UK : Leads the Way in Poor Quality of Life for Young People

London. Special report

The UK (home to the Blairite brand of socialism held up as a shining example by some candidates in the French presidential election) has been severely criticized by UNICEF in a report into the position of young people. According to this research by the UN body, the country came last out of 21 industrialized countries in terms of the well-being assured to our youngest generation. The Netherlands and Scandinavian countries come top of the league table. The US comes in second last, while France only manages to notch up 16th place. One of the report’s authors, Professor Jonathan Bradshaw of York University, claimed yesterday that British children are victims of a “dog-eat-dog” society. They are suffering from underinvestment in childhood and education on the part of successive governments. Child poverty has doubled since 1979.

The rankings take six criteria into account : material well-being, health and safety, educational performance, family and peer relationships, behaviour and risks, and subjective sense of well-being. There is no close link between GDP per capita and the well-being of children (accounting for the fact that the Czech Republic ranks higher overall than several far wealthier European countries).

The youngest group in Britain often find themselves in a difficult economic situation, and suffer from poor relations with their parents. They are also more exposed than in other countries to the dangers posed by alcohol, drugs and risk-associated sexual behaviour.

As for educational well-being (which takes into account the average educational level of young people at age 15), in terms of the percentage of young people between 15 and 19 pursuing studies and others not engaged in studying but in work or training, Belgium occupies the top spot and France robs the UK of bottom position ! One indicator factored into the assessment of educational well-being is the percentage of children who claim to have at least 10 books in the house : France, more literary than most countries, climbs to 10th place in terms of this indicator of well-being. Once again the UK is there, badly ranked, and in terms of the behaviour categories for a balanced diet and avoiding risk of violence, it is once again in last place. If the Blairite jungle in the UK represents a fiscal paradise for some French expatriates, it also harbours many dangers for the youngest generation.