Global Crises Leave 258 Million Children Without Adequate Education

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A confluence of armed conflict, persistent socio-economic instability, and the intensifying impacts of climate change has left more than 258 million children and adolescents worldwide without access to consistent education. According to a report released Tuesday by the United Nations global fund “Education Cannot Wait,” the scale of this crisis has expanded rapidly, with the number of affected youth rising by 21 million in just 18 months.

The data reveals a dire outlook for school-aged children, with 93 million of those affected having been driven entirely out of the formal education system. The crisis is heavily concentrated, as nearly 60 percent of these 258 million children reside in just nine nations: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sudan, and Yemen.

In Bangladesh, the findings highlight a significant struggle to maintain educational continuity. Out of roughly 42.8 million school-aged children in the country, 12.7 million have seen their schooling disrupted. The report attributes the vast majority of these disruptions—98.1 percent—to natural disasters, while socio-economic crises account for the remaining 1.9 percent.

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Yasmine Sherif, Director of Education Cannot Wait, noted that the combination of conflict and climate-driven catastrophes is effectively eroding decades of progress in global education. She emphasized that the research provides a critical roadmap for the international community, pinpointing specific regions and demographics where urgent intervention and targeted investment are required to mitigate further academic decline.