Editor’s Note
This article highlights a critical global education challenge, drawing on new data from UNESCO. The figures underscore the urgent need for targeted interventions, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa where out-of-school numbers are rising. The improved methodology provides a clearer picture to inform policy and action.
It is estimated that 244 million children and youth between the ages of 6 and 18 worldwide were out of school in 2021, of which 118.5 million were girls and 125.5 million were boys.
The results are based on a new, improved way of measuring out-of-school rates by the GEM Report and the UNESCO Institute of Statistics displayed on the VIEW website.
It combines administrative and survey data, following a similar approach to the one applied before in the estimation of flagship health indicators.
The estimates confirm that, even before the onset of COVID-19, progress in reducing the out-of-school population had slowed down. At the same time, the results suggest a different distribution of this population by age group, while they fill gaps in the case of about 50 countries whose administrative data have been incomplete or lacking.
118.5 million girls are out of school
20 million out of school in Nigeria
98 million out of school in sub-Saharan Africa
