Around the world there are 72 million children who are missing out on school.

Where do they live?

• Africa – 32 million
• Asia – 27 million
• Rest of the world – 13 million

Who are they?

• The majority are girls (54%)
• One third live in countries affected by conflict

Why are some children missing out on school?

• For some the costs of going to school are too expensive – for example school fees, cost of buying school uniform, textbooks or of taking a bus to travel to school
• Others have to work to earn money to support the family – there are 218 million children in developing countries who have to work
• In some places there are no schools, or no qualified teachers to work in them
• Other children are discriminated against because of a disability
• Or they are living in countries affected by war and schools may have been damaged or destroyed
• Even when children do go to school, they may find themselves in very large classes of more than 100 pupils – and may still miss out on a good education

What do governments need to do?

• All countries need to make education a top priority and invest enough money in it
• Richer countries should pay a fair share towards the cost of education for everyone around the world
• They should also play a part in international work to make sure the promise of education for everyone is kept
• Governments need to make good plans for education so that everyone – whether rich or poor, disabled or not, girl or boy, living in a situation of war or not – can get the chance to go to school
• Education must be free for everyone
• Governments need to build enough schools and employ enough teachers - around the world 18 million more teachers are needed

How many adults cannot read or write?

759 million adults.

Two thirds are women.