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