UK children are less happy than those in Algeria, Romania and Poland and only youngsters in Ethiopia, South Korea and Nepal are more miserable in survey of 16 nations

UK children are less happy than those in Algeria, Romania and Poland and only youngsters in Ethiopia, South Korea and Nepal are more miserable in survey of 16 nations
Survey by Children's Worlds quizzed eight-year-olds on their happiness
UK children also scored low on satisfaction with their family lives and appearance but fared better on internet access and good clothes
Issues surrounding bullying in England is 'troubling', researchers say
Children in Romania are the happiest, followed by those in Poland
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Children in the UK are less happy than those in Romania, Poland and Algeria, an international study released today has revealed.
Only youngsters living in South Korea, Nepal and Ethiopia fared worse than those in England, with the country ranking 13th out of 16 countries for life satisfaction, according to the research survey by Children's Worlds.
Young people across the world took part in a questionnaire as part of the survey, and were quizzed on their family and home life, bullying, personal well-being and views on children's rights, as well as their overall happiness.

The results released this morning form part two of the three-stage survey, in which eight-year-olds in Romania, Columbia, Spain, Israel, Algeria, Turkey, Malta, Norway, Germany, South Africa, Estonia, Ethiopia, Nepal and South Korea were also quizzed about their lives.


Children in England were questioned on behalf of those in the rest of the UK, with 990 eight-year-olds taking part.
They were also asked about friendships, money and possessions, school life, the area where they live and use of their time.

When it came to over all life satisfaction, children in Romania came out on top, with youngsters on average rating their happiness as 9.08 out of 10. Poland was second with nine out of 10 and Columbia third with 8.93.
Children in England gave an average score of 8.39, below than the global average of 8.5.
But as well as the low score on life satisfaction, children in England also ranked towards the bottom of the table when it came to happiness in their family lives, coming in at 12th place with Catalonia in Spain top and Nepal bottom.
More than two thirds of English children said they feel safe at home, while on friends, England came mid-table when young people were asked if they are satisfied with their relationships.
Of all 16 countries, England did not rank any higher than eighth place for any of the questions.

When it comes to material possessions, almost all English respondents said they had access to good clothes, compared to 85 per cent in Ethiopia - and 88 per cent of British children indicated they have access to the internet, compared to just 6 per cent in Nepal.
Asked about bullying at school, a fifth of children in England said they had been hit by fellow pupils more than three times in the last month, compared to almost a quarter in Estonia and 6 per cent in South Korea.
Looking at issues around how young people see themselves, children in England came in the bottom five when asked about their appearance and body. Colombia and Romania came top.
Work on the study was carried out by researchers in the participating countries, with an invitation to other nations wanting to take part. The US was involved in the first wave of the project, which was presented in 2012 and involved eight, 10 and 12-year-olds, but not the second.

Gwyther Rees, of the Social Policy Research Unit at the University of York, which carried out the research in England, said: 'There are some quite troubling messages from England and the picture is quite similar to what we found with older age groups.
'Children are happy at home and with friends but less happy at school where there seems to be an issue around bullying and being left out.'
Simon Sommer, head of research at the Jacobs Foundation, which funded the work, said the project is 'groundbreaking', revealing information from the eight-year-olds' own perspectives.
He said: 'The Jacobs Foundation continues to support Children's Worlds, because we are convinced that it will deliver unique information valuable for everyone who is interested in understanding and improving the lives of children and youth.'

Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland discuss a blockade to stop migrants

Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland meet to discuss creating a blockade to stop migrants arriving from Greece
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Countries known as the Visegrad group ready to help Balkans seal borders
Leaders of Bulgaria and Macedonia will also attend the meeting in Prague
Germany fears plan will create even bigger backlog of migrants in Greece
Greece to open 'hotspot' migrant centres after EU pressure to stem flow


Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland are to meet today to discuss creating a blockade to stop the influx of migrants arriving from Greece.
Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said the countries – known collectively as the Visegrad group – were ready to help Balkan countries seal their borders.
The leaders of Bulgaria and Macedonia will also attend the meeting in Prague.

Mr Sobotka said he would also discuss the plans with the Greek foreign minister tomorrow, ahead of a summit of European leaders at the end of the week.
Apart from Hungary, central European countries have so far not seen significant numbers of migrants.


But they fear that could change if Europe's external borders stay porous, or if Germany – the main destination – were to close its own borders.
Germany has raised objections to the plan, saying that sealing Balkan borders with Greece could undermine its own approach to the crisis.

Fury: Protesters hold banners and Greek flags during a demonstration on the island of Kos against the creation of an identification and registration centre for migrants who are entering the EU through Greece
GREECE OPENS 'HOTSPOT' MIGRANT CENTRES AFTER EU PRESSURE TO CONTROL THE INFLUX
Greece will open four migrant registration centres in time for an EU summit this week as Athens comes under heavy pressure to control the massive influx to Europe.
Four of Greece's five 'hotspot' centres will formally open by Wednesday on the islands of Lesbos, Chios, Leros and Samos, which have been struggling to cope with hundreds of thousands of migrants landing from Turkey in flimsy boats, a government source said.
Each will have enough prefab housing to accommodate 1,000 arrivals for three days, during which they will be registered, have their fingerprints taken and be sorted between those eligible for asylum in the EU and those who face eventual deportation.
Security checks will attempt to prevent the entry of jihadists, a pressing concern after two of the men who carried out November's terror attacks in Paris sneaked into Europe via Greece, posing as refugees.
The fifth centre, on the island of Kos, will be set up slightly later, the source said.
Opposition from local authorities and residents, complaining that the influx has damaged their vital tourism industry, has caused delays to the construction work.
Riot police fired tear gas Sunday at protesters on the resort island who are angry over plans to open the centre.
While Greece has acknowledged delays in the opening of the centres – calling in the army to help complete them – the government insists it is already registering migrants with the help of 400 staff from EU border agency Frontex.
Berlin has focused on working with Turkey to control the migrant flow and fears the Visegrad plan would lead to an accumulation of refugees in Greece, a country already under huge strain.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who will attend the EU summit in Brussels on Thursday and Friday, is under heavy pressure from EU neighbours to do more to stem the influx of migrants.
EU member states on Friday gave Athens a three-month ultimatum to remedy 'deficiencies' in controlling the influx, or effectively face suspension from the Schengen passport-free zone.
Greece has responded by planning to open four 'hotspot' registration centres ahead of the summit.
It comes as an opinion poll published today reveals that around two-thirds of Czechs oppose taking in refugees from war zones, reflecting growing anti-migrant sentiment in a country that has taken a tough stance on the issue.
Central European nations have opposed quotas for sharing asylum-seekers among EU members, and Czech President Milos Zeman is one of many leaders to have used anti-migrant rhetoric.
The latest monthly survey by the Czech Public Opinion Research Centre found 65 per cent of Czechs were against taking in war refugees, up from 50 per cent in September.
Another 28 per cent said refugees should only be accepted until they can return home.
More than one million refugees crossed into Europe last year, most of them fleeing conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Mr Zeman has limited policymaking power, but has said integration of Muslim communities in the country of 10.5 million is 'practically impossible' and called the influx an 'organised invasion'.
He has also said that migrants would impose sharia law, stoning women to death for adultery and chopping thieves' hands off.
His comments have drawn criticism from the government as well as the UN human rights chief.