U.S., Britain rank last in child well-being

BERLIN -- British and American children are among the worst off in the industrialized world, according to a UN report yesterday that ranked the well-being of youngsters in 21 wealthy countries.

Britain and the United States came in 20th and 21st overall respectively, with both countries falling in the bottom third of five of the six categories measured.

The United States was last among the 21 countries for health and safety, measured by rates of infant mortality, low birth weight, immunization and deaths from accidents and injuries.

UN Report: US, Britain, rank last in child well-being

Government officials in both countries disagreed with the report.

Meanwhile, in the U.S. . . .

• the percentage of workers covered by their employer's health insurance fell from 65% in 2001 to 59% in 2006;


• the number of nonelderly uninsured Americans rose from 39.6 million in 2000 to 46.1 million in 2005;


• the growth of uninsured grew by 1.3 million from 2004 to 2005 alone: 23% were low-income children and 62% were low-income adults (including working adults).

Kaiser Family Foundation reports