UNESCO 2026 Report Warns 273 Million Still Out of School
The 2026 Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report released by UNESCO highlights a major global education crisis, with approximately 273 million children and youth still out of school worldwide. This represents a reversal of earlier progress and signals growing challenges in achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4), which aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education for all.
Despite these challenges, the report also reveals positive trends in global enrolment. Since 2000, the number of students enrolled in primary and secondary education has increased significantly, reaching approximately 1.4 billion in 2024. This demonstrates that while access has expanded, equity remains a major concern.
The report notes that progress in reducing out-of-school populations has slowed since 2015, with numbers rising steadily over recent years. This trend is largely attributed to factors such as poverty, conflict, displacement, and insufficient education infrastructure in developing regions.
Importantly, UNESCO emphasizes that targeted policies can still produce significant improvements. Some countries have successfully reduced out-of-school rates by up to 80%, demonstrating that progress is achievable with sustained investment and policy commitment.
