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xUK ranks 130th in KidsRights Index report 2025
Date: 25th June 2025
Category:
General measures of implementation, General principles
The 2025 KidsRights Index has revealed a growing global mental health crisis among children and young people, calling for urgent action to improve support, services, and data collection. Worryingly, the United Kingdom ranks 130th out of 194 countries in this year’s report, with a score of 0.582, highlighting significant room for improvement in how children's rights are upheld.
Published by the KidsRights Foundation in partnership with Erasmus University Rotterdam, the KidsRights Index is the world’s only annual ranking that measures how well countries respect and promote children’s rights. It includes all UN member states that have ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and have sufficient data available. This year’s findings show that over 14% of children aged 10 to 19 globally are experiencing mental health challenges. Among adolescents aged 15 to 19, the average global suicide rate is 6 per 100,000. However, the report warn that the true number is likely much higher due to stigma, misclassification, and underreporting.
Suicide is now the third leading cause of death among people aged 15 to 29. Despite this, the report stresses that data on children's mental health remains severely limited in many parts of the world, making it harder to respond effectively.