75 per cent of the world’s poorest children live in Sub-Saharan Africa - report

Children in Sub-Saharan Africa are disproportionately affected by extreme poverty, with a new joint report by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Bank revealing that the region accounts for three-quarters of the world’s poorest children.

In 2024, the findings show that over 311 million children in the region lived in households surviving on less than $3 (Sh388) a day, the revised global poverty threshold.

This is out of a total of 412 million children worldwide who lived in extreme poverty during the year.

“While Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is home to about 23 per cent of the world’s population of children, it has three-quarters (over 311 million) of all children living in extreme poverty,” reads the report.

In other words, the report suggests that in the year under review, the region was home to three in every four children living in households surviving on less than $3.00 a day.

Notably, the report describes the past ten years (2014–2024) as a “lost decade” for child poverty reduction in the region.

Instead of making progress, it says the region has seen a deepening of poverty, effectively increasing its share of global child poverty during a period when other regions made notable improvements.

Compared to other regions, South Asia and East Asia and the Pacific are estimated to have experienced important reductions in the child poverty rate over the period 2014–2024.

In South Asia, extreme poverty was cut by more than half in the last decade, with India seeing the largest reduction in the number of extremely poor children in the region.

On the other hand, extreme child poverty in the Middle East and North Africa region is projected to have increased over the same period, with the poverty rate projected to have almost doubled between 2014 and 2024, increasing from 7.2 per cent to 13.3  per cent.

Globally, child poverty has been on a steady, if slow, decline since 2014, when an estimated 507 million children lived in extreme poverty.

“However, the pace of poverty reduction among children has been slower compared to the general population. Children continue to be disproportionately affected, comprising more than 50 per cent of those in extreme poverty, although their share of the global population is just 30 per cent,” the report adds.

Commenting on the findings, Global Director, Poverty Global Department at World Bank, Luis Felipe López said extreme poverty among children has become increasingly entrenched in places where it is hardest to eradicate, calling for strategic approaches to address the concern.

“Economic growth is a necessary condition, though not enough to break this cycle. Stronger foundational investments in infrastructure, human capital and institutions are critical to ensuring these children have a clear pathway out of poverty,” López said.

On his part, George Laryea-Adjei, the Director of Programmes, UNICEF, said ending child poverty is a policy choice.

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“We must act with urgency to ensure all children access essential services, including education, nutrition, healthcare, and social protection, to build a future free from poverty.”