Children Affected by Armed Conflict, 1990–2016

The document estimates that in 2016, 1.35 billion children lived in conflict-affected countries, with 357 million living in 'conflict zones' defined as within 50 km of a lethal conflict event. Asia has the highest absolute number of affected children, while the Middle East has the highest proportional risk. The number of children in conflict zones has increased by over 50% since the 1990s, with nearly half living in high-intensity conflict zones in 2016. The authors highlight a critical lack of systematic data on direct harms like killing and maiming, urging increased investment in data collection and targeted policy interventions.

• In 2016, approximately 1.35 billion children under 18, representing 59% of all children globally, lived in conflict-affected countries, while 942 million lived in peaceful countries.
• The authors define 'conflict zones' as areas within a 50 km radius of a lethal conflict event; in 2016, approximately 357 million children (1 in 6) lived within these zones.
• Regional analysis for 2016 shows that Asia had the highest total number of children in conflict zones (166 million), but the Middle East had the highest proportional share at approximately 39%.
• Five countries accounted for 57% of all children living in conflict zones in 2016: India (over 50 million), Nigeria (44 million), Pakistan (40 million), Bangladesh (37 million), and the Philippines (20 million).
• The number of children living in conflict zones has risen by more than 50% since the early-to-mid 1990s, increasing from around 200 million to over 300 million, despite a stable number of countries experiencing armed conflict.
• In 2016, 46.2% of children living in conflict zones were located in high-intensity conflict zones, defined as those with 1,000 or more battle-related deaths in a year.
• There is a significant 'knowledge gap' regarding systematic data on direct harms to children, such as killing, maiming, child soldier recruitment, and sexual exploitation, which hinders rigorous large-n analysis.

APA

Bahgat, K., Dupuy, K., Østby, G., Rustad, S. A., Strand, H., & Wig, T. (2018). Children Affected by Armed Conflict, 1990–2016. Peace Research Institute Oslo. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/5ab8ff5b-9cd2-4a07-a434-8b58ad9982bf/Bahgat Dupuy Ostby et al- Children Affected by Armed Conflict Conflict Trends 1-2018.pdf?inline=true

Chicago

Bahgat, Karim, Kendra Dupuy, Gudrun Østby, Siri Aas Rustad, Håvard Strand, and Tore Wig. Children Affected by Armed Conflict, 1990–2016. Peace Research Institute Oslo, 2018. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/5ab8ff5b-9cd2-4a07-a434-8b58ad9982bf/Bahgat Dupuy Ostby et al- Children Affected by Armed Conflict Conflict Trends 1-2018.pdf?inline=true.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{bahgat2018children, author = {Bahgat, Karim and Dupuy, Kendra and Østby, Gudrun and Rustad, Siri Aas and Strand, Håvard and Wig, Tore}, title = {{Children Affected by Armed Conflict, 1990–2016}}, institution = {Peace Research Institute Oslo}, year = {2018}, url = {https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/5ab8ff5b-9cd2-4a07-a434-8b58ad9982bf/Bahgat Dupuy Ostby et al- Children Affected by Armed Conflict Conflict Trends 1-2018.pdf?inline=true}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }