The Netherlands, followed by Sweden, Denmark and Finland, finished at the top while the United States was 20th and Britain 21st in the rankings released Feb. 14 by UNICEF in Berlin.

One of the study's researchers, Jonathan Bradshaw, said British and American children fared worse -- despite high levels of national wealth -- because of greater economic inequality and poor levels of public support for families.

"What they have in common are very high levels of inequality, very high levels of child poverty, which is also associated with inequality, and in rather different ways poorly developed services to families with children," said Bradshaw, a professor of social policy at the University of York in northeast England.

The Japan Times Weekly: Feb. 24, 2007
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