Some 16 percent of children aged 11 to 15 were cyberbullied in 2022, up from 13 percent four years ago, a WHO Europe report covering 44 countries said on Wednesday, AFP reported.

Fifteen percent of boys and 16 percent of girls reported being cyberbullied at least once in recent months, according to the study, entitled "Health Behavior in School-aged Children".

The UN agency noted that the pandemic has changed the way adolescents behave towards each other.

"Virtual forms of peer violence have become particularly relevant since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, when young people's worlds became increasingly virtual during times of lockdown," the report said.

Other bullying has remained largely stable with just a slight increase.

Eleven percent of boys and girls reported being bullied at school at least two or three times a month in the past couple of months, compared to 10 percent four years ago.

The highest levels of cyberbullying were experienced by boys in Bulgaria, Lithuania, Moldova and Poland, while the lowest levels were reported in Spain, the WHO said.