One third of teens worldwide suffer bullying: UNESCO

One out of three teenagers worldwide had been victims of bullying in schools, according to data released on Monday by UNESCO's Institute Statistics (UIS).

According to UIS, the official data source for the Sustainable Development Goal on education, boys were slightly more at risk of bullying in schools than girls, with more than 32 percent of male teens being bullied compared to 28 percent of girls.

The data, which did not include sexual or other forms of gender-based violence, showed that bullying affects children everywhere, across all regions and countries of different income levels.

UIS also noted that low socio-economic status was " main predictor of whether young teens in wealthy countries will experience bullying in schools", adding that immigrant youth in wealthy countries were more likely to experience bullying in schools than locally-born youth.

"Data are the key to change. They can reveal who is affected by bullying and point the way to better programming by both national governments and international and non-government organizations," said UIS director Silvia Montoya.

"Over time, trends can point out whether interventions are working. Ultimately, the more knowledge we have, the more we are able to channel resources to children who need help the most," she added.