Gallery: These Are the 36 Best (and Worst) Countries for Children’s Well-Being According to UNICEF

How do the world’s richest countries perform when it comes to children’s well-being? UNICEF’s Report Card 19 compiles data on children’s mental health, physical health, and academic skills to give us an overall picture of how children are doing in 36 high-income countries. Here’s the full ranking — from the lowest to the highest-performing country.

Note the list had 41 countries but they did not score in all the categories so they are not in the comparison

#36: Chile – At the Bottom for Well-Being

Chile ranks last with some of the poorest scores across all three categories: mental health (#31), physical health (#40), and skills (#40). The country faces major challenges when it comes to children’s well-being and future opportunities.

Chile ranks last with some of the poorest scores across all three categories: mental health (#31), physical health (#40), and skills (#40). The country faces major challenges when it comes to children’s well-being and future opportunities.

#35: Turkey – Poor Outcomes Across the Board

With rankings like #35 in mental health, #37 in physical health, and #37 in skills, Turkey comes in second to last. This highlights the urgent need for investment in children’s health and education.

#34: Mexico – Lowest in Skills

Mexico particularly struggles in skills (#41), and both mental health (#19) and physical health (#41) are among the worst. An alarmingly low overall level of well-being.

#33: Colombia – Alarmingly Low Well-Being

Colombia scores poorly in all categories: #29 in mental health, #39 in physical health, and #38 in skills. A clear picture of a country facing serious challenges in child welfare.

#32: New Zealand – Surprisingly Low Ranking

Despite being seen as a progressive nation, New Zealand performs poorly here, with rankings of #36 in mental health and #35 in physical health. A major wake-up call.

#31: Costa Rica – Low Competency Scores

Costa Rica performs fairly well in mental health (#17), but its low rankings in skills (#39) and physical health (#36) bring down its overall placement.

#30: Estonia – Low Physical and Mental Health

Estonia is ranked low in both mental health (#33) and physical health (#26). Even with slightly better skills (#24), it’s not enough to lift the country’s total score.

#29: Poland – Mediocre Across the Board

Poland ranks relatively low in all three categories: #30 in mental health, #19 in physical health, and #30 in skills. Improvements are needed in every area.

#28: Bulgaria – Weak Physical and Academic Health

Although Bulgaria performs well in mental health (#10), it’s pulled down by poor physical health (#34) and very low skills (#33).

#27: South Korea – Strong Skills, Weak Well-Being

Korea ranks high in skills (#4) but struggles with mental health (#34) and physical health (#28), creating an unbalanced well-being profile.

#26: Malta – Low Scores in Skills

Malta performs decently in mental health (#15), but its low rankings in physical health (#21) and skills (#36) bring down its overall position.

#25: Germany – Weak Skills Hold It Back

Germany ranks moderately in mental (#18) and physical health (#14), but its very low score in skills (#34) is notable.

#24: Greece – Big Gaps Between Indicators

Greece does relatively well in mental health (#7) but poorly in physical health (#27) and extremely poorly in skills (#35), revealing an unbalanced child welfare picture.

#23: Latvia – Consistently Low Rankings

Latvia ranks low across all categories: #22 in mental health, #15 in physical health, and #32 in skills. There’s a clear need for investment in future generations.

#22: Iceland – Strong Physical Health, Weak in Learning

Iceland performs well in physical health (#6), but falls behind in skills (#28) and mental health (#26). An uneven profile.

#21: United Kingdom – Low Mental Health

The UK ranks among the lowest for mental health (#27), which drags down its overall position, despite doing better in skills (#15).

#20: Slovakia – Uneven Well-Being

Slovakia ranks #12 in mental health, but as low as #29 in physical health and #27 in skills. There’s a clear imbalance in children’s living conditions.

#19: Canada – Average Across All Metrics

Canada doesn’t lead in any category, but also doesn’t fall to the bottom. With rankings like #23, #24, and #21, it lands squarely in the middle.

#18: Czech Republic – Academic Weakness

The Czech Republic does well in physical health (#5), but underperforms in skills (#31) and mental health (#25).

#17: Finland – Lower Than Expected

Despite its reputation for strong welfare, Finland’s rankings are quite average: #21 in mental health, #23 in physical health, and #18 in skills.

#16: Romania – Strong Mentally, Weak Physically

Romania ranks high in mental health (#5) but second-to-last in physical health (#32) and low in skills (#26).

#15: Lithuania – Just Below the Top Tier

Lithuania ranks near the top 20 in all categories, but doesn’t stand out significantly. A steady, if unremarkable, performance.

#14: Japan – Excellent Physically, Weak Mentally

Japan ranks first in physical health (#1) but among the lowest in mental health (#32), creating a stark contrast.

#13: Slovenia – Top in Skills

Slovenia is ranked #2 in skills, but low mental health (#28) lowers its overall placement.

#12: Austria – Physically Challenged, Academically Strong

Austria balances a strong skills ranking (#7) with weaker performance in physical health (#20), earning it a middle-ground spot.

#11: Hungary – Uneven Trivsel

Hungary scores high in mental health (#6) but poorly in physical health (#30), creating a disparity that affects its overall ranking.

#10: Sweden – Strong Overall Performance

Sweden ranks consistently across the board with placements like #14, #13, and #14. The country appears balanced and well-functioning.

#9: Italy – Strong in Mental and Physical Health, Weaker in Skills

Italy ranks high in mental (#8) and physical health (#16), but lower in skills (#23), which still secures a top-10 spot.

#8: Croatia – Strong Academic Skills

Croatia performs well thanks to an impressive #3 ranking in skills, although its physical health score (#31) brings it down slightly.

#7: Spain – High Mental Well-Being

Spain scores high in mental health (#4), but ranks low in physical health (#25). Skills are mid-range (#16), contributing to a solid overall placement.

#6: Switzerland – Physically and Academically Strong

Switzerland performs well in skills (#6) and physical health (#7), and also has good mental health (#13), creating a balanced well-being profile.

#5: Ireland – Top in Skills

Ireland ranks #1 in children’s skills. Physical health is also strong (#11), but weaker mental health (#24) prevents a higher overall ranking.

#4: Portugal – Mentally Strong

Portugal performs very well in mental health (#2) and respectably in physical health (#10), but a low skills ranking (#22) keeps it out of the top three.

#3: France – Strong Physically, Mixed Mentally

France ranks very high in physical health (#2) and fairly well in skills (#9). Mental health is somewhat lower (#11), but overall, it’s enough for a podium spot.

#2: Denmark – Nordic Leader in Well-Being

Denmark ranks in the top 3 in both mental (#3) and physical health (#3), as well as high in skills (#8). A clear example of strong child welfare.

#1: Netherlands – Best Country for Children

The Netherlands tops the list as the country where children have the highest well-being. With the #1 ranking in mental health, top 4 in physical health, and solid performance in skills (#11), it’s the clear winner according to UNICEF.

Our team may have used AI to assist in the creation of this content, which has been reviewed by our editors.