#sowc2024

[childrensday]

Children in the world of 2050 - Urbanization.

With more children living in cities in the coming decades, ensuring urban areas are healthier and more secure is essential to building a better world.

The number of children who live in urban areas will rise by 33 per cent

Nearly 60 per cent of children globally are expected to live in urban settings.

Most urbanized: Latin America and the Caribbean with 84 per cent of children living in cities.

Least urbanized: Eastern and Southern Africa with only 45 per cent of children living in cities.

*Based on business-as-usual projections. Explore all future scenarios for urbanization in SOWC 2024, Chapter 2.

[childrensday]

The future of childhood in a changing world.

As we near the end of the first quarter of the 21st century, The State of the World’s Children 2024 looks ahead to the year 2050. It asks: How can we best secure a future where the rights of every child are realized – a world where all children survive, thrive and meet their full potential?

This report examines three powerful, long-term global forces – megatrends – that will profoundly impact children’s lives between now and 2050: demographic shifts, the climate and environmental crises, and frontier technologies. By understanding these trends and their implications for children, we can better grasp the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

Drawing on the megatrends and other socio-economic indicators, SOWC 2024 models how several potential pathways could shape how children experience the world of 2050. These scenarios are possible outcomes, not predictions: The future is ours to shape.

Children's perspectives are included through the voices of UNICEF U-Reporters and Youth Foresight Fellows.