Statistics · checked October 2026
Child Poverty Statistics (2026)
How many children live in poverty, where, and what it means for the two youngest cohorts.
Children are consistently the poorest age group in almost every country that measures poverty by age, and roughly one in six children worldwide lives in extreme poverty.
| Statistic | Figure | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Children in extreme poverty worldwide | ~1 in 6 | 2025 | UNICEF / World Bank |
| Share of the extreme poor who are children | Roughly half | 2025 | World Bank |
| Children are the poorest age group in | Almost every country that measures by age | 2025 | OECD / UNICEF |
| Region with the highest child poverty rate | Sub-Saharan Africa | 2025 | World Bank |
| Cost of a childhood, lowest profiled | ~$7,000 (DR Congo) | 2025 | AlphaBetaMinds dataset |
| Cost of a childhood, highest profiled | ~$310,000 (United States) | 2025 | AlphaBetaMinds dataset |
| Lowest secondary completion profiled | ~9% (Central African Republic) | 2025 | UNESCO |
| Countries where the child population grows fastest | DR Congo, Central African Republic, Angola, Nigeria, Tanzania | 2040 projection | UN WPP |
Why this page sits next to the others
Every statistic on this site about screens, AI toys and digital childhood describes children who have electricity, a device and a connection.
The countries with the fastest-growing child populations are largely the ones with the lowest secondary completion and the lowest connectivity. Publishing the screen-time page without this one would be a distortion.
Frequently asked
How many children live in poverty?
Roughly one in six children worldwide lives in extreme poverty, and children make up about half of all people in extreme poverty.
Are children poorer than adults?
Yes, in almost every country that measures poverty by age group. It is one of the most consistent findings in the field.
Where is child poverty highest?
Sub-Saharan Africa, which is also where the child population is growing fastest.
AlphaBetaMinds (2026). Child Poverty Statistics. Retrieved from https://alphabetaminds.com/statistics/child-poverty-statistics