The 5 worst countries in the world to be a child are all in Africa

desmond frimpong

June 13, 2018 2:22 PM

Children in these countries are the least likely to fully experience childhood, a time that should be dedicated to emotional, social and physical development, as well as play,” the report said.

A child in Africa is 20 times more likely to die before age 5 than one in the United States. That is according to statistics from the international NGO, Save the Children

Sub Saharan Africa ranks top on the table of unsafe places to be a kid.

Save the Children ranked 172 countries based on where childhood is most protected as well as the contrary.

With the use of government and United Nations data, researchers looked at indicators like mortality for children under the age of 5, malnutrition, access to schooling, child labor, early marriage, displacement from conflict, and child homicide.

European countries like Norway, Slovenia, and Finland rank first while Niger, Angola, and Mali came in last.

Amongst the list of dangerous places to be a kid, 7 were in West and Central Africa.

Country Rank

Guinea 163

Sierra Leone 163

Burkina Faso 165

South Sudan 166

Chad 167

Somalia 168

Central African Republic 169

Mali 170

Angola 171

Niger 172

The highest rates of child mortality are in African countries like Angola, Chad, Mali, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Somalia, and the Central African Republic, where 10% or more of children die before their fifth birthday.

This rate is at least 40 times that of Finland or Japan. Countries in Africa also have the highest rates of child labor and child marriage.

This article was written by Desmond Frimpong.

desmond frimpong