By 2024, the impact of armed conflict on children across the world has reached devastating and likely unprecedented levels, according to a new UNICEF analysis of the latest available data and current global trends.
New York/Paris, December 28, 2024 – The number of children living in conflict-affected areas or forcibly displaced by violence is estimated to be higher than ever. A record number of children see their rights violated and are notably killed or injured(1)out of school, deprived of life-saving vaccines or suffering from malnutrition. And these numbers are set to rise further. Conflict disrupts access to essential services, including clean water, food and healthcare, and accounts for almost 80% of all humanitarian needs worldwide.(2).
The world has never seen so much conflict since World War II.(3)more than 473 million children, or more than one in six children across the planet, currently live in an area affected by conflict(4). The global percentage of children affected has doubled, from 10% in the 1990s to nearly 19% currently.(5).
Forced displacement and increased vulnerability of children
At the end of 2023, 47.2 million children were displaced due to conflict or violence(6). Trends for 2024 show additional displacement caused by intensifying conflicts, including in the State of Palestine, Haiti, Lebanon, Myanmar and Sudan. Children make up 30% of the world’s population, but represent around 40% of refugee populations and 49% of internally displaced populations(7). On average, poverty affects more than a third of the population (34.8%) in countries in conflict compared to just over 10% in countries at peace.(8).
“By almost all indicators, 2024 was one of the worst years in UNICEF history for children caught in conflict, both in terms of the number of children affected and the “the extent of the repercussions of this situation on their lives”, asserts Catherine Russell, Executive Director of UNICEF. « A child growing up in a conflict zone is much more likely to be out of school, malnourished or forced to flee their home repeatedly than a child living in a peaceful country. This cannot become the new normal. We cannot allow an entire generation of children to become collateral victims of the uncontrolled wars ravaging the world.”
Serious violations and increased violence
According to the latest available data, which dates from 2023, the United Nations verified 32,900 grave violations perpetrated against 22,557 children(9), figures never seen since the start of monitoring mandated by the Security Council. As these serious violations appear to be intensifying around the world, as evidenced by the thousands of children killed in Gaza or the UN verification of a higher number of child deaths during the first nine months of 2024 than during the entire year 2023 in Ukraine(10), it is very likely that this year’s numbers will increase further.
The situation of women and girls is particularly worrying given widespread reports of rape and sexual violence in conflict-affected contexts. In Haiti, reports of incidents of sexual violence against children increased by 1000% this year(11). Children with disabilities in situations of armed conflict also tend to be disproportionately exposed to violence and violations of their rights.
Schools destroyed, future in danger
Conflict also has serious repercussions on education. According to estimates, more than 52 million children living in conflict-affected countries are estimated to be out of school. Children trapped in the Gaza Strip, as well as a considerable proportion of children in Sudan, have missed more than a year of school, while millions of children do not have access to learning in countries such as Ukraine, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Syria following the destruction, damage or repurposing of their school. The destruction of educational infrastructure and insecurity around schools have exacerbated the education problems faced by children living in these regions, where the situation was already critical.
Malnutrition and food insecurity
Malnutrition among children in conflict zones is also reaching alarming levels, while wars and armed violence continue to be the main causes of hunger in many hotspot areas, disrupting food systems, forcing populations to displace and obstructing humanitarian access. In Sudan, for example, famine conditions were established in North Darfur for the first time since 2017. By 2024, more than half a million people across five conflict-affected countries would be affected by the phase 5 of the Integrated Food Safety Classification Framework, the most extreme situation of food insecurity.
Impeded access to healthcare and essential vaccines
Conflict has a catastrophic impact on children’s access to life-saving health care. About 40% of unvaccinated or insufficiently vaccinated children live in a country partially or fully affected by conflict(12). These children are often the most vulnerable to outbreaks of diseases such as measles and polio, due to disruptions to and lack of access to security, nutrition and health services.
Mental health, a silent crisis
Conflict also has devastating effects on children’s mental health. Exposure to violence, destruction and the loss of loved ones can cause depression, nightmares and sleep disturbances, aggression or withdrawal as well as sadness and fear, among others. other reactions.
A dark year for humanitarians
The year 2024 will also be the deadliest year ever recorded for humanitarian workers with 281 deaths across the world.(13).
“Children in war zones have to struggle every day to survive and have no childhood,” deplores Catherine Russell. “Their schools are bombed, their homes destroyed and their families scattered. In addition to depriving them of security and preventing them from accessing the products they need to live, this situation deprives them of the possibility of playing, learning and having a normal childhood. The world is failing in all its duties towards these children. In 2025, it is imperative that we redouble our efforts to reverse the trend and save and improve lives. »
UNICEF calls on all parties to the conflict, as well as all actors who exercise influence over them, to take decisive action to end the suffering of children, to ensure respect for their rights and to fulfill their obligations under international humanitarian law.
(1) Annual report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict
(2) World Bank Group, World Bank Group Strategy: Fragility, Conflict and Violence 2020–2025, World Bank, February 2020
(3) PRIO
(4) Global Peace Index
(5) PRIO
(6) https://data.unicef.org/topic/child-migration-and-displacement/displacement/
(7) UNHCR Global Trends Report
(8) https://www.undp.org/libya/press-releases/11-billion-people-live-multidimensional-poverty-nearly-half-billion-these-live-conflict-settings
(9) https://childrenandarmedconflict.un.org/2024/06/2023-alarming-levels-of-violence-inflicted-on-children-in-situation-of-armed-conflict
(10) https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/unicef-executive-director-catherine-russells-remarks-united-nations-security-0
(11) https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/remarks-unicef-executive-director-catherine-russell-ecosoc-special-session-haiti
(12) https://www.unicef.org/fr/vaccination/vaccination-et-conflit
(13) https://www.unocha.org/news/un-relief-chief-decries-bullets-and-bombs-against-aid-workers
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Notes to editors:
Learn more about children in conflict and UNICEF’s program of action to protect children in armed conflict.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) is a global scale for classifying food and nutrition crises. More information on the CPI is available here.
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