Afghanistan has been ranked last among 194 countries in the KidsRights Index 2026, as the Dutch-based foundation warned that children’s rights are facing growing pressure worldwide.
The index measures countries across five domains: life, health, education, protection, and the enabling environment for children’s rights.
Afghanistan was ranked 194th, with an overall score of 0.214. Luxembourg topped the list, followed by Iceland and Monaco, while Chad was listed as the second-last country.
Afghanistan’s weakest point was the enabling environment, where it scored 0.010. KidsRights says this domain looks at whether a country has the laws, budget, data, child participation, non-discrimination and civil society cooperation needed to implement children’s rights.
The country also scored 0.286 in education, 0.454 in life, 0.635 in healthcare and 0.549 in protection. KidsRights says its calculation means a very low score in one area cannot easily be covered by a better score in another.
KidsRights said children are facing growing threats from conflict, abuse and worsening health conditions.
Afghanistan’s authorities rejected the ranking.
Hamdullah Fitrat, Deputy Spokesperson, was quoted by Ariana News as saying, "The report is baseless and far from reality."
According to Ariana News, Fitrat said authorities were fully committed to ensuring children’s rights, including education and healthcare, and that the law banning child labour was being strictly enforced.
The findings come as UNICEF says Afghanistan remains in a severe humanitarian crisis.
The agency says 21.9 million people, including 11.6 million children, will require humanitarian assistance in 2026. UNICEF has also said more than 8.8 million Afghan children are exposed to at least three overlapping climate hazards.
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