Child poverty | UNICEF

Children are more likely to live in poverty than adults. They're also more vulnerable to its effects. Skiptomaincontent SearchUNICEF Fulltextsearch Max Programme Childpoverty Childrenaremorelikelytoliveinpovertythanadults.They’realsomorevulnerabletoitseffects. UNICEF/UNI112437/Halle'n ProgrammeMenu Challenge Solution Resources Inrecentyears,theworldhasmaderemarkablestridesadvancingdevelopment.Yet,morethan700 millionpeoplestillliveinextremepoverty.Childrenaredisproportionatelyaffected.Despitecomprisingonethirdoftheglobalpopulation,theyrepresenthalfofthosestrugglingtosurviveonlessthan$1.90aday. Childrenwhogrowupimpoverishedoftenlackthefood,sanitation,shelter,healthcareandeducation theyneedtosurviveandthrive.Acrosstheworld,about1billionchildrenaremultidimensionallypoor,meaningtheylacknecessitiesasbasicasnutritionorcleanwater.Some 100millionadditionalchildrenhavebeenplungedintomultidimensionalpovertyduetoCOVID-19. Anestimated356millionchildrenliveinextremepoverty. Theconsequencesaregrave.Worldwide,thepoorestchildrenaretwiceaslikelytodieinchildhoodthantheirwealthierpeers.Forthosegrowingupinhumanitariancrises,therisksofdeprivationandexclusionsurge.Evenintheworld’srichestcountries,oneinsevenchildrenstillliveinpoverty. Today,oneinfourchildrenintheEuropeanUnionareatriskoffallingintopoverty. Nomatterwheretheyare,childrenwhogrowupimpoverishedsufferfrompoorlivingstandards,developfewerskillsfortheworkforce,andearnlowerwagesasadults. Yet,onlyalimitednumberofGovernmentshavesettheeliminationofchildpovertyasanationalpriority. Childpovertyfacts UNICEF’sresponse Childpovertyisneitherinevitablenorimmunetoeffortstoaddressit.Asmanycountrieshavealreadyshown,itcanbereducedandeveneradicatedthroughcontinuedattentionandaction. WiththeSustainableDevelopmentGoals(SDGs),nationsagreedforthefirsttimeinhistorytoendextremechildpoverty.TheSDGscallformultidimensionalchildpoverty–ameasureofpovertythatgoesbeyondincome–tobehalvedby2030,buildingaworldinwhichallchildrenhavewhattheyneedtosurvive,thriveandfulfiltheirpotential. Aspartofthiscommitment,UNICEFmobilizesactorsatthenational,regionalandgloballevelstohelpcountriesmeasureandaddresschildpovertyinallitsdimensions.WiththeWorldBank,weproduceglobalstatisticsonextremechildpovertythathelpguidepolicymakers.WealsoworkwithGovernmentsandpartnersonintegratedpoliciesandprogrammes,backedbytheresourcesneededtoputthemintopractice.Oureffortssupporttheexpansionofchild-sensitivesocialprotectionprogrammes,includinguniversalchildbenefits,whichhavebeenshowntopositivelyimpactchildren’shealth,educationandnutrition. Since2014,UNICEFhasplayedaninstrumentalroleindirectingglobalattentiontochildpoverty.TheGlobalCoalitiontoEndChildPoverty,chairedbyUNICEF,hasbecomeapowerfulinitiativeforraisingawarenessaboutchildpovertyandacceleratingglobaleffortstotackleit.Aspartofthecoalition,weproducedacomprehensiveguidetohelpcountriesreachtheSustainableDevelopmentGoalsforchildpoverty. MorefromUNICEF Pressrelease 09March2022 Twothirdsofhouseholdswithchildrenhavelostincomeduringpandemic Visitthepage Page Childpovertydata Datasetsandinteractivevisualizationsofchildpovertyindicators Visitthepage Blogpost Endingchildpovertyisapolicychoice Netflix’shitshow"Maid"istherealityforhundredsofmillionsofchildrenandtheirfamiliesaroundtheworld Readthestory Pressrelease 08December2021 COVID-19‘biggestglobalcrisisforchildreninour75-yearhistory’–UNICEF Visitthepage Resources Arecountriescommittedtoendingchildpovertyby2030?AreviewofVNRreportsfrom2017to2021 AReviewoftheUseofMultidimensionalPovertyMeasures AWorldFreefromChildPoverty:AGuidetotheTaskstoAchievetheVision  GlobalEstimateofChildreninMonetaryPoverty:AnUpdate SocialpolicyanalysistoinformtheCOVID-19response EndingExtremePoverty:AFocusonChildren PuttingChildrenFirst:APolicyAgendatoEndChildPoverty EndChildPovertyGlobalCoalition:ChildPovertyReports