Milan, 12 May (LaPresse) – Nearly one in four Italian children lives below the poverty line. This is according to an analysis by UNICEF Innocenti – Global Office of Research and Foresight, the Report Card 20 – ‘Unequal Opportunities – Children and Economic Inequality’, which states that 23% of Italian children live in households with an income below 60% of the national median, one of the highest rates in Europe. According to UNICEF, Italy ranks 12th out of 37 countries in the child well-being rankings. It is in the top third of the rankings for mental well-being (10th place), whilst it ranks in the middle of the table for physical health (17th place) and skills (25th place). Among the countries with comparable data included in the report, Italy ranks 22nd out of 40 in terms of income inequality, with the richest quintile of the population earning 5.35 times the income of the poorest quintile. It ranks 30th in terms of child poverty, with a rate of 23.2%. Among the countries for which the report provides comparable data, Italy ranks 15th out of 41 in terms of the size of the gap in basic maths and reading skills between children from the richest households and those from the poorest households: 84% of children in the wealthiest household quintile have basic skills in maths and reading, compared with just under 45% of children in the poorest quintile.