Is there a Level Playing Field for Children in Peru?

Article in Spanish (¿Está el piso parejo para los niños en el Perú? Medición y comprensió de la evolución de las oportunidades)

Is there a level playing field for children in Peru? Measuring and understanding equality of opportunity

Peru has witnessed extraordinary rates of economic growth in the last decade, with accompanying reductions in the level of poverty and a small reduction in levels of inequality. But what does this mean for children and young people, who continue to experience high levels of inequality not just in terms of their income and living standards, but also their educational opportunities.

This report (in Spanish) uses data from the national household survey (ENAHO), the demographic and household survey (ENDES) and Young Lives (Niños del Milenio in Peru) which show that access to critical areas such as health, education, information and basic infrastructure has improved for Peruvian children in the past decade. However, the unequal access to services that still prevails and inequality of opportunity, continue to have a negative impact on the child poverty rates. Ethnicity, place of birth, language, cultural factors, gender, or differences in household socio-economic levels all play a role in the inequality of opportunity for children in Peru.

The data show that the stunting rate in Peru continues to be high, particularly among poor children - for every 100 children, 15 suffer from stunted growth. The education divide persists between rural and urban areas as well as the great gaps in basic public services - and although 96% of school age children (age group 10 to 14) attend school, only 50% expect to graduate in a timely manner from primary school.