The latest report published by UNICEF has found that children in the Netherlands have the best well-being and are the most satisfied with their lives. Despite high welfare scores, the children's rights organisation warns that actions need to be taken globally to address the declines in education, health and wellbeing of kids.
The UNICEF report looked at the mental wellbeing, physical health and skills of children and adolescents of 43 countries in the EU and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). In the newest study, data from 2018 and 2022 are compared to give a view of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the rapidly changing global environment on children.
According to UNICEF, children across the globe “are becoming less happy with their lives, more likely to be overweight and obese, and not doing well in school”. Therefore, while many countries are doing a good job for their children, there is still room for improvement.
In ranking the countries based on their performance, the Netherlands was at the top of the list, followed by Denmark and France. The countries found at the bottom of the list include Chile, Türkiye and Mexico.
When it comes down to the mental health of a country’s children, the Netherlands is the best place to raise your kids, with the highest life satisfaction measured among adolescents. In fact, 87 percent of 15-year-olds in the Netherlands are satisfied with their lives - slightly lower than in 2018 when it was 90 percent.
While the Netherlands is also among the top for physical health and skills, there were some negative developments in these areas due to the pandemic. The most significant is the drop in academic proficiency among 15-year-olds, from 66 percent in 2018 to just 49 percent in 2022. Being out of school for six to nine months during lockdown had an impact on how children are now performing in mathematics and literacy, among other skills.
The percentage of overweight children in the Netherlands also rose to 17,6 percent. However, even with this increase, the Netherlands still has some of the lowest levels of child obesity among the countries analysed.
To keep the Netherlands’ position in the ranking - or even improve its score - UNICEF stresses that the country needs to continue investments in education, equal opportunities, libraries, swimming pools, sports and culture. Also, children in impoverished homes, youth care and asylum shelters do not experience the same level as wellbeing in the Netherlands. “Let this be an encouragement to ensure that all children in the Netherlands can develop into happy adults,” said Suzanne Laszlo, director of UNICEF Netherlands.
In all, here are the top 10 countries to raise children, according to UNICEF:
For more information about the study and to see the full ranking, visit the UNICEF website.
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