Malta remains among the best countries worldwide for children’s well-being though it has registered only slight progress in the past two decades, according to a major report.

Save the Children said in its Global Childhood Report that conditions had improved in 173 out of 176 countries, with Singapore ranking as the country that best provides for children.

With 961 points out of a possible 1,000, Malta was ranked 32nd, placing among countries where very few children missed out on childhood because of sickness, deaths, child marriage, early pregnancy or no schooling.

The ranking places Malta above several developed countries, including the US, Russia and China, but behind all EU member states with the exceptions of Bulgaria and Romania, which both ranked lower.

Moreover, Malta’s relative progress since 2000, a slight seven-point improvement, was among the slowest in the world. Only five countries had smaller gains and three regressed.

690 million children still missing out on their childhood

This relatively slow progress meant Malta was leapfrogged in the rankings by eight EU member states (among other countries) that had been ranked lower two decades ago.

Globally, Save the Children estimated that 690 million children were still missing out on their childhood, down from 970 million in 2000.

Sierra Leone, Rwanda and Ethiopia were cited as countries that had significantly improved the lives of children over the past two decades.

The NGO found that child deaths dropped and there were 49 million fewer stunted children, with China and India accounting for more than half of the global decline.

Of the eight indicators used by Save the Children to measure progress for children, only one was on the rise ‒ the number of displaced children from conflict. Some 420 million children live in conflict zones, more than double the number in 1995.

After Singapore, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Slovenia, Germany, Ireland, Italy, South Korea and Belgium were listed as the top 10 countries where children are the most protected.

The Central African Republic ranked last at 176, just below Niger and Chad.

“While progress has been remarkable, we now need to ensure every last child receives the childhood he or she deserves,” Save the Children CEO Carolyn Miles said.

“These findings make a powerful case for more investment in child-sensitive development – from strengthening legal frameworks, to improving health systems, to empowering teenagers to make life choices that set them on a path to realise their full potential. It all counts,” she noted.