The profile of world poverty is changing dramatically. This briefing paper focuses on one of the most troubling but least explored aspects of that change: a marked increase in the share of global extreme poverty accounted for by children in Africa.

Children in Africa will on current trends account for 43% of global poverty by 2030, almost double the current share, due to a combination of demographic change, deep poverty and extreme inequality, warns a new report from the Overseas Development Institute.