LONDON (Realist English). The United Kingdom has been ranked 21st out of 36 high-income countries for overall child wellbeing and 27th for child mental health, according to a new UNICEF report published Wednesday. The figures place the UK behind much of Europe, including France, Spain, Portugal, and even lower-income EU members such as Romania, Lithuania, and Slovakia.
The report, based on comparative data across education, mental health, and physical wellbeing, reveals a sharp decline in life satisfaction among British teenagers — with the UK tied for second-worst place, alongside Chile, and ahead of only Turkey.
Girls in the UK were significantly more likely to report unhappiness than boys, reinforcing concerns about widening gender disparities in youth mental health.
“This report card offers a deeply troubling snapshot of how UK children are struggling,” said Dr Philip Goodwin, Chief Executive of the UK Committee for UNICEF.
“Our teenagers are reporting some of the lowest life satisfaction levels across the developed world. This must be a wake-up call for the government.”
While the UK performed poorly in most wellbeing metrics, northern European countries such as the Netherlands and Denmark again topped the league table, with children in those countries reporting the highest happiness and wellbeing scores.
The report also highlighted structural pressures that have deepened since the COVID-19 pandemic, including rising obesity, declining academic performance, and an alarming rise in mental health disorders. In 2023, NHS England estimated that one in four 17–19-year-olds had a probable mental health condition — up from one in ten just six years earlier. This surge has led to overwhelming waiting lists for CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services).
UNICEF warned that children globally are facing what it called a mounting “polycrisis” — a convergence of pandemic aftershocks, climate change disruption, and destabilizing digital environments.
In response, a UK government spokesperson defended current efforts, stating:
“We’re investing an extra £680 million in mental health services this year, recruiting 8,500 more staff, and placing mental health support in every school. We’re also tackling obesity by restricting fast-food outlets near schools and limiting junk food advertising.”
The spokesperson added that the government is “developing an ambitious child poverty strategy,” which includes free breakfast clubs in every primary school and targeted academic reforms through new regional improvement teams.
The UNICEF report exposes not only the depth of the crisis but the growing gap between rhetoric and reality. While investment figures rise, outcomes for British children continue to decline. The challenge is not only fiscal but systemic — requiring urgent coordination across education, healthcare, and social policy. The real measure of a nation’s strength may well be how it treats its children. And by that standard, the UK is falling short.