Mapping the mental health of the UK’s young people

Julia Doyle, David Woodhead, Holly Jones and Andy Bell

This map tool draws from the latest data to show prevalence of mental health difficulties across the UK, including rates of eating disorders and self-harm, hospital admissions and secondary care referrals, and wider factors such as loneliness, school absence and bullying. It reveals stark disparities in children’s mental health across the four nations of the UK and between local areas.

The numbers of children and young people experiencing mental health difficulties in the UK have risen at alarming rates over the past decade. Around 200 children in an average secondary school in England currently have a mental health problem.

Children’s chances of having good or poor mental health are shaped by the places they live in and the support available there. This map tool, produced in collaboration with Kooth, enables comparison between nations and (for some indicators) between different local areas.

The key findings across the four nations include:

Levels of loneliness are reported to be comparatively high among children and young people in Scotland, with 139 in 1,000 11-18 year olds feeling lonely often or always, compared to 55 in 1,000 11-16 year olds in England.

High proportions of children and young people in Wales report experiencing bullying, both online and in person.

Northern Ireland has higher rates of school absence compared to the other nations, with Belfast reporting the highest percentage at 15.2%.

In England, young people in their late teenage years report significantly greater prevalence of eating disorders compared to younger children. The figure jumps from 26 out of 1,000 11-16 year olds to 125 out of 1,000 17-19 year olds.

The accompanying briefing Mapping the mental health of the UK’s young people pulls out striking details from the data, and pinpoints areas where children face higher risks of disadvantage linked to poor mental health – including those living in poverty, in care, or facing abuse and neglect. It also highlights where there are data gaps across the UK on mental health difficulties, and calls for these to be addressed so that action to respond to local need can be informed by the best evidence.

Visualising data in these maps can help schools, health services and local councils to understand the mental health needs of the children and young people they serve. By knowing levels of need, they can take steps to prevent mental distress, and provide help when young people need it.

The data has been gathered from multiple sources including the NHS Mental Health of Children and Young People in England 2023 survey, a range of national surveys from the devolved nations, and multiple indicator profiles from the Fingertips Public Health Profiles database. Find a full list of sources here.