A new report has ranked Australia the 15th-best country for children to grow up, a result that experts have called "disappointing".
The latest Save the Children Global Childhood Report found that while conditions for children have improved slightly over the past 20 years, Australia's teenage pregnancy rate remains too high.
It also found Indigenous Australian children are twice as likely to die during early childhood, and continue to have significantly lower school attendance rates than non-Indigenous children.
The Save The Children Report ranks Singapore as the country where children are best protected. Source: Save the Children
"I think actually many Australians would be disappointed with that outcome and actually be hoping for a much better prospect for our children," Save the Children Australia CEO Paul Ronalds told SBS News.
"Australia is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, we have a great environment, we have a well-functioning democracy, all the sorts of institutions are in place for our children to do well, but we've been stuck at around 15 now for many, many years.
"I think that's fundamentally due to our inability to tackle entrenched poverty."
Indigenous Australian children are twice as likely to die during early childhood. Source: AAP
Amnesty International Indigenous rights advocate Joel Clark said a lack of initiative from authorities to address the root cause of disparity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous children is to blame.
"What we're seeing is that Australia's governments act too late. They're reactive, they're not proactive," he said.
"They don't have positive plans for Indigenous children. What they should be doing is addressing education and health factors really early."
Australia's governments act too late Joel Clark, Amnesty International
Globally, the report found circumstances for children have improved in 173 out of 176 countries since 2000.
Singapore ranked first when it came to protecting and providing for children, followed by Sweden, Finland and Norway, with Slovenia rounding out the top five.
At the other end of the scale, South Sudan ranked 172nd, followed by Mali, Chad and Niger, with the Central African Republic found to be the country in greatest need of improvement.
South Sudan ranked last. Source: AAP
This year, an estimated 690 million children will be "robbed of their childhood" through child marriage, early pregnancy, exclusion from education, malnutrition and violent deaths.
Mr Ronalds said ongoing conflicts are a major concern.
"That's one of the few statistics where we've seen a decrease in the wellbeing of children. More children than ever before are impacted by conflict," he said.
"Nearly one in five of the world's children are now living in a conflict zone, and that's a higher number than we've ever seen before."
Save the Children said the conditions for children has improved in many countries. Source: Save the Children
Despite this, there is progress to be celebrated.
Children born today have a better chance than ever before to grow up healthy, educated and protected.
And compared to 20 years ago, there are 4.4 million fewer child deaths per year, 130 million more children in school and 94 million fewer child labourers.
