Today, both developed and developing countries are facing the problem posed by street children. The world often tries to forget or ignore them, and sometimes even denies they exist. As the big cities grow, so will the number of street children; so deprivation which begets frustration which begets violence will also grow; and so a worldwide socioeducational problem emerges. No country and virtually no city anywhere in the world can escape the presence of these so-called street children. In this article the phenomenon of street children as a rapidly growing socioeducational challenge is analysed.