Tuesday, February 13, 2007
We're Number 2!
by Ken Houghton
The BBC headlined that UNICEF reported that the UK is 21st of 21 industrial nations for child well-being.
Needless to say, government officials are up in arms:
Which, if true, doesn't bode well for the second-worst country:
UPDATE: Melissa weighs in, punchier and with more context. (See Paul there as well.)
The BBC headlined that UNICEF reported that the UK is 21st of 21 industrial nations for child well-being.
The UK was in the bottom third for five out of the six categories. It was placed in the middle third of the table for health and safety.
Needless to say, government officials are up in arms:
A spokesman for the UK government said its initiatives in areas such as poverty, pregnancy rates, teenage smoking, drinking and risky sexual behaviour had helped improve children's welfare.
Welfare Minister Jim Murphy said the Unicef study was an "historic" report, which used some data which was now out of date.
Which, if true, doesn't bode well for the second-worst country:
1. Netherlands
2. Sweden
3. Denmark
4. Finland
5. Spain
6. Switzerland
7. Norway
8. Italy
9. Republic of Ireland
10. Belgium
11. Germany
12. Canada
13. Greece
14. Poland
15. Czech Republic
16. France
17. Portugal
18. Austria
19. Hungary
20. United States
21. United Kingdom
