South Korean kids excel academically but lag in health and well-being, UNICEF finds
UNICEF’s latest Innocenti Report Card places South Korean children near the top for academic skills but near the bottom for physical and mental health.
The 2026 report shows South Korea climbing to fourth overall among high-income nations, driven by strong reading, math and social-skill scores. However, the same children rank 30th in physical health and 34th in mental well-being. Physical health is measured by child mortality and overweight rates, while mental health considers life satisfaction and suicide rates. The Netherlands leads the overall ranking, followed by Denmark and France.
Why it matters
The contrast highlights policy gaps in South Korea between educational success and child health outcomes.
In this story
South Korean childrenacademic skillsphysical healthmental well-beingUNICEF reportInnocenti Report CardPISA dataoverweight ratelife satisfactionsuicide rates
