Fast facts: children and the Syria regional crisis - 11 years on

Highlights

As we mark 11 years of conflict in Syria, UNICEF MENA prepared a factsheet highlighting the situation of Syrian children in Syria and in refugee-hosting countries.

• Over 90 per cent of people in Syria live in poverty.
• 85 per cent of internally displaced households have taken on more debt to cope with poor living conditions.
• The price of the average food basket increased by 97 per cent in December 2021 compared to December 2020.
• 12 million people (54 per cent of the population) are food insecure. An increase of 51 per cent since 2019.
• The value of Syrian currency dropped by 36 per cent since September 2020.
• Only 2 per cent of heads of households confirmed their ability to meet the basic needs of all members.
• Deteriorating living conditions are forcing families to adopt harmful coping mechanisms across Syria. Families are sending their children to work instead of school. Girls and boys face the risk of early or forced marriage.
• 17 per cent of internally displaced households report one or more out-of-school children in their household.
• One-third of the households report that children show signs of psychological distress.
• In Jordan, the COVID-19 crisis increased poverty by around 38 percentage points among Jordanians, and by 18 percentage points among Syrian refugees who were already in a worse situation.
• The region’s GDP recovery in 2021 has been at a slow rate, with Lebanon still suffering a loss of 8.5 per cent of its GDP.

Author(s)

UNICEF

Publication date

March 2022

Languages

English, Arabic