How the Iran War Could Push 23.4 Million Children Into Poverty—and Out of School

The Iran war’s most damaging consequences for children may occur far from the battlefield. Disrupted shipping linked to the Strait of Hormuz is contributing to higher energy and transport costs, while food and fertilizer prices put additional pressure on household budgets. For families already living close to poverty, those increases can turn school attendance into a financial trade-off against food, health care or income.

UNICEF’s warning is a projection, not a count of children already pushed into poverty. Its severe scenario estimates that up to 23.4 million additional children could fall into monetary poverty by the end of 2026 if the conflict and related economic disruptions continue. The analysis draws on data from more than 167 countries, and UNICEF says at least 80% of the projected increase would be in Africa and Asia.

How a shipping shock reaches the school gate

The economic pathway is indirect but cumulative:

1. Fuel becomes more expensive. Higher energy prices raise the cost of farming, irrigation, electricity, freight, public transport and household travel.
2. Food and fertilizer costs rise. More expensive inputs and shipping can increase the price of staples and reduce what families can buy with the same income.
3. Households cut spending. Families under pressure may reduce meals, delay health care or withdraw money from education-related costs such as transport, uniforms, supplies and school meals.
4. Public budgets come under strain. Higher import costs and weaker economic activity can reduce the fiscal room available for school grants, teacher salaries, meals, nutrition programs and social protection.
5. Aid becomes more expensive to deliver. Humanitarian agencies face higher logistics costs and funding pressure, potentially limiting cash assistance, food distribution, nutrition treatment and education support.

This is different from a formal school closure. Schools may remain open while children attend less often, arrive hungry, or stop attending altogether because the cost of getting there has become unaffordable. Rising fuel prices can also make it more expensive for teachers and school transport systems to operate.

Why poverty can quickly become an education crisis

When a household loses purchasing power, education is vulnerable because some costs are immediate while its benefits are distant. A family may keep a child enrolled in principle but be unable to pay for transport, materials, meals or other daily expenses. If income falls further, children may be expected to work, care for younger siblings or take on more domestic responsibilities.

The risks are not identical for every child. Economic distress can increase the likelihood of non-enrollment, irregular attendance and dropout, with gendered consequences: boys may face greater pressure to earn income, while girls may be pulled into unpaid care work or face increased pressure to marry early. These are heightened risks, not inevitable outcomes for every family.

The danger is that a temporary price shock can create permanent losses. Missing school can lead to learning gaps; inadequate food can harm health and concentration; and child labor or early marriage can make returning to education more difficult. UNICEF describes the potential impact as a threat to years of progress in reducing child poverty.

Africa and Asia face the largest projected burden

UNICEF’s estimate is concentrated in places where many households are already close to the poverty line. In such settings, a modest loss of income or increase in prices can be enough to push a family below the threshold for monetary poverty.

That exposure is especially important across Africa and Asia, which UNICEF says would account for at least 80% of the additional children in the severe projection. Imported fuel, fertilizer and food costs can affect both household finances and the public services on which poorer families depend.

Bangladesh illustrates how national and household pressures can overlap. A UNICEF analysis reported that prolonged economic disruption could push an estimated 1.2 million additional people in Bangladesh into poverty, while the wider global projection reaches 23.4 million children under the severe scenario.

In northern Nigeria, the shock is interacting with existing food insecurity and vulnerability. Health workers have reported more children relapsing into malnutrition and linked the worsening conditions to knock-on economic effects from the Middle East war. Malnutrition makes it harder for children to learn and attend school, while higher food and fuel prices further reduce families’ ability to cope.

What the 23.4 million projection means for families

The figure should be read as a warning about exposure, not as a prediction that every affected child will experience the same outcome. It shows how many children could be newly classified as living in monetary poverty if the severe scenario materializes. The analysis also indicates that many affected households are clustered just above the poverty line, making them highly sensitive to inflation and weaker income growth.

For families, the practical consequences could include:

• fewer or less nutritious meals;
• unaffordable transport to school;
• delayed medical care;
• children entering work or taking on additional care responsibilities;
• irregular attendance or withdrawal from school; and
• greater reliance on debt or other harmful coping strategies.

For children, the central risk is not only immediate hardship. Prolonged food insecurity, missed lessons and reduced access to health and education services can weaken future earnings and make poverty harder to escape. The longer shipping disruption, price increases and funding pressures continue, the more likely short-term coping decisions are to become lasting setbacks.

The policy test is whether essential services are protected

UNICEF has urged governments and institutions to protect social services, expand social protection and increase financial support to prevent children from falling deeper into poverty. Keeping children fed, enrolled and able to reach school is therefore not separate from the economic response; it is one of its most important tests.

The global impact of the Iran war will ultimately depend on how long the disruption lasts and how effectively governments and humanitarian agencies shield vulnerable households. But UNICEF’s projection makes the stakes clear: a conflict centered in the Middle East can transmit costs through energy and shipping markets until children thousands of miles away are asked to sacrifice food, education or their future.