South Korean children ranked 27th overall among those in high-income countries, placing among the highest in academic skills but near the bottom in physical and mental well-being, according to UNICEF’s Innocenti Report Card.

South Korea’s skills ranking rose from 11th in 2020 to fourth in 2025 and third in 2026. However, it ranked 30th in physical health and 34th in mental well-being in 2026.

The report measures physical health through child mortality and overweight rates, mental well-being through life satisfaction and suicide rates, and skills through reading, math and social skills based on PISA data.

The Netherlands ranked first overall, followed by Denmark and France. Japan ranked third in physical health, with the lowest overweight rate at 16 percent.


don@heraldcorp.com