Ireland has been ranked ninth out of 21 industrialized countries in a report assessing the well-being of children

RTE News:

UNICEF said the assessment looked at 40 separate indicators to gauge the quality of the lives of children in the majority of economically advanced nations.

But the study found there was no consistent relationship between a country's wealth and a child's quality of life.

Northern European countries dominated the top half of the table, with child well-being at its highest in the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark and Finland.

The United Kingdom came bottom of the list.

The study found Britain lagged behind on key measures of poverty and deprivation, health and safety, relationships, risk-taking and young people's own sense of well-being.

Britain received better ratings for education but languished in the bottom third for all other measures, giving it the lowest overall placing, behind the United States.

Child study finds big divisions

British children: poorer, at greater risk and more insecure