PA
An international survey has found that education, food and the environment are the things that concern the world's children more than anything else.
The study was based on online interviews with 6,204 children from 47 nations in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Europe for the global Small Voices, Big Dreams survey.
Reuters reports that the young people were also quizzed about their aspirations and experiences with disasters and environmental concerns.
Half of children aged 10 to 12 in emerging nations said that education, followed by food, clothing and shelter were the areas they would focus on in their nation to improve the lives of other children.
The executive vice president of ChildFund International, a children's advocacy organisation, said that some of the results were surprising.
"We're always surprised and inspired to see how much emphasis children in developing countries put on education," said Steven Stirling, "It shows the depth of maturity of children, who clearly understand the connection between education and changing their worlds for the better."
For children in developed nations, providing food, clothing and shelter were the top responses, while concerns about the environment were cited by all the respondents.
Pollution was also a concern, despite the fact that one third or more of children in developing countries had experienced natural disasters such as floods, drought or fires – they still cited pollution as a major worry.
And while kids in poorer nations expressed worries about global warming, young people in rich countries did not list it as a concern.
Children from developing nations also differed from those in developed nations when it came to their career dreams for the future.
More than half of the children in developing countries said they wanted to go into teaching or healthcare as adults, while many of those in developed countries wanted to be professional athletes.
There was, however, an identical answer across the globe to the question 'what are you most afraid of?'
The answer?
Animals!