This report highlights the array of dangers adolescence face: the injuries that kill 400,000 of team each year; early pregnancy and child birth, a primary cause of death for teenage girls; the pressures that keep 70 million adolescents out of school; exploitation, violent conflict and the worst kind of abuse at the hands of adults. It also examines the dangers posed by emerging trends like climate change, who’s intensifying effects in many developing countries already undermine so many adolescents’ well being and by labour trends, which reveal a profound lack of employment opportunities for young people, especially those in poor countries. Through a wealth of concrete examples, the state of the world’s children 2011 makes clear that sustainable progress is possible. It also draws on recent research to show that we can achieve that progress more quickly and cost-effectively by focusing first on the poorest children in the hardest to reach places.