About the report

This report presents data on health and wellbeing for early childhood in the UK and 14 comparable countries, recognising the particular influence that a child’s development in this period can have on his or her future health and quality of life. We consider the benefits and challenges of comparing child health indicators between countries, to inform local and national policy and practice that improves the health of children and families in this country.

The findings show that while the UK is doing well in many areas relating to the health of young children, on certain indicators the UK lags far behind similarly developed countries. In others, where once we led the field, our rate of improvement has slowed to the extent that we have among the worst outcomes in comparable countries.

A technical annex containing data tables to support the information found in this main report is available at www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/research/ international-comparisons-of-health-and-wellbeing-in-early-childhood.