Why are UK teens the least happy in Europe?

A recent report showed UK’s teenagers have grown dissatisfied with life. It calls for economic and educational reforms.

Children and young people in the United Kingdom are unhappier and have lower life satisfaction compared with others in their age group in the rest of Europe, a report published by a British charity says.

According to The Good Childhood Report 2024, published by The Children’s Society, 11 percent of children between the ages of 10 and 17 said they had low wellbeing, while one in six young people in the age group living in households affected by the cost of living crisis had low life satisfaction.

We look at potential reasons why children in the UK are becoming less happy than previous generations:

The report, compiled from three different surveys, including a 2024 survey by The Children’s Society, says two in five children and young people were concerned about rising prices in the UK.

More than 14 percent of children reported being unhappy with school, says the latest annual report, first published in 2009.