Executive summary In a time of general prosperity, more than 69 million children live in poverty in some of the world’s richest countries. Poverty is often defined by income. But for most children, poverty is about more than just money. It is about growing up in a home without enough heat or nutritious food. Poverty means no new clothes, no telephone and no money for a birthday celebration. For the eighteenth edition of the Innocenti Report Card, UNICEF Innocenti examined child poverty in the high-income and upper middle-income countries in the European Union (EU) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). This Report Card provides an assessment of the current state of child poverty and the progress – or lack of progress – that these countries made towards eliminating it. Key findings The foundation of Report Card 18 is a ranking of countries based on their most recent rates of child income poverty and the proportional change in that rate over a seven-year period (2012–2014 and 2019–2021). It places: →Slovenia, Poland and Latvia at the top of the ranking. →The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Türkiye and Colombia are at the bottom of the ranking Overall, the percentage of children who live in poverty in 40 countries of the EU and OECD, dropped by about 8 per cent during a period of about seven years – which translates to 6 million fewer children in poverty. However, the rates of child poverty vary. For example: →In Denmark, Finland and Slovenia, about 1 in 10 children lives in poverty. →In Bulgaria, Colombia, Italy, Mexico, Romania, Spain, Türkiye and the United States of America more than 1 in 4 children lives in poverty. Some countries used period of general prosperity to address child poverty, while others let the opportunity pass. For example: →Poland reduced child poverty by 38 per cent. →Slovenia, Latvia and Lithuania reduced child poverty by more than 30 per cent. →France, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland saw increases in child poverty of at least 10 per cent →In the United Kingdom, child poverty increased by about 20 per cent. 2 Child Poverty in the Midst of Wealth Innocenti Report Card 18