This year's data clearly show that there are great disparities in the status of certain groups of children depending on whether they live in urban or rural areas and their parents' the level of education and socio-economic status.

“Bearing in mind that this is the fifth MICS survey, the information contained in it will allow the Committee on the Rights of the Child to determine whether the adopted laws are yielding positive results, and what still needs to be done to improve the situation of children,” said Committee member Dr Vesna Rakonjac.

Michel Saint-Lot, Director of UNICEF Serbia, said that MICS is a valuable tool for monitoring the status of children and women which does not only tell us about national averages, but also indicates which groups of children live in difficult conditions, do not have access to services, and therefore require targeted support of the society. “In conditions of limited resources, which will be even scarcer in 2015, it is precisely this type of survey that helps us identify and focus our resources on priority areas", pointed out the Director of UNICEF Serbia.

The Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) is an international research programme developed by UNICEF, in collaboration with other UN agencies, and is carried out every five years in more than 100 countries around the world in order to ensure international comparability, continuity of research and time series data. MICS is collecting data about children’s health, development, education, protection and general well-being, as well as data about women’s reproductive health. The data collected through this round of MICS will inform the preparation of the final report of the UN Secretary General on the Millennium Development Goals in 2015.