Scotland leads UK in child mortality

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A Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) study found 10.1 deaths per 100,000 children in Scotland in 2024.

The study also found that 24 per cent children aged four and five are overweight or obese, and 27 per cent had noticeable tooth decay, a figure unchanged since 2020.

And it confirmed the role of class, with rates of obesity and tooth decay in the poorest areas running at more than double that of the wealthiest.

RCPCH officer for Scotland Dr Lynn Macleod said: “It is unacceptable that Scotland also has the highest reported child mortality rate among the UK nations. 

“These outcomes are not inevitable. 

“We are calling on the Scottish government to deliver sustained investment and prioritise prevention, so that every child has the opportunity to grow up healthy.”

Insisting the government was taking “important steps,” health secretary Angela Constance said: “The death of any child is a tragedy and this report shows why we must embed a preventative approach to improving Scotland’s health and to eradicating child poverty.”