We live in a world that is witnessing remarkable progress in multiple fields, such as technology, commerce, and medicine. On a global level, societies have declared shared aspirations and common goals, such as eradicating poverty and achieving equality. However, despite various achievements, there still remains a complex wave of social issues that could shatter the very foundation of society as a whole.
It is therefore important to shed light on these issues and how they could affect society. For instance, among multiple social issues, one of the most serious is inequality. The gap that divides the wealthy and the poor is widening, posing a threat to both social cohesion and economic stability while also limiting access to opportunities, quality healthcare, and education for some.
Furthermore, among the many global social issues, violence holds one of the top spots in various countries worldwide (not just developing nations but high-income countries as well), disrupting normal daily living and thus fracturing social unity. Homelessness and unemployment are other problems that affect societies.
But before we explore the most pressing social issues and analyze these multifaceted challenges, it is important to define what a social issue is.
What is a social issue?
A social issue or social problem is an unfavorable condition that has a negative impact on people’s personal or social lives or on various societal groups.
People may have different views about these issues and how they can be tackled more effectively. For example, a social problem might be best resolved by actions being applied to the issue as a whole as opposed to addressing each person as an individual case.
The list of major social issues is long, but we will focus on those that affect most people around the world.
Social issues examples: a quick overview
Violence – one of the biggest social problems in the world today
In a nutshell, violence is the use of force that is intended to cause harm, which can be either physical, psychological, or both (including gender-based violence). According to The Borgen Project, a popular non-profit organization aiming to eradicate poverty, violence represents one of the most significant social issues with the potential to seriously affect both people and entire societies. Violence has far-reaching effects; it can destabilize regions and be the cause of humanitarian catastrophes in areas with vulnerable communities.
Furthermore, when affected by violence, key elements of any society, no matter how prosperous, are weakened. For example, the business environment and schools become less safe, while instability hampers humanitarian efforts, undermines education, and perpetuates a cycle of crisis.
Brief statistics on violence from the United Nations
- About 80% of all homicide victims in the world are male, while about 60% of girls and women fall victim to violence and intimidation by intimate partners or family members.
- In 2021, there were around 320 fatal assaults in 35 nations against human rights defenders and journalists.
- Experts forecast that by 2030, the global homicide rate will fall by 19% compared to 2015, reaching 4.8% per 100,000 citizens.
- Gender-based violence saw a significant increase during COVID-19 as many women had to remain within the same four walls as their abusers. The post-pandemic period has done little to address this issue, according to the OECD, since globally, it is estimated that one in three girls and women over the age of 15 report experiencing at least one violent act in their lifetime.
The Global Study on Homicide 2023 from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime outlines that in 2021, the number of intentional homicide victims around the world was approximately 458,000.
Around 81% of victims were males and 19% females.
The data from the 2023 UN report also shows that:
- At least one in three homicides around the world occurred as a result of violent behavior from one of the intimate partners or family members.
- At least one in five people fell victim to another type of interpersonal homicide (attempt to solve a conflict, or as an outcome of a dispute between neighbors).
- Over 20% of all homicides around the world were the result of gang-related activities.
The largest number of homicide victims was registered on the African continent – 176,000, with the Americas coming second with more than 154,000 victims, Asia third with reported 109,000, and Europe, along with Oceania, registering the lowest number with 17,000 and 1,000 homicide victims respectively.
Number of homicide victims by region
It’s worth mentioning that Brazil and Nigeria (home to just 6% of the population in the world) accounted for 20% of all homicides worldwide.
The report also outlined that the top 10 countries that registered the most homicide victims in 2021, altogether, represented 58% of all victims in the world.
The map below shows the homicide rate by nation or region (2021 or the latest available year since 2016)
Source: UNODC
Homicide distribution by situational context (2021 or latest year available)
The percentage of homicides by situational context describes the share of a reported homicide type divided by the overall number of reported homicides.
What does the data for 2022 say?
In 2022, the number of homicide victims had decreased compared to 2021. However, overall, over the last couple of decades, the number of homicides fluctuated between 400,000 and 450,000. Also, a number of subregions have shown a decrease in homicides compared to the previous years. For instance, in Northern America the figure decreased by 5.4%.
But other regions, namely countries in the Caribbean, registered a considerable increase, mostly due to the spread and fragmentation of gangs vying for dominance of territory, access to weapons and ammunition, and crime and trafficking.
Between 2015 and 2021, around 700,000 people fell victim to organized crime.
Ecuador, for instance, registered a 407% spike in homicides in the 2016-2022 period, due to competing drug trafficking gangs’ increasingly brutal rivalry.
Homicide based on gender
Data shows that men were more often killed by strangers or acquaintances, with 11% being victims of a partner or a family member. However, this was not the case for women. Around 56% of them became victims of an intimate partner or family member.
Moreover, 40% of female homicide cases have no documented information regarding the victim-perpetrator relationship, which may imply that the true rate of domestic violence is higher than stated.
Total number and percentage of male and female homicide victims
Source: UNODC
Child abuse
More than 1.6 billion children are regularly subjected to violent abuse at home, says UNICEF.
Violence against children can be physical or psychological, and it happens in homes, educational institutions, communities, and online (cyberbullying).
Needless to say, the consequences of this violence are extremely severe: injuries (sometimes fatal), mental health issues (anxiety, depression), and sexually transmitted diseases.
These problems negatively impact children’s brain development. Child abuse victims are more likely to abuse dangerous substances, be more aggressive, and engage in criminal activity.
Najat Maalla M’Jid, the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children, stated that millions of children fall victim to physical, sexual, and psychological violence, which includes both offline and online spaces.
UNICEF states that every four minutes, a child loses their life due to violence and around 90 million children in the world today have faced sexual violence.
Statistics also show that:
- 650 million women and 410–530 million men today were victims of sexual violence as children.
- Annually, violence leads to 130,000 lost lives among young people under the age of 20.
- Seven out of 10 children who died from violence were aged 15 to 19, most of them boys.
- Around 550 million children live in families where the mother faces violence from an intimate partner.
Mental health
The World Health Organization claims that one of the most underestimated aspects of public health is mental health. Around one billion people around the globe have a mental disorder, with three million passing away due to alcohol addiction annually, and one person committing suicide every 40 seconds.
The impact of mental health goes beyond the person who suffers from a certain mental issue – it can disrupt communication, making it much more difficult for people to share their thoughts and feelings which may lead to social isolation – another major problem that affects older people.
Suggested reading: How important is mental health for society and the global economy?
The mental health conditions that affect people the most are anxiety and depression. Based on available statistics and analysis, these two mental health issues alone drain around US$1 trillion in global productivity annually, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
At the same time, just 9% of people suffering from depression receive proper treatment.
Mental health statistics:
- One in 100 people commits the act of suicide due to health issues, and for every life lost, there are 20 attempts.
- Suicide is the number-one cause of death among young people, says the World Health Organization.
- On average, countries spend only 2% of their health budgets on mental health issues.
- Developed countries boast around 60 mental health specialists per 100,000 people, while low-income countries have just one.
- Suicide is among the leading causes of death among individuals aged between 15 and 29. According to the World Health Organization, 73% of all suicides were registered in low- and middle-income countries.
- People suffering from mental health issues lose their lives prematurely, mainly as a result of preventable physical causes.
- Schizophrenia affects 24 million people worldwide, depressive disorders affect 280 million people, and over 300 million suffer from anxiety disorders.
If a person does not attempt to deal with their mental health, the consequences can be tragic with the mental issue worsening, leading to a weaker physical condition and even death. This is why mental health features on the list of major social issues and has been included in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
Source: World Mental Health Report, WHO
Inequality
Social inequality is a situation whereby specific groups of people lack access to financial and other opportunities because of their gender, race, and other characteristics.
The unfair lack of opportunities, which includes a lack of adequate healthcare access, has a serious impact on life expectancy, especially considering the fact that this can lead to an increase in poverty and crime rates, as well as lower education rates and environmental degradation.
This social issue undermines the feeling of fulfillment and self-worth, jeopardizes long-term social and economic progress, and hinders the fight against poverty.
Wealth inequality
Both the environment and society are suffering as a result of growing wealth disparity. Modifying the discourse surrounding wealth inequality may contribute to increasing public awareness and creating political pressure to take action.
This social issue is like an iceberg – it is larger than it first appears to be, with most of the problem hiding beneath the surface. This is primarily due to two factors:
1. Inequality increases poverty rates and insecurity, which makes life more difficult for those at the bottom. In addition, it exacerbates the disparities between other groups of people, such as those between men and women or between races and ethnicities.
2. Inequality undermines the principles of democracy and justice. Wealthy people can use their wealth to keep it secure and have an influence on certain institutions and people. This starts a vicious circle that perpetuates and widens inequity.
Based on data from the 2026 World Inequality Report from the Paris-based World Inequality Lab in collaboration with UNDP, wealth and income inequality are both rising globally.
Thus, today, the wealthiest 10% of the world’s population own around 75% of all personal wealth and 53% of all income.
Share of global income or wealth
Source: World Inequality Report
The report says that the wealthiest people in the world contribute much less to public finances. For the majority of people, effective tax rates increase, while for billionaires and centimillionaires (people who possess more than US$100 million in assets), effective tax rates drastically decrease. In addition to undermining tax justice, this strips society of the funds required for healthcare and education.
Education cost gap
According to the same World Inequality Report, the average education cost per child in sub-Saharan Africa is just 200 euros (US$234). In Europe, this figure is around 7,400 euros (US$8,655), and in North America and Oceania, 9,000 euros (US$10,500).
Such disparities shape life chances across generations, entrenching a geography of opportunity that exacerbates and perpetuates global wealth hierarchies.
Gender inequality
According to the Global Gender Gap Report 2025, the overall progress in tackling gender inequality is slow and uneven.
The data show that if the current pace continues among the 100 economies tracked since 2006, reaching full parity worldwide would require 123 years.
There’s not one nation that was able to reach full gender parity. The leading country, however, for the 16th year in a row, is Iceland, having closed 92.6% of its gap (this is the only nation to surpass 90%).
According to the Gender Gap Report 2025, women continue to be overrepresented in lower-paying, people-focused fields like healthcare (58.5%) and education (52.9%), and only 29.5% of senior managers with postsecondary education worldwide are female, which is a structural cause of gender wealth disparity.
On a global scale, women earn 20% less than men, says the UN Women report. Job segregation, care burdens, and persistent workplace discrimination all contribute to this trend.
Avoidable mortality
Avoidable (preventable and treatable) mortality refers to deaths that could have been otherwise avoided if certain actions had been taken. The best examples are the administration of vaccines or lifestyle changes such as avoiding excessive alcohol consumption and quitting smoking, as well as the prevention of injuries.
Did you know that 74% of all annual deaths worldwide that could have been avoided are due to ,non-communicable diseases (NCDs) including cardiovascular diseases and cancer? Most of these (86%) occurred in low- and middle-income countries.
Brief statistics on preventable deaths
- Timely healthcare can help to avoid more than 3 million premature deaths among people under the age of 75, according to 2019 data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
- Timely and effective cancer treatment (including for colorectal and breast cancers) could have helped to avoid 27% of deaths.
- Annually, 41 million people fall victim to NCDs (nearly 18 million from cardiovascular diseases, and over 9 million from cancers).
Homelessness
This social issue negatively affects people’s lives, forcing them to deal with a variety of issues every day, many more than a normal individual would face. When people do not have adequate living conditions, they are overwhelmed by obstacles that prevent them from accessing education and employment.
Only a handful of nations are an exception to the general trend of an annual increase in the number of homeless people, but living in a rich country or a healthy economy is no guarantee of being “homelessness immune”.
Did you know that there are over 150 million homeless people around the globe? Furthermore, today the world houses around 1.6 billion people who live in substandard housing such as slums.
Suggested reading: Homelessness statistics in the world: causes and facts report can be accessed.
Homelessness and global employment
The underlying causes of homelessness are closely linked to the status of global employment markets.
Based on the latest report from the International Labor Organization (ILO), entitled World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2025, about 402 million people around the world were missing out on jobs they wanted or needed. All of them can be divided into three groups:
- People who are unemployed but are looking for jobs: around 186 million.
- People who are able to work, but have stopped searching for a job, since they either feel discouraged or consider that there are no suitable jobs: 137 million.
- People who want a job, but due to certain responsibilities, like childcare or caring for family members, cannot find the time for a job: around 79 million.
Working poverty and informal employment have returned to pre-pandemic levels, with low-income countries facing the most difficulties in creating sufficient jobs.
The situation is especially alarming for young people. Upper-middle-income nations continue to have the greatest rates of youth unemployment, with 16% of young people unemployed. This group is particularly susceptible to housing instability.
If we add to the issue the numerous geopolitical tensions, high energy prices, and declining productivity, we end up with a slowing economic recovery, which in turn stagnates the already slow progress in tackling homelessness.
Water scarcity
Despite the fact that water is vital for all life on Earth, UNICEF states that around four billion people worldwide (more than half of the planet’s population) endure acute water shortages for at least one month each year, with the majority residing in locations with insufficient water sources.
Lack of water restricts people’s ability to practice basic hygiene procedures at home, at school, and in medical facilities. In addition, when there is a lack of water, sewage systems may malfunction, which in turn can lead to the spread of deadly diseases such as cholera.
According to UNICEF, by 2040, around 25% of all children in the world will be residing in regions that face extreme water scarcity.
Suggested reading: Water scarcity in rural Africa: who’s to blame? | Experts’ Opinions
Refugee crisis
Based on the latest available data from mid-2025 offered by the UNHCR – the UN Refugee Agency, the number of people forced to flee their homes reached 117.3 million (at the end of 2024, the figure stood at 123.1 million). The main reasons are conflict, violence, and human rights violations. By contrast, in 2022 this figure stood at 100 million.
Refugees make up 36.4 million out of the forcibly displaced people. Their number exceeds the figure registered in 2020 by 10 million, even though it’s a 1.2 million decrease compared to 2023.
In the period 2018-2024, annually, around 337,800 children were born as refugees.
Low- and middle-income nations became home to over 70% of the world’s refugees and those who require international protection. Around 25% of people found shelter in the least developed countries.
Almost 2 million refugees returned to their countries of origin during the first half of 2025, while 28,600 arrived through resettlement or sponsorship pathways.
The largest displacement crises
The war in Sudan
The World Health Organization states that the ongoing conflict in Sudan has led to around 11.5 million people being forced to leave their homes since the war began in 2023, among whom 7.2 million people are newly displaced internally. In addition, more than 21.2 million people face severe food insecurity.
The Syrian crisis
Throughout 2024, over 12 million people were forcibly displaced as a result of the ongoing conflict, which started in 2011. At the same time, natural disasters and worsening socio-economic and humanitarian situations aggravate the crisis. Today, around 90% of Syrians find it difficult to meet their basic needs.
Climate change as a social issue
Climate change is an environmental, economic, and social crisis under one umbrella. Extreme weather events that occur around the globe, including floods, droughts, and heatwaves, destroy homes, affect food production, and force communities to flee their homes.
But the impacts of climate change are not shared equally, with poorer communities and developing countries being hit the hardest, even though they contribute less to global emissions than developed nations.
Around 3.3 billion people in the world live in areas that confronted a record warm annual average in 2024, according to Berkeley Earth. Such extreme weather events affect billions of people who grow food, raise children, and want to stay healthy.
However, 2024 saw a 0.8% rise in total energy-associated CO2 emissions (one of the key reasons for global warming), reaching a record high of 37.8 Gt CO2, says the IEA.
Source: IEA
2024 was the first year in which, on average, the temperatures were 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels.
Poverty and hunger
826 million people (as of March 2026, 2021 purchasing power parities) are living in extreme poverty, which means surviving on less than US$3 a day, according to the World Bank.
At the same time, there’s little chance that the global community will be able to reach Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 1 of ending extreme poverty by 2030.
In fact, if the current pace carries on, the world will likely witness 600 million more people facing extreme poverty by 2050, says the World Bank.
Since poverty and hunger are strongly correlated, it’s worth noting that:
- Around 673 million people in 2024 faced hunger (in 2023, this figure stood at 688 million), based on data from UNICEF.
- Over 20% of Africa’s population (around 307 million people) faced hunger in 2024.
- Over 1 billion people on the continent cannot afford a healthy diet. The reasons are ongoing conflict, climate crises, and food price inflation, says the United Nations.
- Around 2.3 billion people in 2024 faced moderate or severe food insecurity.
- Stunting affects about 23.2% of children under five, and a 10% increase in food prices usually results in a 4-6% increase in severe child wasting, according to Action Against Hunger.
Racial discrimination
Racial discrimination, which is based on characteristics like ethnicity, color, or language, is one of the most prevalent grounds for discrimination against both men and women.
The data from the UN’s SDG Report 2025 indicates that globally, one in 5 people said they had encountered discrimination on grounds forbidden by international law. The least developed nations had the greatest rates, averaging 24.3%.
A UNESCO investigation into more than 600,000 articles on racism and discrimination released between 2021 and 2024 revealed that verbal abuse accounted for 34% of incidents, physical attacks for 18%, and systematic discrimination for 25%.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the biggest social issues today?
1. Violence, 2. Child abuse, 3. Mental health, 4. Inequality, 5. Avoidable mortality, 6. Homelessness, 7. Water scarcity, 8. Refugee crisis, 8. Climate change, 10, Poverty and hunger, and 11. Racial discrimination. What makes them “biggest” is their interconnectedness. For instance, conflicts and climate change deepen poverty, which leads to hunger and drives displacement.
What social issues affect young people most?
Young people today are mostly affected by mental health crises, unemployment, educational inequality, and online harassment.
How many social issues are there?
There is no fixed number. Social issues depict the current situations and inequities in each particular society. The definition of a social issue also changes; issues that were formerly thought to be personal, like workplace harassment or domestic abuse, are now commonly acknowledged as systemic problems that require public action.
Final word
The number of social issues that the world faces today is huge. Besides those mentioned in this article, there are other problems such as child marriage and child labor, limited access to technology and digital privacy issues, lack of affordable housing, and lack of employment and all of these have arisen in the digital age when the world is witnessing great technological advances. Shedding light on social issues can make people more aware of what is happening around the world and understand how to take action to make the world a better place.
