Child Benefit Tracker

BlogsFebruary 14, 2024

1.4 billion children are missing out on access to child benefits

According to the latest 2024 data, just under 1 in 3 children have access to a child or family benefit, leaving 1.4 billion children aged 0-15 years across the globe to miss out on access to social protection. The following synopsis provides a quick review of the new data on effective coverage of child benefits, now available on the Child Benefits Tracker.

AUTHORS Oliver Fiala, Sharmila Kurukulasuriya

Photo credit: Save the Children/CH1853149

Globally, just under 1 in 3 children (28.1%) , have access to a child or family benefit.

Over 800 million children are living in households below a poverty line of US$3.2 a day, while over one billion - one in two - children are living in multi-dimensional poverty (see details here).

Social protection is a proven response and investments can support children and families to overcome barriers to accessing adequate nutrition, health, education and protection required to ensure children reach their full potential.

New data released by Save the Children, UNICEF and ILO shows a modest global increase in access to child benefits over a period of 14 years, from 20% in 2009 to 28.1% in 2023. However, progress has been unequal: in low-income countries, rates of coverage remain staggeringly low, at around 9%. At the same time, 84.6% of children in high-income countries are covered, almost ten times as many as in low-income countries.

Also, countries facing the largest risks are often those where children are least protected: for instance, effective coverage rates in countries that are highly vulnerable to climate impacts are a third lower than in less at-risk countries that are not classified as being at high risk.

1 in 10 children under 15 years of age in low-income countries have access to child benefits; this is one tenth of the coverage enjoyed by children living in high-income countries.

Regional focus

There are also significant regional differences, with the highest coverage of child benefits found in Western Europe, followed by North America and Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Children are least likely to be covered in West and Central Africa, Eastern and Southern Africa, or in East Asia and Pacific.

In East Asia and the Pacific, child benefits coverage increased from 9.2% in 2009 to 16.0% in 2023
In Eastern and Southern Africa, coverage increased from 9.6% to 12.3%
In West and Central Africa, coverage increased from 3.1 to 11.8%
In Eastern Europe and Central Asia, coverage increased from 59.0% to 61.4%
In North America, coverage increased from 78.1% to 84%
In Western Europe, coverage increased from 91.% to 93.2%
In Latin America and the Caribbean, coverage rates increased from 30.8 to 41.9%
In the Middle East and North Africa coverage rates increased from 22.7% to 32.5%
In South Asia, coverage rates increased from 9.2 to 24.3%

Effective coverage rates have increased in most countries. Particular increases can be found in Togo (from 49%(2019) to 74.5% (2022)), in Panama (from 21.4% (2020) to 76.7% (2021)), and in Bangladesh )from 29.$% (2020) to 44.5% (2021)).

Tracking Child Benefits

Child benefits are a critical form of social protection, intended to promote the long-term wellbeing of girls and boys, including children with disabilities. Paid in cash or tax credits, child benefits are essential for reducing poverty, as well as accessing healthcare, nutrition, quality education and water and sanitation (see the Methodology).

The progressive realization of Universal Child Benefits (UCBs) are key in promoting inclusive development, including in times of crisis. Currently, UCBs are in place in just 29 countries while a further 92 have varying forms of child or family benefits. 64 countries still have no child or family benefit scheme. Yet, such policies, alongside other universal social security instruments and investments in public services, have been central to maintaining economic and social progress.

The Global Child Benefits Tracker will contribute to monitoring progress toward realisation of Article 26 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and Sustainable Development Goal 1.3 which calls on governments to “implement nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all, including floors, and by 2030.”

Note: Hover over the graphs to see the change in rates over the years. Explore the data further across the entire Child Benefits Tracker at: Tracker home page

AUTHORS

Oliver Fiala

Save the Children U.K.

Sharmila Kurukulasuriya

Save the Children International/UNICEF