According to UNICEF, the rankings are based on two factors: the percentage of children currently living in relative poverty; and how successfully countries reduced child poverty from 2012 to 2021.
The UN agency said that over one in four children in Italy, 25.5 per cent, live in relative income poverty.
That compares to 9.9 per cent in Denmark, the nation that came top of the ranking, 15.5 per cent in Germany, 19.9 per cent in France, 20.7 per cent in the UK and 17.1 per cent in Australia.
It said Italy had made little progress in reducing child poverty between the 2012-14 and 2019-21 periods, bringing it down by just 0.8 per cent.
Meanwhile, Istat said Wednesday 28.8 per cent of Italy’s under-16s are at risk of poverty or social exclusion.
The national statistics agency said that is higher than the percentage for the population as a whole, which is 24.4 per cent.
The proportion of under-16s at risk of poverty or social exclusion soars to 46.6 per cent in southern Italy, including Sicily and Sardinia.
That compares to 21.4 per cent for central Italy and 18.3 per cent for the north.
Istat said the proportion of minors at risk of poverty or social exclusion climbs to 39.1 per cent for kids in one-parent families, compared to 27.2 per cent for the children of couples.
The level is even higher, 41.3 per cent, when the only parent is the mother.
ANSA
