UNICEF warns of global education crisis affecting 272 million children

UNICEF has issued a warning regarding a global education crisis, noting that more than 272 million school-aged children did not attend school in 2024. This figure represents approximately one out of every six children worldwide.

Projections suggest the situation may worsen by the end of 2026, with the number of children out of school potentially reaching 278 million due to declining international support. Key drivers of this crisis include wars, the climate crisis, poverty, collapsing infrastructure, teacher shortages, and political restrictions.

Conflict plays a major role in these statistics; over 50 million children have been forced to flee their homes, often due to armed conflict, and nearly half of these refugee children are not participating in education. In Sudan, the civil war has resulted in an estimated 17 million school-aged children being out of school, with nearly half of the country's educational institutions no longer functioning as traditional schools due to combat damage or use as temporary shelters.