Why it's better to grow up in Slovenia than Britain: Underage drinking and teen pregnancies put us 16th out of 29 nations in UN survey
Underage drinking, teenage pregnancies and a lack of education and training put the life chances of British children well behind those from poorer countries, a damning report has found.
The United Nations ranked Britain in the bottom half of a league table of the best places to be a child – below the likes of Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Portugal.
Despite being the seventh richest nation in the world, Britain had the worst rates of youngsters entering further education and ranked second from bottom for teenage pregnancy rates.
Alcohol abuse is high among British teenagers, one of the reasons the UN has ranked Britain just 16 in the table of good places to grow up
The ranking of 16th out of 29 of the world's biggest economies is a modest improvement on a 2007 report from the UN children's agency Unicef, which put UK children bottom in a league table of child well-being in 21 nations.
It was a damning indictment of the Labour government, which promised to lift hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty and make its priorities 'education, education, education'.
But this latest report, using figures from the last year of Gordon Brown's administration (2009-2010), says a generation of teenagers are still being 'sidelined'.
Education Minister David Laws said the report revealed how Labour had failed children.
He said: 'This report shows that Labour's approach of simply pouring money into the system without meaningful reform has not been enough. By the time Labour left power, this report concludes that our education system was not up to scratch and we had some of the highest proportions of 15-19-year-olds not in education, employment or training anywhere in the developed world.'
He added: 'The Coalition Government is making the vital reforms in childcare, schools and further education needed to improve children's lives and increase their opportunities.'
While Britain ranks ninth for children's material wealth, such as availability of food, clothing and toys, it is education and 'behaviour and risks' that dragged us down the table.
Alcohol abuse among children is one of the highest in the survey, with around one in five 11 to 15-year-olds in Britain reporting that they have been drunk at least twice.
The UK is one of only three major countries with teenage pregnancy rates of more than 30 per 1,000, and one of three which saw rates rise over the course of the last decade.
It also highlights the high number of Neets – young people not in education, employment, or training – which is estimated to be one in ten of those aged under 19.
Fewer than 75 per cent of young people go on to further education – one of the lowest rates in the developed world – compared with more than 80 per cent in all other developed countries surveyed.
During the furore over the 2007 report, experts blamed family breakdown for the UK's poor score. This report shows little improvement, with Britain's children ranking 17th for close relationships with parents and peers.
Overall, the Netherlands was ranked first, followed by Norway, Iceland, Finland and Sweden. Germany came sixth, Ireland tenth and France 13th.
Anita Tiessen, of Unicef UK, said: 'With the UK ranking at the bottom, or near the bottom, of the league table on teenage pregnancy and young people not in education, employment or training, we know that many are facing a bleaker future.
'The Government needs to acknowledge this and act now. While children will be the first to bear the brunt if we fail to safeguard their well-being, over time society as a whole will pay the price.'