This indicator covers the death of children under the age of one year, measured as deaths per 1,000 live births: an important marker of the overall health of a society as laid out in the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
About this report and quick read (quick reads in other UK nations available in autumn)
Dr Helen Stewart, Officer for Health Improvement, introduces State of Child Health 2026
This indicator examines the age-standardised rate of death from all causes among children and young people aged 1–17 years per 100,000 population. Child mortality rates have worsened since our 2020 State of Child Health.
This indicator examines the rates of uptake of two doses of the MMR vaccine by age 5 and of the 6-in-1 vaccine by 12 months and how those have changed over time, as a proxy for vaccination uptake in general.
This indicator assesses whether children have met the expected developmental outcomes as they enter primary school and whether they have received access to the support needed for the best start in life.
This indicator examines the rate of tooth decay by reporting on the proportion of children aged 5 years with obvious tooth decay across England, Scotland and Wales. (Data were last collected in Northern Ireland in 2018 and not included.)
This indicator explores the rates of mental health conditions in children and young people. Comparison across the nations is difficult due to the lack of routine standardised data collection showing trends over time.
This indicator was selected and developed by children and young people across the UK. It defines what emotional health and wellbeing support looks like and how it should be measured.
This indicator reports primarily on youth vaping trends by examining the proportion of children aged 15 who are e-cigarette users, including those who have ever tried an e-cigarette and those who currently vape.
This indicator analyses trends on alcohol use (number of young people who have been drunk) and drug use (number of young people who have used cannabis). There is no shared standardised measure across nations.
