Orphan Statistics, Facts and Figures 

Worldwide, SOS Children's Villages operates over 500 villages in 133 countries where we raise over 80,000 children.  Through our many education, family strengthening, medical, and outreach programs, SOS impacts the lives of over 1 million people each year.

  • Worldwide, an estimated 153 million children ranging from newborns to age 17 have lost one or both parents (UNICEF).
  • Every 2.2 seconds a child loses a parent somewhere in the world.
  • Every day 5,760 more children in the world become orphans.
  • By 2015 it is projected that there will be 400 million orphaned children worldwide.
  • HIV/AIDS alone has orphaned 15 million children, most of them in Sub-Saharan Africa.
  • In developing countries, more than one third of all children live in poverty.
  • In the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia, a total of 1.3 million children live in institutional care.
  • Millions of children all over the world have to cope with domestic violence - be it neglect, physical or mental punishment, emotional or sexual abuse.
  • The use of physical punishment as a way of bringing up children is still widespread. A UNICEF study covering 29 countries found that an average of 86% of the children in those countries has experienced physical punishment in their parents’ home.
  • Millions of children are refugees, asylum seekers, stateless and internally displaced by conflict, violations of their human rights, and natural disasters.
  • Only 60% of children of secondary school age currently attend a secondary or higher school. The remaining 40% either attend a primary school or do not go to school at all.

SOS Children’s Villages Facts, Figures and Statistics

SOS Provides Family-Based Care

  • 2,018 SOS Facilities and Programs worldwide benefit over 1,058,600 children and adults.
  • 518 SOS Children’s Villages worldwide benefit over 76,400 children and adults.

Family Strengthening

  • 607 SOS Family Strengthening facilities and programs (child day-care, community support, counselling services) benefit over 299,900 children and adults.

Education

  • 229 SOS Kindergartens, 186 SOS Hermann Gmeiner Schools, and 58 SOS Vocational Training Centers benefit over 148,000 children and adults.

Health

  • 72 SOS Medical Centers (mother-child clinics, HIV/AIDS treatment and counseling, counselling in child nutrition and hygiene, etc.) benefit over 455,500 children and adults.

Emergency Relief

  • In 2010 alone, 10 SOS Emergency Relief programs benefited over 129,700 children and families in countries including Haiti, Chile, Sri Lanka, Darfur, Niger, Pakistan, and Indonesia.