Cost of raising a child

According to Globalissues.org, "Almost half the world—over three billion people—live on less than US$2.50 a day." This statistic includes children.{{cite web |last = Shah |first = Anup |title = Poverty Facts and Stats |publisher = Global Issues |date = September 20, 2010 |url = http://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-facts-and-stats |access-date = August 5, 2012}} The calculation of the cost to raise a child in developing countries is difficult, since families often do not operate with currency, but barter or trade to provide for their children.Martin Ravallion, Shaohua Chen and Prem Sangraula, [https://web.archive.org/web/20080908184502/http://go.worldbank.org/3KL75ZFJ60 Dollar a day revisited], World Bank, May 2008 It is argued that in developing areas the balance between earnings and costs of having children is changing, because the mean number of children per couple in many developing areas has decreased dramatically, especially in Asia, North Africa and the Near East.{{cite journal |last1=Balen |first1=F. van |last2=Bos |first2=H. M. W. |title=The social and cultural consequences of being childless in poor-resource areas |journal=Facts, Views & Vision in ObGyn |date=2009 |volume=1,2 |issue=2 |pages=106–121 |pmid=25478076 |pmc=4251270 }} According to a 2020 report, 356 million children – 17.5 per cent

– live in extreme poverty (less than

US$1.90 a day).[https://www.unicef.org/media/114636/file/SOWC-2021-full-report-English.pdf State of the World's Children, 2021], UNICEF

Argentina's INDEC provides a breakdown of minimum costs per person in household, known as the "canasta básica total", this metric doesn't measure the average cost, but the minimum cost (poverty line) and is published monthly. All values are per "equivalent adult".

Data for June 2022. Exchange rate 1 US dollar is 135,7500 ARG (July 2022). This aggregates to around $ 41,501.40 from birth to 18 years old.

Based on an estimate by Economic Times in April 2011 and adjusted to inflation for August 2022, the cost of raising a child from birth to age of majority (21 Years) for a middle to upper-middle income family comes to about {{INRConvert|1.17|c|year=2022}} in total.{{cite web |date=18 April 2011 |title=How much it cost to raise a child |url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/photo.cms?msid=7998976 |access-date=13 July 2016 |work=report |publisher=Economic Times |format=pdf}}

Cost break up is as follows:

Note: Estimate assumes cost of birth, but doesn't consider any major illness in child.

Child Poverty Action Group’s annual cost of a child report looks at how much it costs families to provide a minimum socially acceptable standard of living for their children. The 2022 report shows the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 years old as £157,562 for a couple family or £208,735 for a single parent/guardian.{{cite web |title=The cost of a child in 2022 |url=https://cpag.org.uk/policy-and-campaigns/report/cost-child-2022 |website=Child Poverty Action Group |date=8 November 2022 |access-date = December 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221109170343/https://cpag.org.uk/policy-and-campaigns/report/cost-child-2022 |archive-date=9 November 2022 |url-status=live}}

The Times estimates that it costs £202,660 to raise a child from birth to 18 in the UK. This includes the cost of housing and childcare. This works out to an average approximate of £11,250 per year, or £938 per month.{{Cite web |date=2 February 2023 |title=How much will it cost to raise a child in 2023? |url=https://www.lv.com/life-insurance/cost-of-raising-a-child |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230316100405/https://www.lv.com/life-insurance/cost-of-raising-a-child |archive-date=16 March 2023 |access-date=17 April 2023 |website=Liverpool Victoria}}

Based on a survey by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the table below shows the estimated Average Spending on Children by Families. The data comes from the Consumer Expenditure Survey by the U.S. Department of Labor, conducted from 2005-06. The figures have been updated to 2011 dollars using the Consumer Price Index. However, some dispute the numbers as being biased high for political reasons (e.g., Texas A&M University Finance Professor H. Swint Friday: "The numbers, reported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, are outrageously misleading. Often government statistics are produced for political objectives that cause the research methodology to be biased toward finding the highest dollar amount to support the objective."{{cite web|url=http://www.caller.com/news/2007/jul/20/cost-of-raising-children-not-as-high-as-would/|title=Cost of raising children not as high as government would have you believe|last=Friday|first=H. Swint|date=July 20, 2007|publisher=caller.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080119022809/http://www.caller.com/news/2007/jul/20/cost-of-raising-children-not-as-high-as-would/|archive-date=19 January 2008|access-date=March 31, 2013}}).

These figures from the USDA go up to age 18, and do not include any college or university education. Nor does it offer any spending estimates if the child remains in the home as a dependent after the age of 18.{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Business/page?id=4019746|title=Cost of Raising Children Calculator|website=ABC News}}

Both tables are for the United States overall, not based on any specific region in the country.

All numbers are in US dollars.

All numbers are in US dollars.

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• Jonathan V. Last
• Natalist policy
• Only child
• Child care
• Child support
• Childfree
• Cost of living
• Demographic economics
• Family economics
• Family planning
• Family values
• Single parent
• Middle-class squeeze

{{div col end}}

{{Reflist}}

Wolf DA, Lee RD, Miller T, Donehower G, Genest A. (2011). Fiscal externalities of becoming a parent. Popul Dev Rev, 37(2): 241-66. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1728-4457.2011.00410.x.

• [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-children-idUSN2431320820080324 "Raising that '07 baby will cost $204,060 in U.S."] - from Reuters, retrieved August 5, 2012.
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080119022809/http://www.caller.com/news/2007/jul/20/cost-of-raising-children-not-as-high-as-would/ "Cost of raising children not as high as government would have you believe"] - from caller.com, retrieved March 31, 2013.
• "[http://www.globelifeinsurance.com/the-cost-of-raising-children-in-the-us.html Cost of Raising Children in the US]" - from Globe Life Insurance, retrieved September 11, 2013

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Category:Parenting

Category:Family

Category:Demographic economics

Category:Costs