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Unicef's 2009 state of the world's children report tells us what it's like to grow up in the poorest - and richest - places in the world. Find out which is which
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• Afghanistan's civilian casualties

A UN official confirmed today what many already suspected - that Afghanistan is the worst place in the world for children to be born.

Launching Unicef's annual flagship report, The State of the World's Children, the organisation's regional director for South Asia, Daniel Toole, said: "Afghanistan today is without a doubt the most dangerous place to be born."

Eight years after the US led invasion of Afghanistan, the report painted a grim picture of life in the war-ravaged country. Afghanistan has the highest infant mortality rate in the world - 257 deaths per 1,000 live births, while 70 percent of the population lacks access to clean water.

Published twenty years after the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the report shows that one billion children are still deprived of food, shelter or clean water or health care. 24,000 children under the age of five die every day from preventable causes such as pneumonia and malnutrition.

Unicef said today that Somalia has announced it is to sign the convention, leaving the United States as the only country outside the treaty.

To go with the report, Unicef has released a comprehensive set of health and population indicators. There's more on the attached google spreadsheet. Take a look and let us know what you can do with them.

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