Children facing bleak, uncertain future, warns UN agency

Demographic shifts, worsening climate change and rapid technological transformation risk creating a bleak future for youth in the mid-21st century, the UN agency for children warned this week in an annual report.

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"Children are experiencing a myriad of crises, from climate shocks to online dangers and these are set to intensify in the years to come," Catherine Russell, executive director of Unicef, wrote in a statement marking the release of the agency's annual report.

"Decades of progress, particularly for girls, are under threat." This year, Unicef uses its report to project forward to 2050 identifying three "major trends" that in addition to conflicts pose threats to children unless policymakers make changes.

The first risk is demographic change, with the number of children expected to remain similar to current figures of 2.3 billion, but they will represent a smaller share of the ageing global population of around 10 billion.