Malta ranks 34th out of 41 countries in terms of child well-being, according to the latest UN Children’s Fund report that aims to understand what shapes their happiness in rich countries.

The UNICEF Innocenti Report Card measured the countries against three categories: mental well-being, covering life satisfaction and suicide rates; physical health, including rates of obesity and child mortality; and both academic and social skills.

Malta comes in at one before last among EU member states.

In Malta, 70 per cent of children have high life satisfaction at 15 years old, as opposed to 90 per cent in the Netherlands. Just below in the table are the Republic of Korea, the UK, Japan and Turkey.

Fifteen-year-olds were asked how satisfied they felt with their life on a scale from 0 to 10. In all countries, most were reasonably happy, scoring five and above.

But the report cautions that while it is encouraging many children are happy, there are still many who are struggling. In 12 of the 41 countries, less than three-quarters of children aged 15 have a high life satisfaction.

The report highlights research in the UK showing that, compared to children with moderate or high levels of satisfaction, children with low life satisfaction are eight times more likely to report family conflict, five times as likely to be bullied and more than twice as likely not to look forward to school.

Compared to children who are happy with their lives, far fewer with low life satisfaction felt they had people who supported them. Almost a quarter of them said they did not feel safe at home.

Children’s mental and physical well-being, academic and social skills. Image: UNICEF

Many more with low levels of life satisfaction feel they lack a support network, and body image also has a role to play.

But when it comes to adolescents aged 11, 13 and 15, who say they are too fat or too thin, Malta has the second lowest percentage, with less than 40 per cent, the average being 45 per cent. Only Iceland is lower, with Poland at the other end of the scales.

Malta ranks almost mid-way in the suicide rate, with 6.8 per 100,000 adolescents aged 15-19. Greece is the lowest with 1.4 and Lithuania at 18.2 – suicide being one of the most common causes of death for adolescents in that age bracket.

A strong track record in mental well-being and skills places The Netherlands at the top of the table, with other regularly well-performing Nordic nations clustered not far behind.

Children in Nordic countries, in fact, generally have the highest rates of well-being, but Mexico and Romania also have among the highest levels of life satisfaction, according to the report.

However, the new research shows that even the best-performing countries have room for significant improvement when it comes to ensuring consistently high child well-being.

And living in a wealthy nation is no guarantee of happiness, the UNICEF report says.

It shows many rich nations can also still improve when it comes to ensuring policies and social contexts lead to children’s well-being – and COVID-19 has exaggerated many divides.

There are signs that some countries are regressing – particularly following the pandemic, in areas such as immunisation, learning and mental health – and will struggle to meet their commitments to the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, UNICEF warns.

Even before the virus crisis created these greater divides, however, the daily lives of millions of children in the richest countries fell far short of a good childhood.

No matter the wealth of the countries, better health and education are not universal, with many children suffering from stress, anxiety and depression, lagging behind their peers at school and physically unwell.