9 September 2022 – New UNESCO data shows that 244 million children and youth between 6 and 18 years old worldwide are still out of school. Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO Director-General, calls for collective mobilization to ensure that the right of every child to access quality education is respected.
The new estimates, published online, show that sub-Saharan Africa remains the region with the most children and youth out of school, with a total of 98 million children. It is also the only region where this number is increasing. The region with the second highest out-of-school population is Central and Southern Asia, with 85 million. The data per country is available in interactive visualizations on the VIEW website. The objective of quality education for all by 2030, set by the United Nations, risks not being achieved.
The new UNESCO estimates confirm that the difference in the rate of girls and boys out of school has closed worldwide.
Today, September 19, the Transforming Education Summit will be held convened by the UN Secretary General, which will bring together Heads of State and Governments.
Read the UNESCO press release.
