Asthma rates among British and Irish children are the highest in the world, with over a third of 13 and 14 year olds suffering from the illness.
A new report by the Global Initiative for Asthma said more than ten million people in Britain, Ireland and the Channel Islands had the illness.
British and Irish children were up to three times more likely to have asthma than children in France, Germany or Italy, it said.
The report did not make clear the reason behind the rapid rise but said researchers were looking at factors such as the environment, diet and genetics.
The condition is responsible for around 1,500 deaths in Britain and Ireland and 75,000 emergency hospital admissions each year, the report said.
"These new figures highlight the seriousness of asthma in the UK, and in particular childhood asthma, yet there is a severe lack of government-funded research," Professor Martyn Partridge, chief medical adviser to the National Asthma Campaign, said.
"We must find out what is switching on asthma in more susceptible individuals now, compared with 30 years ago."
The full report, due to be published on World Asthma Day in May, was compiled using asthma statistics from studies around the world, including the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood.