Comparing and contrasting the ways in which different countries utilize social protection is complex. In the remainder of this section we compare countries on three different aspects: 1. Their levels of expenditure (per capita) on social protection for children 2. The adequacy of the benefits paid to households with children 3. The effectiveness of these systems in terms of reducing poverty Expenditure on social protection Measuring expenditure on child and family benefits as the percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) per capita spent on each child allows for a fair comparison among countries with different sized economies and child populations. Figure 19 presents this information for 33 OECD and EU countries with available data, comparing average expenditure per child in 2010 and 2019. More than half of the countries with available data dedicated more of their resources to children in 2019 than they did in 2010, albeit most of them only made small strides. Particularly remarkable efforts were made in the Republic of Korea, Poland, Türkiye, Greece and Japan. Per-child spending on family benefits grew by almost 170 per cent of GDP per capita in the Republic of Korea and 150 per cent in Poland – two countries where child poverty also decreased drastically. While Türkiye nearly doubled its expenditure, it was still among the three lowest spending countries in 2019, with only 2.9 per cent of GDP per capita allocated for each child. Expenditure patterns in many countries, however, showed a disinvestment in family benefits in the years prior to the pandemic. The United Kingdom and Hungary both reduced their expenditure on child and family benefits relative to the size of their economies and child populations. Social protection spending per child also decreased in Mexico, where levels were already among the lowest in 2010. Figure 19. Expenditure on family cash benefits per child as a percentage of GDP per capita (2010 and 2019) Source: see Technical Appendix. Note: For country codes used on the y axis, see Technical Appendix. 20% GDP per capita, per child (%) 18% 16% 14% 12% 10% 8% 6% 4% 2% 36 Child Poverty in the Midst of Wealth Estonia Luxembourg Poland Denmark Sweden Finland Norway Iceland Austria Germany Belgium Hungary Lithuania Latvia France Japan New Zealand Czechia United Kingdom Greece Slovenia Slovakia Switzerland Australia Italy Canada Spain Netherlands (Kingdom of the) Republic of Korea Portugal Chile Ireland Israel Colombia Türkiye Costa Rica Mexico 2019 2010 United States 0% Innocenti Report Card 18