272 million children and youth are now out of school

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Countries have collectively committed to reduce their out-of-school population by 165 million by 2030 in their SDG 4 benchmark targets, as the GEM Report and the UIS reported in the 2025 SDG 4 Scorecard released last week. But the challenge they face is larger than previously thought. The global out-of-school population is now estimated to have been 272 million in 2023, 21 million more than the last estimate featured in the Scorecard. An accompanying 2025 SDG 4 Scorecard for Africa meanwhile showed that there are 118 million out of school on the continent, which countries collectively aim to reduce by 58 million by 2030 in their benchmarks.

Two reasons explain this upward adjustment. First, new enrolment and attendance data account for 8 million, or 38%, of the increase, with the ban on girls attending secondary school age in Afghanistan playing a part.  Second, updated UN population estimates account for 13 million, or the remaining 62%, of the increase.

For the first time, an attempt is made to assess the out‑of‑school populations in the 10 countries with the largest crises suggesting an undercount of 13 million.