70 per cent of children in Ukraine lack access to basic goods and services as material deprivation soars

ROME, 10 July 2025 – Around 70 per cent of children in Ukraine - or 3.5 million - now lack access to basic goods and services, including adequate food or shelter, according to new data published today by UNICEF. This proportion of children experiencing ‘material deprivation’ increased from some 18 per cent in 2021, prior to the escalation of the war in February 2022.

Material deprivation is a stark indicator of poverty and includes a lack of access to nutritious food, appropriate clothing, heating at home, and educational materials, among other essentials. It deprives children of a minimum standard of living and affects their long-term development, education, health, and future opportunities.

“The war in Ukraine continues to devastate the country’s children. Investing in them and the services they rely on, is the best way to secure Ukraine’s future,” said UNICEF Executive Director, Catherine Russell. “The ongoing humanitarian response is tailored to meet immediate needs while supporting lasting results. But it must not be at the expense of investing in Ukraine’s long-term recovery that will benefit children today and generations to come.”

Some 2,786 children have been killed or maimed since February 2022. A third of Ukraine’s children live in homes without functioning water supply and sewage and nearly half of children lack access to an area to play at home or outside. Continued and relentless attacks on critical water, sanitation, and energy infrastructure, children’s homes, schools and healthcare facilities, combined with rising poverty, have caused an increase in material deprivation.

Ukraine is also facing serious demographic challenges, with a 35 per cent birthrate decline and millions of women and children having fled the country.  

Continuous access to quality and inclusive social services, education and health care for all children and their families is essential, especially for children living near the frontlines, children with disabilities, those in institutions and foster families, and children displaced from their homes. 

“The opportunity to protect and nurture Ukraine’s children and young people - from the early years through adolescence – is now. The country’s future depends on it,” said Russell.

“We must put children, their education, safety, health and development, at the heart of Ukraine’s recovery. This means investing in early childhood development, quality education, and providing young people with the skills they need to succeed. Above all, Ukraine’s children must be protected from further harm. They need peace.”

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Notes to editors:

Child-specific material deprivation directly refers to the deprivation of children of basic goods and services necessary to maintain a life at the level of minimum social standards.

Child-specific material deprivation is a special indicator calculated every three years based on data collected through the triennial EU-SILC module on children (first conducted in 2021). The data is calculated using 17 indicators of deprivation. A child is considered to be in a state of deprivation if he or she experiences a severe lack of at least three of these 17 indicators.

UNICEF and partners analyzed data from a wide range of sources to assess findings across the 17 indicators.