How Many Kids Do Not Go to School?
Education is crucial for a child’s development and future prospects. However, millions of children around the world do not have access to schooling. Understanding the scope of this problem is the first step toward solving it. This article will analyze the latest statistics on out-of-school children globally and examine the reasons why some kids do not attend school.
What is the global number of out-of-school children?
According to UNESCO’s 2022 Fact Sheet on out-of-school children, there were an estimated 244 million children, adolescents, and youth between the ages of 6 and 18 who were out of school in 2021. This represents 14.9% of the global population in this age group.
The regions with the highest out-of-school rates are:
- Sub-Saharan Africa: 23.5%
- Northern Africa and Western Asia: 19.6%
- Central and Southern Asia: 16.3%
This means that nearly 1 in 4 children of primary and secondary school age in Sub-Saharan Africa are not in education.
How has this number changed over time?
The global out-of-school rate has declined over the past two decades:
| Year | Out-of-school rate | Number of out-of-school children (millions) |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 17.6% | 374 |
| 2010 | 14.2% | 260 |
| 2021 | 14.9% | 244 |
While progress has been made, the pace of change is too slow. The COVID-19 pandemic has also reversed some of these gains, causing the first rise in out-of-school rates in 20 years.
Which regions have the most out-of-school children?
The regions with the highest absolute numbers of children out of school are concentrated in a few parts of the world (UNESCO, 2022):
- Sub-Saharan Africa: 98 million
- Southern Asia: 85 million
- Northern Africa and Western Asia: 29 million
- Eastern and South-Eastern Asia: 15 million
So while Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest out-of-school rate, South Asia has the second highest total number due to its large population size. Together, these two regions account for over 60% of all children not in school globally.
Which countries have the most out-of-school children?
The five countries with the largest populations of primary and secondary school-aged children not in school (UNESCO Institute of Statistics, 2022):
- Nigeria: 20.2 million
- Pakistan: 12.7 million
- Ethiopia: 12.5 million
- India: 9.9 million
- Sudan: 2.7 million
Nigeria alone accounts for about 1 in 10 out-of-school children worldwide. The crisis is particularly severe in Northern Nigeria, where 4 in 10 primary school-aged children are not in education.
What are the main reasons children do not go to school?
There are many interlinked factors that contribute to children being denied an education:
Poverty
- School fees, materials, and uniforms are prohibitive for poor families
- Opportunity costs of lost child labor or income
Discrimination
- Gender discrimination against girls in some societies
- Discrimination against minority groups and children with disabilities
Conflict and Crisis
- Schools are targets of military use during conflicts
- Refugee children lack access
- Health pandemics and climate disasters disrupt education
Poor Infrastructure
- Insufficient number of schools in remote areas
- Overcrowded classrooms and lack of resources
Low-Quality Education
- Deficiencies in teaching quality, materials, language of instruction
- High dropout rates due to the irrelevance of curriculum
How does poverty impact school attendance?
While education is free in many countries, associated costs like textbooks, uniforms, and transport create barriers for children from poor households. Families also rely on child labor for income, leaving no time for school. UNESCO estimates that among out-of-school children of primary age, one-third left due to direct and indirect costs of education, while another third left to work.
How has COVID-19 impacted out-of-school numbers?
The COVID-19 pandemic dealt a huge blow to global education and the progress made over the past 20 years. Prolonged school closures, economic hardship, and disruptions across education systems contributed to:
- An estimated 9.9 million more children of primary and secondary school age pushed out of school since 2019
- School dropout and learning loss, especially among vulnerable groups
- Setbacks in girls’ education, increasing the risk of early marriage and pregnancy
- Rising child labor, exploitation, poverty, and hunger
Even as schools reopen, many children remain unable to return to education due to the pandemic’s ongoing impacts. Recovering these losses will require concerted effort and investment.
What efforts are being made to get kids back to school?
Improving access to education globally requires multi-pronged interventions by governments, civil society, donors, and communities. Some initiatives include:
- Abolishing school fees – make education truly free including indirect costs
- Incentives for girls’ education e.g. conditional cash transfers
- Building more schools and classrooms in underserved areas
- Recruiting and training teachers, especially women
- Providing school meals, health services, and transport to boost enrollment
- Using technology and alternative learning to reach marginalized groups
- Improving quality and relevance of education – focus on skills for life and work
- Targeted support for children with disabilities, minorities, and those impacted by crises
- Community engagement in getting and keeping children in school, especially girls
While expanding access remains critical, truly inclusive quality education for all will be key to reaching Sustainable Development Goal 4.
Conclusion
Millions of the world’s children and youth are still being denied their right to an education. Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia face the biggest challenges. Poverty, discrimination, conflict, and disruptions like COVID-19 keep children out of school. But global efforts to remove barriers, invest in education systems, and implement innovative solutions can ensure every child gets the opportunity to learn and thrive. Eliminating the global out-of-school crisis requires recognizing education’s central role in building a just, equitable and prosperous future for all.
