UNESCO: 273 Million Children Out of School Worldwide in 2024
A report by UNESCO revealed that the number of children, adolescents, and youth out of school has been rising again since 2015, reaching 273 million in 2024—approximately 17% of the global school-age population.
The report noted that after a 33% decline between 2000 and 2015, out-of-school numbers have increased for the seventh consecutive year, marking a 3% rise since 2015. This indicates that the issue of educational exclusion is worsening, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.
It concluded that the “highly ambitious” goal of achieving universal access to secondary education will not be met by 2030. At the current pace, the world is not expected to reach a 95% completion rate in upper secondary education until 2105.
The report also suggested that the actual number may be at least 13 million higher due to incomplete data from countries affected by humanitarian crises. It added that out-of-school children are often girls hindered by discriminatory norms, children from poor families unable to afford education, or youth living in conflict, displacement, or unsafe areas, as well as those facing inadequate schooling conditions.
Despite these challenges, the report highlighted continued global progress in education. In 2024, around 1.4 billion students were enrolled in school—an increase of 327 million compared to 2000 in primary and secondary education (+30%), alongside a 45% rise in pre-primary education and a 161% increase in post-secondary education.
However, some countries have made significant progress, reducing out-of-school rates by 80% or more since 2000. These include Madagascar and Togo for children, Morocco and Vietnam for adolescents, and Georgia and Turkey for youth.
The report also pointed to improvements in completion rates since 2000: primary education rose from 77% to 88%, lower secondary from 60% to 78%, and upper secondary from 37% to 61%. This progress has been largely driven by legislation, with the number of countries mandating 12 years of education tripling over the past 25 years.
