UNESCO revises data: 272 Million Children Are Right Now Left Behind in Education

UNESCO’s latest data show that 272 million children and youth are out of school worldwide. That is more than one in six learners from primary to upper secondary level. For anyone working on sustainability, inequality, skills or digital inclusion, this is the key to understand.

This article updates the earlier article – which said that 249 million children were left behind in education – with the new 2025 SDG 4 Scorecard and GEM out-of-school data.

In this updated version I will explain:

• what this means for anyone designing education or skills projects today
• how the global estimate moved from 249–251 million to 272 million
• who these children are and where they live
• how this links to completion, learning poverty, skills, TVET and digital skills
• what governments have actually pledged to do by 2030

Below we offer you the most important results published in said report. All data in this updated article is based on UNESCO, UNESCO Institute for Statistics, UN SDG reports, World Bank learning-poverty work and EU statistical releases, and it was cross-checked via at least three independent references where possible.

From 249 Million to 272 Million: Why the Numbers Changed

When the original WINSS article was published in 2024, it drew on UNESCO’s World Education Statistics 2024 and related materials that pointed to around 249–250 million children and youth out of school. Those figures were confirmed in a September 2023 UNESCO explainer, which stated that the global number of out-of-school children had risen by 6 million since 2021 to reach 250 million.

In October/November 2024, the Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report 2024 updated this estimate to 251 million and stressed that the global out-of-school population had fallen by only 1% in nearly ten years.

In 2025, UNESCO and the UNESCO Institute for Statistics released the 2025 SDG 4 Scorecard, focused specifically on the out-of-school rate. Using new UN population projections and a refined statistical model, they revised the estimate sharply upwards: 272 million children, adolescents and youth were out of school in 2023 – 21 million more than previously estimated.

A companion analysis notes that when you add 10 crisis-affected countries with no recent data, the true total may be about 285 million, as those missing countries are estimated to contribute an additional 13 million out-of-school children and youth.

Nearly a decade after SDG 4 was adopted, global progress on getting children into school is almost flat.

How the global out-of-school estimate has shifted

Reference point	Out-of-school children & youth (millions)	What changed
2021	244	Back-calculated from UNESCO statement that numbers rose by 6 million to reach 250 million in 2023
2022	250	New data showed a jump largely driven by exclusion of girls and young women from education in Afghanistan
2023 (earlier estimate)	250–251	Used in WES 2024 & GEM 2024; became the “249–251 million children left behind” narrative
2023 (revised 2025 Scorecard)	272	New model using updated UN population projections and revised country data, particularly Afghanistan
2023 (including 10 crisis countries)	≈285	Scorecard notes at least 13 million additional out-of-school children in crisis contexts without recent data

Who Are the 272 Million Children Out of School Worldwide?

UNESCO’s updated out-of-school rate page breaks the 272 million down by age group:

Out-of-school children and youth by level of education (2023)

Level of education	Out-of-school (millions)	Share of age group	Share of total out-of-school population
Primary	78 million	11% of primary-age children are not in school	≈29%
Lower secondary	64 million	15% of lower-secondary-age adolescents	≈24%
Upper secondary	130 million	31% of upper-secondary-age youth	≈48%
Total (primary to upper secondary)	272 million	16% of all school-age children and youth	100%

Two points stand out:

1. Almost half of the out-of-school population are older adolescents in upper secondary education. These are young people closest to the labour market and to climate- and conflict-related migration.
2. Even at primary level, where SDG 4 set the clearest universal access target, one in ten children worldwide is still out of school.

Earlier UNESCO data for 2022, when the total was 250 million, showed that 122 million – 48% – of out-of-school children and youth were girls and young women, with particularly large gender gaps in some regions. A global gender breakdown for the revised 272 million has not yet been published, but country and regional profiles confirm that girls remain disproportionately excluded in many low-income and fragile contexts.

Where Are Children Left Behind – and Why?

UNESCO’s updated analysis makes the distribution of out-of-school children very clear.

Out-of-school children and youth by country income group and region

Dimension	Indicator	Key figure
By income group	Out-of-school rate in low-income countries	36% of children and youth are out of school
	Out-of-school rate in high-income countries	3% of children and youth are out of school
By region – share of global out-of-school population	Sub-Saharan Africa	≈39% of all out-of-school children and youth
	Central & Southern Asia	≈34% of all out-of-school children and youth
	Other regions combined (Latin America & Caribbean, Eastern & South-Eastern Asia, Northern Africa & Western Asia, Europe & Northern America, Oceania)	≈27% of all out-of-school children and youth

Sub-Saharan Africa and Central & Southern Asia now account for nearly three-quarters of all children out of school worldwide, consistent with the data in our previous article.

The reasons differ by context, but a few consistent patterns emerge across UNESCO and UN SDG reporting:

• Poverty and unpaid work: children, especially in rural areas, are pulled out of school to support household income or unpaid care work.
• Conflict and displacement: Afghanistan’s education crisis alone explains a large part of the recent jump in global out-of-school numbers, particularly for girls.
• School fees and indirect costs: uniforms, transport and exam fees still block access even where primary schooling is officially free.
• Language, disability and discrimination: children with disabilities, minority language speakers and displaced children face structural barriers into mainstream schooling.
• Weak education finance: public education spending remains around 4.2% of global GDP, below what’s needed in many low-income countries, while aid to education has fallen as a share of total aid.

The children most likely to be out of school are poor, live in low-income or fragile countries, and frequently belong to marginalised groups.

Completion, Learning Poverty and the Quality Gap

Access is only part of the story. The SDG 4 framework also tracks completion rates and learning outcomes.

Between 2015 and 2021, UNESCO data show that completion rates did improve, but slowly: primary from 85% to 87%, lower secondary from 74% to 77%, and upper secondary from 54% to 59%. Updated UN SDG reporting for 2025 suggests similar patterns, with global completion still well short of universal.

At the same time, learning poverty – children unable to read and understand a simple text by age 10 – remains very high:

• In low- and middle-income countries, about 70% of 10-year-olds are in learning poverty studies show, up sharply from pre-COVID levels.
• In sub-Saharan Africa, estimates point to around 9 in 10 children being unable to read with basic comprehension by age 10.

This means that even where children are technically “in school”, they often do not acquire foundational reading and numeracy skills, undermining the promise of SDG 4 and limiting future options for work, health and participation in climate and sustainability transitions.

For any programme designer, this has two direct consequences:

1. Enrolment alone is not a reliable success indicator. You need metrics for completion and basic proficiency (reading, numeracy, digital) by age and grade.
2. Interventions focused on early-grade reading and numeracy – plus teacher training and instructional materials – are central to reducing both out-of-school numbers and learning poverty.

Skills for Employment: TVET, Tertiary and NEET Youth

UNESCO’s education statistics also show a huge gap between basic education and the skills systems that should connect young people to decent work. A conclusion that aligns our own conclusions if you read us regularly.

Tertiary education

• Globally, the tertiary gross enrolment ratio (GER) more than doubled from 19% in 2000 to around 43% in 2023.
• This confirms an earlier WES 2024 pattern from the original article: tertiary participation has grown, but access remains heavily skewed towards middle- and high-income countries and richer households.

Technical and vocational education and training (TVET)

The original 2024 UNESCO-based analysis highlighted that only about 10% of youth are in vocational programmes globally, with large regional and gender gaps. That figure still accurately captures the small share of youth who access structured TVET, especially in low- and lower-middle-income countries.

Despite strong policy rhetoric around green skills and energy transition, TVET remains under-funded and poorly linked to labour-market demand in many countries. This matters because:

• Green infrastructure, sustainable agriculture and circular-economy projects all need technicians, installers, mechanics and operators, not only university graduates.
• Without accessible, high-quality TVET pathways, adolescents who complete lower secondary often have no realistic route into formal work or sustainable livelihoods.

Youth not in education, employment or training (NEET)

UNESCO and ILO data point to a persistent group of young people aged 15–24 who are neither in education nor in employment or training (NEET). In 2024/2025, the global NEET population is estimated at around 267 million youth, with particularly high rates in some regions.

When you combine 272 million children out of school worldwide, and around 267 million NEET youth, you get a picture of a very large cohort at risk of long-term exclusion from both education and decent work.

For sustainability, this matters because these are the same generations expected to deliver climate adaptation, energy transitions, food-system reforms and care-economy expansion. If they are not in education, training or decent work now, those transitions will stall.

The Digital Skills Gap: A New Layer of Exclusion

Digital skills now sit at the intersection of education, employment and civic participation.

The original UNESCO-based article on WINSS drew on WES 2024 to show that only around 40% of youth and adults reach at least a minimum level of proficiency in digital literacy globally, with sharp regional and age gaps.

More recent regional data underline the scale of the challenge:

• In the European Union, often seen as relatively advanced, just 55% of adults aged 16–74 had at least basic digital skills in 2023 data shows.
• EU-level policy targets aim for 80% of adults with basic digital skills by 2030, but current trajectories suggest this will not be met without major changes.

Several lessons follow for the wider global context:

1. Digital access is not enough. Even in high-connectivity regions, large shares of adults and older youth lack basic skills for safe, effective use of digital tools.
2. Digital divides mirror other inequalities. Older adults, people with lower education levels, rural populations and low-income households consistently show lower digital skills.
3. For low- and lower-middle-income countries, adding digital skills and connectivity on top of existing access and learning challenges creates a second-level digital divide that can amplify education and income gaps.

For anyone designing education, TVET or youth programs, it is now practical to treat basic digital skills as a fourth foundational domain, alongside reading, writing and numeracy.

What Governments Have Committed to Do by 2030

The 2025 SDG 4 Scorecard aggregates national benchmark targets submitted by countries. For out-of-school rates, governments have collectively committed to:

• Reduce out-of-school rates to 2% at primary level
• 5% at lower secondary
• 16% at upper secondary

If these national benchmarks were fully met, the global number of out-of-school children and youth would fall from 272 million to about 107 million by 2030 – a reduction of 165 million.

However, the same Scorecard and related UNESCO analysis make two uncomfortable points:

• Because the starting point was revised upward from 251 million to 272 million, the challenge is larger than previously thought.
• For many countries, current trends are not aligned with their own national benchmarks, especially where education finance is under pressure.

UNESCO continues to recommend that governments allocate 4–6% of GDP and 15–20% of total public expenditure to education, but many low-income and fragile states still fall below this range.

Practical Entry Points for Educators, NGOs and Policy Makers

Based on UNESCO and UN data, a few high-leverage priorities emerge for anyone designing programmes:

1. Target the most excluded regions and groups
   • Focus on sub-Saharan Africa and Central & Southern Asia, rural areas, conflict-affected regions and marginalised language or ethnic groups
2. Invest in early-grade reading and numeracy
   • Set explicit goals for grade-2 and grade-3 reading, aligned with the learning-poverty framework, and monitor progress regularly.
3. Create real lower-secondary and TVET pathways
   • Link lower secondary completion to accessible TVET options, apprenticeships and green-skills programmes, especially in agriculture, construction, energy and care.
4. Integrate basic digital skills across curricula
   • Treat digital literacy as a core competency, not an optional extra, and connect it to real tasks: accessing public services, climate information, health content, financial tools.
5. Protect education budgets and improve spending quality
   • Track whether national budgets move towards the 4–6% of GDP and 15–20% of public expenditure benchmarks and whether funds reach schools and teachers.
6. Use better data for planning
   • Combine administrative data, household surveys and learning assessments to avoid under-counting out-of-school children – especially in displacement, informal settlements and crisis contexts.

UNESCO Updated Data Shows the Situation is Worse than We Thought

The new UNESCO data shows that at least 272 million children and youth are out of school worldwide. It also shows that progress since 2015 is almost flat. Primary access is still incomplete, upper secondary is where nearly half of exclusion happens, and the majority of those left behind live in low-income and crisis-affected countries.

The numbers also show that access without learning is not a solution. High levels of learning poverty, weak completion rates and limited digital skills mean that even many enrolled children do not acquire the foundations they need. At the same time, narrow and under-funded TVET systems, combined with a large NEET population, block smooth transitions from school to work, including into green and care-related jobs.

The SDG 4 Scorecard confirms that governments have already set clear benchmark targets for out-of-school rates, completion and skills. The gap is about implementation and financing. Reaching those benchmarks requires budget decisions, teacher policies, textbook and connectivity investments, and better planning using reliable data, especially in fragile and displacement contexts.

For educators, NGOs and policy makers, the implication is direct. Any serious sustainability, climate or inequality agenda must now include concrete, measurable education interventions: early-grade literacy and numeracy, inclusive schooling for girls and marginalised learners, accessible TVET linked to real jobs, and integrated digital skills. The global figure of 272 million children out of school worldwide is a constraint on every other SDG. Reducing that number is therefore a precondition for credible progress by 2030.

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