There are roughly 2 billion children in the world today, using the common 0–14 age range definition for “kids.”

Quick numbers

  • Recent global estimates put the number of children (0–14 years) at just under 2.0 billion.
  • This is a bit under one quarter of the total world population.
  • Some child-focused sources round this up and state about 2.2 billion children worldwide , depending on the year and exact definition used.

Why the exact number varies

  • Different organizations define “kid” differently (0–14, 0–17, or 0–18 years), which changes the count.
  • Population is constantly changing because of births, deaths, and migration, so all figures are estimates , not a precise headcount.

Regional picture (very high level)

  • The largest share of the world’s children live in Asia and Africa , together accounting for well over half of all kids.
  • Many African countries have very young populations , with children making up more than half of all residents in some nations.

Bottom line: If you’re wondering “how many kids are in the world?” the best current estimate is about 2 billion children , with some sources using broader ranges and giving figures up to around 2.2 billion.

Information gathered from public data sources and estimates available on the internet and portrayed here.