Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico, Uruguay and Venezuela are closer to ensuring their citizens have the chance to break the cycle of poverty than many of their neighbours in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to the World Bank’s first Human Opportunity Index.

The index, developed by World Bank economists and piloted in Latin America because of its vast gulf between rich and poor, is a new type of measurement that focuses not on income but on the factors children need to ensure they have an equal start in life.