There are still too many young children who don't attend school

Universal Primary Education is considered to be a human right by UNICEF. Much work has been done towards reducing out of school children in the past 20 years. Substantial reduction in both the number and the gender gap has been achieved. However, there is a long way to go. Girls still significantly outnumber boys in vulnerable and conflict areas around the world. As well, the accuracy of data collection itself must be improved. Data Source: World Bank, 2014

Primary Aged Children Out of School by Country

Total count of primary aged school children who do not attend school, 1980-2010. Data not available for the entire period for all countries.

Children Out of School by Gender

In the past 30 years, the greatest reduction in the counts of our primary aged children not in school has been among girls. Data not available for the entire period for all countries.

Children Out of School by Selected Regions

Primary aged children out of school are most common in highly vulnerable and conflicted regions around the globe. It's important to see that while gender parity has been achieved in high income states. Among the most vulnerable children, girls are still more likely to not attend primary school than boys.