweden). While analysis of the institutional background lies beyond the scope of this work, it should be emphasised here that cross-country differences in the relationship between parental education and pupil performance highlight differences in the inclusiveness and efficiency of the schooling systems.
Figure 1.20: Difference in average reading literacy scores between pupils who have at least one parent who has completed tertiary education and pupils who have at least one parent with only lower secondary education (or below)
Source: OECD/PISA.
Another perspective (and data source) on low reading performance is offered by PIRLS (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study), which shows the percentage of younger (aged 10) students who are at or below the Low International Benchmark in reading. The share of low performers ranges from 9% to 39% across the EU states. (See Annex 3.5, Figure B1.2.) The lowest rates are in the Netherlands and Flemish Belgium, while the highest are to be found in French Belgium and Romania (where four times more pupils have a low level of reading than in Flemish Belgium).
This survey also allows us to compare the relationship between school performance and parental education background. It shows similar differences for this younger group to those we found for the 15-year-olds. The differences in the reading literacy of (10-year-old) pupils are marked, depending on whether they have parents who have completed tertiary education or have parents who have less than lower secondary education. The largest differences by socio-economic background are to be found in Slovakia, Romania and Hungary, where the difference is 3–4 times greater than in the best-performing country – the Netherlands (Figure 1.21). In most countries, the differences in literacy scores are in the range of 50 to 80 score points. It is unfortunate, however, that this type of data is available for only a subset of countries (two-thirds of the whole EU).
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180
SK BG PL HU DE BE SI LU AT DK UK FR EL PT NL IE RO SE IT ES FI
Figure 1.21: Difference in average reading literacy between 10-year-old pupils who have at least one parent who has completed tertiary education and pupils who have at least one parent with only lower secondary education (or below), 2006
Source: PIRLS.
Another important indicator is the time pupils spend in education. The greater the extent of early school-leaving, the bigger the risk that young people will enter the labour market with skills that are inadequate for the labour market. The share of low-educated adults (aged 18–24 who do not attend any school) ranges widely – from 4% to 37% (see Annex 3.5, Figure B1.3). The highest rates are in the Mediterranean (Malta, Portugal, Spain), with more than 30% of low-educated adults, while the lowest rates are in the CEE countries (Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovenia), Austria and some Nordic states (Sweden and Finland) – with around or below 10%.
Pre-school enrolment is essential to a successful educational career; therefore the share of children enrolled at the age of 4 is an indicator of their future prospects. Again, figures range widely across Europe: there are some countries (mostly EU-15 Member States) where (almost) all 4-year-olds are enrolled in education-oriented pre-primary institutions (these include Belgium, France, Sweden, Italy, Malta the Netherlands and Spain);
conversely, only between four and six children out of 10 are enrolled at age 4 in certain other parts of Europe – like Lithuania, Greece, Finland, Ireland or Poland (see Figure 1.22).
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160
SK RO HU SI AT BG PL BE (FR) FR SE LT DE BE (Flemish) LV LU ES DK IT NL
Figure 1.22: Percentage of 4-year-olds who are enrolled in education-oriented pre-primary institutions (2007)
Source: Eurostat /LFS.
Health
Infant mortality is not a child well-being indicator per se. However, the differential levels in this statistic indicate the circumstances into which babies are born, and these conditions might also show differential life conditions of the youngest generations of our societies.
Infant mortality (per 1,000 live births) is highest in Romania and Bulgaria (10 and 14 per 1,000 births in 2007) and is also high in the Baltic States and some CEE countries (6–8) (see Figure 1.23). Most countries have much lower rates – of 3–4 per 1,000 live births (only a third or a quarter of the rates in Romania and Bulgaria).
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
BE FR SE IT MT NL ES DK DE LU HU UK CZ EE AT SI PT RO LV CY SK BG LT EL FI IE PL
%
Figure 1.23: Infant mortality rate, EU-27, 2007
Source: Data collected by Eurostat from the National Statistical Offices.
http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/population/data/database (17.08.2009).
The correct interpretation of vaccination rates requires a great deal of scientific care, but as a general proxy the share of children vaccinated against various illnesses indicates the degree of care society devotes to children and their health. As the available data show, the proportion of children vaccinated against measles, diphtheria/whooping cough/tetanus (DPT) and poliomyelitis is at least 90% in most Member States. Lower rates can be found in only a few cases, but even these are above 80% (see Annex 3.5, Figure B2.4). While, at first glance, these figures seem small, the fact that some 17–20% of Austrian children are not vaccinated is an important warning. For some countries (Greece, France, Hungary, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Romania and Slovenia) the relevant statistical data are unavailable; action needs to be taken to improve this situation.
Low birth weight is most prevalent in Bulgaria, Romania, Greece and Hungary, where 8–9%
of infants are born with low weight; however, the rate is similar in the UK, Belgium, Portugal, Spain and Slovakia (7–8%) (see Figure 1.24). The rate is half that in the Nordic and Baltic states.
After some objective indicators for health status, responses to an attitude question can serve to estimate the well-being of children, by gender, in terms of their health status in general. Overall, approximately twice as many girls rate their health as ‘fair’ or ‘poor’ as do boys (see Figure 1.25). These rates range widely – from 4% to 21% for boys and from 9%
to 36% for girls across Europe. The lowest rates for ‘not being well’ can be observed in Greece and Slovakia, while the highest are in different parts of the UK (England, Wales, Scotland) as well as in Hungary and French Belgium, where a third of girls and a quarter of boys reported that their health status was not good. The reasons behind this require further exploration.
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
LU FI SE CY CZ PT SI AT MT EL IE DE DK ES FR BE IT EE NL EU-27
UK HU PL SK LT LV BG RO
Per 1,000 births
2006 2007
Figure 1.24: Low birth weight, EU-27, 2005
Source: OECD Family database, based on OECD Health Data 2007 and World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe (Health for All database).
www.oecd.org/document/4/0,3343,en_2649_34819_37836996_1_1_1_1,00.html (13.08.2009).
Figure 1.25: 15-year-olds who rate their health status as ‘fair’ or ‘poor’, EU-27, 2005/06
Source: HBSC 2005/06. www.hbsc.org/publications/reports.html (04.08.2009)
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
FI SE EE LT DK IE LU LV SI PL NL MT CZ IT AT DE FR ES SK PT UK BE HU RO EL BG
% of the total live births
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
SK EL ES FI CZ IT BG SI SE DE IE AT EE FR PL DK BE (Flemish) PT LU NL RO LV LT England HU Wales BE (French) Scotland MT
%
Girls Boys
Weight is an important factor of health status, and body mass index (BMI) (despite the problems of cross-country comparability) is a good indicator for monitoring the healthy weight of individuals: between one and two boys in 10 and one girl in 10 at the age of 11 reported being overweight, according to BMI. Except for Belgium, Denmark, France and the Netherlands, across Europe more boys are overweight or obese than girls; the greatest differences between boys and girls can be found in Lithuania, and Bulgaria in this regard (Figure 1.26). In sum, overweight children at the age of 11 are most prevalent in Malta and Portugal, and least frequent in Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Flemish Belgium and Sweden.
Figure 1.26: 11-year-olds who report being overweight or obese according to BMI, EU-27, 2005/06
Source: HBSC 2005/06. www.hbsc.org/publications/reports.html (04.08.2009)
The indicator of eating breakfast every school day is an appropriate proxy for well-being, but it also depends on family habits. The wide range in the results across the EU also has to do with culture and habit, as slightly more than half of children eat breakfast regularly in some countries (Czech Republic, Slovenia, Greece, Malta, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary and Austria), whereas it is close to 90% in other countries (Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden) (Figure 1.27). In contrast to the health status or the share of overweight children, there are no significant differences between girls and boys in terms of having a regular breakfast.
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
LT LV NL BE (Flemish) SE SK AT EE BE (French) BG DE PL England DK FR LU SI HU IE RO IT Scotland EL FI CZ ES Wales PT MT
%
Girls Boys
Figure 1.27: 11-year-olds who eat breakfast every school day, EU-27, 2005/06
Source: HBSC 2005/06. www.hbsc.org/publications/reports.html (04.08.2009)
Exposure to risk and risk-taking behaviour
Considerable differences can be discerned across Europe in the adolescent fertility rate (the number of live births to women aged 15–19 per 1,000 women in this age range): the rate is around 6 in some countries (Denmark, Netherlands, Sweden, Slovenia, Italy and Cyprus), but six times higher in Bulgaria and four times higher in the UK (Figure 1.28).
There are other countries with high rates: in Hungary, Slovakia, Latvia, Estonia and Malta, the adolescent fertility rate is 20 per 1,000 live births or higher.
Smoking in adolescence is also a relevant risk in terms of predicting future health status:
many children aged 15 smoke. In half of EU countries, two in 10 girls and boys aged 15 smoke at least once a week – the worst cases being Bulgaria, Austria, Scotland, Wales, Malta and Latvia (Figure 1.29). In Bulgaria and Austria, a third of girls and a quarter of boys smoke at least once a week, whereas only around 10% of Swedish and Portuguese 15-year-olds do so. Generally, smoking at this age is more prevalent among girls than boys:
more girls smoke in two-thirds of the Member States.
Experiencing drunkenness is quite prevalent across Europe at the age of 15. The share of those 15-year-olds who have been drunk at least twice is higher among boys, except in England, Scotland, Wales and Spain, and ranges from 15% to 56% among girls and from 18% to 59% among boys (Figure 1.30). In a number of countries, roughly half of teenagers of this age have been drunk at least twice – the Baltic States, the UK, Bulgaria, Finland, and Denmark. The definition of drunkenness and the age at which it is first experienced vary very considerably across the European countries. This means caution needs to be exercised in interpreting these figures. A more elaborate treatment of the issue would require further studies.
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
CZ SI EL MT RO SK HU AT Wales LU LV EE England IT LT PL BG FI BE (French) DE FR Scotland IE DK BE (Flemish) ES SE PT NL
%
Girls Boys
Figure 1.28: Adolescent fertility rate, EU-27, 2005
Source: OECD based on EUROSTAT data (Eurostat Demographic Data and United Nations Statistical Division).
www.oecd.org/document/4/0,3343,en_2649_34819_37836996_1_1_1_1,00.html
Figure 1.29: 15-year-olds who smoke at least once a week, EU-27, 2005/2006
Source: HBSC 2005/06. www.hbsc.org/publications/reports.html
The share of 15-year-olds who have ever used cannabis is somewhat similar to the share of them who smoke at least once a week: the range across the EU is 2–32% (Figure 1.31).
In some countries it is a marginal phenomenon – at most 5–6% of 15-year-olds (boys and
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
DK NL SE SI IT CY BE FI EL DE CZ ES FR LU AT PL IE LT PT HU SK LV EE MT UK BG
Number of live births per 1,000 women
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
SE PT RO PL DK SK EL SI BE (Flemish) BE (French) England LT EE ES IE IT FI FR HU LU NL DE CZ LV Scotland Wales MT AT BG
%
Girls Boys
girls) have ever used cannabis in Greece, Romania and Sweden; but the rates are five or 10 times higher in various parts of the UK and Ireland, France, Spain, the Benelux countries and the Czech Republic. Except for Wales and Spain, in every EU country more boys aged 15 have tried cannabis than have girls.
Figure 1.30: 15-year-olds who have been drunk at least twice, EU-27, 2005/06
Source: HBSC 2005/06. www.hbsc.org/publications/reports.html
Figure 1.31: 15-year-olds who have ever used cannabis in their lives, EU-27, 2005/06
Source: HBSC 2005/06. www.hbsc.org/publications/reports.htm
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
MT EL FR IT PT RO LU BE (French) NL BE (Flemish) SE PL SI DE CZ IE SK HU ES AT LV BG EE FI Scotland England LT Wales DK
%
Girls Boys
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
EL RO SE FI PT HU LT MT AT DK PL DE SI SK LV BE (Flemish) IT BG EE BE (French) IE LU CZ NL England FR Scotland ES Wales
%
Girls Boys