about 250 million
Children and youth out of school
Primary and secondary age children and young people not enrolled in school.
UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report →Global statistics
Education around the world, in numbers
Approximate global figures, rounded and kept simple. Education data is collected by countries at different times, so treat every number as an estimate and follow the source link for the exact year and definition.
about 87%
Adult literacy rate
Share of people aged 15 and over who can read and write, with wide variation by country and gender.
UNESCO Institute for Statistics →about 7 in 10 in low and middle income countries
Children not reading with understanding by age 10
Often described as learning poverty; the figure rose after pandemic school closures.
World Bank →more than 6 million
Internationally mobile students
Students enrolled in a country other than their own for higher education.
UNESCO Institute for Statistics →about 44 million
Teachers needed by 2030
Additional primary and secondary teachers needed to reach universal basic education.
UNESCO →about 4.3% of global GDP
Public spending on education
Governments differ widely; some spend under 3% and others above 6%.
UNESCO Institute for Statistics →about 3 in 4 children worldwide
Pre-primary enrolment
Participation one year before primary school; far lower in low income countries.
UNESCO Institute for Statistics →about 260 million students
Higher education enrolment
Tertiary enrolment has more than doubled since 2000.
UNESCO Institute for Statistics →Where to look up your own numbers
For a specific country, indicator or year, these databases are the primary sources.
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS)
The official source for internationally comparable education data, by country and indicator.
Open database →UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report
Annual analysis of progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 4 on education.
Open database →World Bank EdStats
Education indicators, learning outcomes and spending data for most countries.
Open database →OECD Education at a Glance
Detailed comparisons of education systems in OECD and partner countries.
Open database →OECD PISA
Triennial assessment of 15-year-olds in reading, mathematics and science.
Open database →IEA TIMSS and PIRLS
International studies of mathematics, science and reading achievement in school grades.
Open database →UNICEF Data
Data on children's learning, equity, early childhood development and school access.
Open database →Eurostat Education and Training
Education statistics across the European Union and EEA countries.
Open database →Reading education data carefully
- Enrolment is not the same as attendance, and attendance is not the same as learning.
- National averages hide large gaps between regions, income groups, girls and boys, and rural and urban schools.
- International test results describe samples of students, not the quality of any individual school.
- Definitions change between reports, so comparing two figures from different sources can be misleading.