Archive · 17 Jun 2025
UNESCO Report: 272 Million Children Worldwide Out of School
Imagine there are a lot more kids and teenagers around the world who aren't going to school.
A new report says that about 272 million young people aren't in school, which is a lot!
This number has gone up recently.
Some of this is because more kids are being counted, and some of it is because there are more children in the world than we thought.
One big reason for the increase is a ban on girls going to school in Afghanistan.
Also, places that have wars or other problems make it harder to keep track of kids and make sure they get an education.
If countries don't improve, they might miss their goals for getting kids into school by a lot.
The report says we need to help these kids, especially in places where things are difficult.
The number of out-of-school children and youth globally has reached 272 million.
This is an increase of over 21 million compared to previous estimates.
The increase is attributed to new enrollment data and revised population estimates.
Conflict zones and areas experiencing demographic changes face growing education crises.
Countries are projected to fall short of their education targets by 75 million learners by 2025.
- Who
- Out-of-school children and youth.
- What
- The number of out-of-school children and youth has risen to 272 million globally.
- When
- The data is from a recent UNESCO report.
- Where
- Globally
- Why
- Due to new enrollment data, revised population estimates, and setbacks in education efforts.
Challenges to Education
Targeted Policy Focus
Education Goal
Challenges to Education
Increased out-of-school numbers highlight difficulties in reaching educational targets.
Targeted Policy Focus
While challenges exist, global education goals remain achievable through targeted policies.
- Out-of-school Population
- 272 million
- Increase from Previous Estimate
- Over 21 million
- Primary School-Age Children Out of School
- 11% (around 78 million)
- Lower Secondary Adolescents Out of School
- 15% (about 64 million)
- Upper Secondary Youth Out of School
- 31% (nearly 130 million)
- Projected Shortfall by 2025
- 75 million learners