Hannes Heide· S&D

Underestimated

According to UNESCO, 250 million children and adolescents worldwide do not attend school.

Omissions

• The 250 million figure reflects 2023 data published in September 2023, not the most recent available data as of February 2026
• UNESCO's 2025 SDG 4 Scorecard and 2025 dashboard reported 272 million out-of-school children (data from 2023, published in 2025)
• UNESCO's 2024 Global Education Monitoring Report indicated 251 million children and youth were out of school
• The current figure of 272-273 million represents an increase of approximately 21-23 million compared to earlier estimates
• The MEP used outdated statistics that underrepresent the actual magnitude of the global out-of-school crisis

Sources

• PrimaryUNESCO - Out-of-school rate databaseAs of 2024, globally 273 million children and youth are out of school
• PrimaryUNESCO - Countries commit to reducing the number of out-of-school childrenAccording to the new 2025 dashboard, the number of out-of-school children worldwide stands at 272 million
• PrimaryUNESCO Institute for Statistics - SDG 4 Scorecard2025 SDG 4 Scorecard shows 272M out-of-school children—21M more than earlier estimates
• PrimaryUNESCO - 250 million children out-of-school articleGlobal number of out-of-school children has risen by 6 million since 2021 and now totals 250 million