Children pose for a photograph at the temporary settlement for IDPs in Idora. Image credit: Seifu Assegid / Save the Children
Globally, 4 out of 10 children live in poverty.
The poorest children are most at risk of disease, malnutrition and stunting. They’re more likely to miss school, or get a poor education. And there’s a greater chance they’ll suffer early marriage, violence or child labour.
But child poverty isn’t inevitable, as the story of Meera, below, shows.
Governments recognised this too. In 2015, over 160 national leaders signed up to 17 Sustainable Development Goals, targets that could end hunger, extreme poverty and preventable child deaths by 2030.
We're working tirelessly to make sure governments deliver.
We're also working to tackle child poverty in the UK. Child poverty isn’t just a problem in poor countries. Britain's one of the world’s richest countries, yet rates of poverty are rising, with serious implications for children's future life chances.
Key Facts: Global Child Poverty
Over 900 million children experience multidimensional poverty globally, facing deprivations in education, health, nutrition, and basic living conditions
412 million children live in extreme poverty in families struggling to survive on less than $3 a day
In the UK alone, 4.5 million children (31%) live in poverty, showing that child poverty affects both low-income and wealthy countries
In 2015, over 160 national leaders committed to 17 Sustainable Development Goals, including targets to end hunger, extreme poverty, and preventable child deaths by 2030
HOW WE'RE FIGHTING TO GIVE MEERA AN EDUCATION
Meera, 10, lives in a large marketplace in Delhi, India, with her mother and her two younger sisters. They sleep under a piece of plastic on a blanket amongst other families.
Meera has spent most of her life on the streets, begging for food.
Thanks to help from Save the Children and other local partners, she's recently been able to start going back to school after being supported by a shelter for homeless families, funded by Save the Children via local partners.
The shelter now allows Meera to go to school in the mornings and spend her afternoons playing in and around the shelter with her friends.
How serious is the problem?
- More than 850 million children experience multidimensional poverty, facing deprivations in critical areas like education, health, nutrition, and basic living conditions
- On current trends, around 750 million children are still living in multidimensional child poverty across low- and middle-income countries in 2030
- 412 million children live in families struggling to survive on less than $3 a day (also called extreme poverty)
- More than three-quarters of children in extreme poverty live in Sub-Saharan Africa
- More than half of children in fragile and conflict-affected countries live in extreme poverty
How are we helping?
Here's a few of the things we're doing:
Raising awareness and influencing decision-maker: Together with the Global Coalition to End Child Poverty, we ensure that ending child poverty remains on the forefront of policymakers’ minds worldwide.
Providing better data: Together with UNICEF, we improve how child poverty is measured across the world. The Child Atlas helps to visualise, analyse and understand children’s outcomes around the world, including on child poverty.
Campaigning for policies to reduce child poverty: We advocate to governments and international partners to prioritise investments in social sectors and inclusive social protection – proven pathways we know reduce child poverty.
Nigeria: Protecting children from extreme poverty with cash transfer and first-ever social protection policies.
Yemen: Working towards greater resilience in the face of crisis through helping families access cash support for immediate hunger, learn different livelihoods to earn more income, and make community networks stronger.
Siera Leone: Empowering families to plan for and cope with climate change by teaching farmers and fishers new practices, enhancing food value chains, promoting sustainable resource use and management, and conserving and restoring mangroves for.
Malawi: Tackling malnutrition by testing approaches to complement cash transfers, including teaching farmers new climate-resilient techniques, strengthening savings groups to ensure families have access to finance, and supporting mothers’ mental health and well-being.
Madagascar: Improving families’ income and resilience to shocks and preventing child rights’ violations in vanilla producing communities through training and systems’ strengthening. This includes supporting youth to establish small businesses and access sexual reproductive health services.
Frequently Asked questions about child poverty
What is child poverty?
Child poverty means children lack the basic necessities needed to survive and thrive.
It's measured in different ways: monetary poverty (living on very little money per day), multidimensional poverty (lacking access to education, health, nutrition, water, sanitation, and housing), and relative poverty (living in households with less than 60% of a country's median income). All forms of poverty rob children of their right to a healthy, safe childhood with opportunities to learn and grow.
How many children live in poverty globally?
More than 900 million children experience multidimensional poverty, meaning they face deprivations in critical areas like education, health, nutrition, and basic living conditions. Of these, 412 million children live in extreme poverty (on less than $3 a day). Without urgent action, around 750 million children will still be living in multidimensional poverty in 2030, falling short of the UN's Sustainable Development Goal to end poverty.
Where is child poverty worst?
Child poverty is most severe in Sub-Saharan Africa, where more than three-quarters of children in extreme poverty live. Conflict-affected and fragile countries have the highest rates – over half of children in these areas live in extreme poverty.
But child poverty exists everywhere: even in wealthy countries like the UK, 31% of children live in poverty, showing this is a global challenge requiring action in every country.
What causes child poverty around the world?
Child poverty has interconnected causes including conflict and instability, climate change and natural disasters, weak economies and lack of jobs, discrimination and inequality, inadequate access to education and healthcare, and insufficient government investment in social services. When families can't earn enough to meet basic needs, when droughts destroy crops, when wars force people from their homes, or when girls are denied education – poverty deepens and children suffer most.
How does poverty affect children?
Child poverty has devastating impacts. Poor children are more likely to die from preventable diseases, suffer malnutrition and stunting that affects development, miss school or receive poor-quality education, experience violence or exploitation, and face early marriage or child labour. Poverty robs children of their childhood, limits their potential, and creates a cycle where poverty passes from one generation to the next. Every child deserves the chance to survive, learn, and be protected – poverty denies them these fundamental rights.
What is Save the Children doing about child poverty?
We work in multiple ways to tackle child poverty. We provide direct support including cash transfers in Yemen so families can buy food and essentials, social protection policies in Nigeria, climate-resilient farming training in Sierra Leone and Malawi, and livelihoods support in Madagascar for vanilla-producing families. We campaign with the Global Coalition to End Child Poverty to keep this issue on policymakers' agendas. We work with UNICEF to improve how child poverty is measured through the Child Atlas. And we advocate for governments to invest in social sectors and inclusive social protection.
What are the UN's Sustainable Development Goals?
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are 17 targets adopted by over 160 national leaders in 2015, aiming to end hunger, extreme poverty, and preventable child deaths by 2030. These include goals to provide quality education for all children, ensure good health and wellbeing, achieve gender equality, and take urgent action on climate change. Save the Children works to hold governments accountable for delivering these goals, ensuring children aren't left behind as the 2030 deadline approaches.
Can child poverty really be ended?
Yes. Child poverty isn't inevitable – it's a political choice. We've seen dramatic reductions in child poverty in countries that prioritised investment in children, strong social protection systems, quality education and healthcare, and inclusive economic growth. Between 2000 and 2015, global extreme poverty rates were cut in half. But progress has stalled. With political will, proper funding, and evidence-based policies, we can create a world where every child has what they need to survive and thrive.
