UNICEF has released its annual “State of the World’s Children Report”.
Thirty years have passed since The State of the World’s Children began to publish tables of standardized global and national statistics aimed at providing a detailed picture of children’s circumstances.
Much has changed in the decades since the first indicators of child well-being were presented. But the basic idea has not: consistent, credible data about children’s situations are critical to the improvement of their lives – and indispensable to realizing the rights of every child.
Data continue to support advocacy and action on behalf of the world’s 2.2 billion children, providing governments with facts on which to base decisions and actions to improve children’s lives. And new ways of collecting and using data will help target investments and interventions to reach the most vulnerable children.
As usual, the report includes some incredible statistics on children’s development, education and how their rights are being upheld (or otherwise).
The site includes some fantastic interactive explorations of the numbers that make up the global picture for children. Some of the incredible statistics include:
- 1 in 5 children die before the age of 5 in Sierra Leone;
- In half of the world’s countries, 80% of children 2–14 years old have been subjected to violent discipline
The report is interesting to read alongside “Children’s Chances: How Countries Can Move From Surviving to Thriving”, which also presents a wealth of data on how countries are progressing with children’s rights.
Liam McNicholas 