New UNICEF Report shines a light on the challenging future projected for children in 2050

Extreme climate crises, population shifts, and tech disparities mean childhood ‘hangs in the balance’ unless urgent measures are adopted to protect children’s futures 

Toronto, 19 November 2024 – The future of childhood hangs in the balance if urgent action is not taken to safeguard children’s rights in a changing world, UNICEF warned in its flagship report released on World Children’s Day today.

The State of the World’s Children 2024: The Future of Childhood in a Changing World, projects how three major global megatrends will impact profoundly children’s lives by 2050 and beyond. The megatrends—demographic change, climate and environmental crises, and breakthrough technologies—provide key indications of the challenges and opportunities children may face over the next quarter of a century.

“It’s an historic election year with 2 billion people across 50 nations going to the polls, but children aren’t among those able to yet vote for their futures,” said UNICEF Canada President and CEO Sevaun Palvetzian. “We need leaders to ensure the rights of children are prioritized in plans and policies, and the voices of children and youth are meaningfully heard as these policies are formed.”

Today’s report captures a troubling future for children across all three megatrends:

• Between 2050 and 2059, climate and environmental crises are expected to become even more widespread and frequent, with eight times as many children exposed to extreme heatwaves, three times as many exposed to extreme river floods, and nearly twice as many exposed to extreme wildfires, compared to the 2000s. As a result, countries like Canada will need to take decisive action, putting children’s health and well-being at the center of climate policy and investment. 

• Demographics are also expected to go through drastic changes as trends indicate an aging global population. The share of children will drop below 40 per cent in Africa, down from 50 per cent in the 2000s, and below 17 per cent in East Asia and Western Europe, down from 29 per cent and 20 per cent of the populations, respectively, in the 2000s. Canada will be among these countries and is already being challenged to support aging populations while also meeting the needs and rights of children.

• Breakthrough technologies, like Artificial Intelligence (AI), offer both promise and peril for children. Many are already interacting with AI embedded in apps, toys, and learning software. In Canada, children are poorly protected from the harms of AI misuse including misinformation and privacy violation. The global digital divide is also stark. Today, over 95 per cent of people in high-income countries are connected to the internet, compared to nearly 26 per cent in low-income countries. 

November 20th - National Child Day in Canada

The report’s launch also coincides with important local action to mark National Child Day on November 20. 

At a time when children have no federal advocate, UNICEF Canada is bringing together leading youth advocates from across the country for its largest-ever Youth Advocacy Summit. Over November 19 and 20, young people will join their voices to call for urgent action on four major youth-identified issues impacting them today: education, healthcare, mental health, racism & discrimination. They will engage in critical discussions with key policymakers on how megatrends identified by UNICEF are already affecting their lives and call for solutions.

With eight million Canadian children and youth under 18 unable to vote in elections and facing down challenging global megatrends, there has never been a more crucial time for Canada’s decision-makers and adult influencers to pay closer attention to the country’s young voices. 

To show their support during National Child Day, Canadians are encouraged to use the hashtag #EveryRightForEveryChild on social media and download UNICEF Canada’s National Day Toolkit. 

For more information, visit unicef.ca/NationalChildDay.

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Notes to editors: 

Download The State of the World’s Children 2024.

Download multimedia content. 

Drawing on the megatrends and many other socioeconomic indicators, UNICEF commissioned the Wittgenstein Centre for Demography and Global Human Capital to analyze scenarios modeling how the world might look for children in 2050. The scenarios are possible outcomes, not predictions.