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UNESCO: 272 Million Children and Youth Out of School — Inequality Gap Widening

Children in the world's poorest nations face a 36% school exclusion rate, UNESCO reports.

Education

UNESCO: 272 Million Children and Youth Out of School — Inequality Gap Widening

YNC Newsroom · · 4 views

UNESCO has published its 2026 Global Education Monitoring Report, "Lead with Youth," revealing that 272 million children and young people worldwide remain out of school — a crisis the report characterises as a failure of political will as much as resources.

The Scale of the Crisis

The 272 million figure includes 67 million children of primary school age, 72 million of lower secondary, and 133 million of upper secondary. Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for the largest regional share.

Youth Voice in Policy

Only 1 in 3 governments legally require youth consultation in education policymaking. Where consultation occurs, young people consistently describe processes as tokenistic with little evidence of genuine influence.

The Path Forward

At current rates, the world will not achieve universal secondary school completion until 2084. UNESCO calls for tripling international education aid and doubling domestic education spending in low-income countries.

UNESCO education out of school inequality global youth rights