Statistics from World Without Orphans: A Focus on Caring for Orphans with a View to a World Without Orphans

Revised and Adapted

Kyiv, February 2013

www.worldwithoutorphans.org

1. These children, totaling 153 million, according to current estimates from UNICEF, live throughout the world…

2.  If we brought all these children together they would comprise the 7^th largest nation in the world…a veritable “Orphan Nation.” If all the orphans stood together, shoulder to shoulder, they would reach more than twice around the planet.

3.  Although 153 million children may seem like a staggering number, there are 2.1 billon Christians in the world today. If all would come together in their churches, with their families, and as individuals, we could address the orphan challenge and bring closure to this escalating crisis.

4.  Top ten countries by absolute number of orphans:

INDIA – 31,000,000

CHINA – 20,600,000

NIGERIA – 12,000,000

BANGLADESH – 4,800,000

ETHIOPIA – 4,800,000

INDONESIA – 4,700,000

CONGO – 4,200,000

PAKISTAN – 4,200,000

BRAZIL – 3,700,000

SOUTH AFRICA – 3,400,000

5.  Top ten countries by the percentage of orphans to the total population of children:

ZIMBABWE – 1,400,000 – 22.67%

LESOTHO – 200,000 – 20.99%

ZAMBIA – 1,300,000 – 20.73%

MOZAMBIQUE – 2,100,000 – 19.25%

SWAZILAND – 100,000 – 18.73%

SOUTH AFRICA – 3,400,000 – 18.49%

EQUATORIAL GUINEA – 45,000 – 18.22%

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC – 370,000 – 17.31%

LIBERIA – 340,000 – 16.86%

ANGOLA – 1,500,000 – 16.63%

6.  With 30,000 adoptable children in orphanages in Ukraine and over 30,000 Christian churches…if just one family in each church in Ukraine adopted an orphan, orphanages would be empty.

7.  The number of babies who were abandoned in birth hospitals [in Ukraine] decreased 50% in the last 4 years. That is unprecedented in Eastern Europe!

8.  50% of Christian churches around the world are aware of the orphan crisis in their community, nation, region, and around the world. 75% of churches in countries with national movements are motivated to action and equipped with the most effective strategies and resources to respond to the need.