75 million children out of school, according to new UNESCO data

16-05-2008 - The number of primary-school-age children not in school fell by 2 million worldwide between 2005 and 2006, according to new estimates published by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS).

The latest education statistics show that 75 million children were out of school in 2006, down from 103 million in 1999. Girls account for more than one half of the out-of-school population.

The 72 million figure reported for 2005 and published in the EFA Global Monitoring Report has been revised upwards to 77 million, based on new population estimates released by the United Nations Population Division (UNPD) in 2007. Both sets of figures confirm a 25% decrease since 1999 in the number of out-of-school children.