South Asia

One quarter of all the children in the world live in South Asia. In spite of lingering poverty, their survival prospects have improved considerably over the past three decades: in 1960, 1 in 4 children died by age five; by 1993, the number was 1 in 8.
Life expectancy at birth rose from 39 to 60 years between 1950 and 1990, but women do not significantly outlive men, as they do in all other regions.
The girls' net primary school enrolment ratio increased from 29 per cent in 1960 to 62 per cent in 1990. But the gender gap in education remains wide: a girl is 20 per cent less likely to attend primary school than a boy. Child labour is a major obstacle to education.
By the early 1980s, 28 per cent of children were immunized against vaccine-preventable diseases; by the early 1990s, the immunization rate had almost tripled to 85 per cent. In Bangladesh, coverage soared from 1 to 74 per cent during the 1980s.
Strong disparities persist. A child born in Sri Lanka can expect to live 72 years, one born in Bhutan 50 years.
Malnutrition affects 60 per cent of children, by far the highest rate of any region.